MIDWAY, Utah – Three University of Denver skiers placed in the top 10 in the Nordic 7.5-kilometer freestyle on Saturday morning to begin the 2026 Utah Invitational at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center.
Senior
Eve-Ondine Duchaufour led the Pioneers in the interval start format by placing seventh in the women's event with a time of 20:53.6, and junior teammate
Maja Moland was right behind her in eighth (21:18.3). Freshman
Yannick Zellweger led the Denver men in their race by coming in 10th for his first career top 10, clocking in with a mark of 18:30.9.
Duchaufour was making her season debut and picked up her 11th career top 10 while Moland snagged the seventh such result of her Denver tenure. Sophomore
Anna Stewart also made her 2026 debut and was DU's third women's scorer in 11th. Freshmen
Synne Bollingmo and
Estelle Darbellay placed 24th and 25th, respectively, while fellow rookie
Ruby Serrouya did not race.
Joining Zellweger as the Pioneers' other two scorers in the men's event was graduate student
Sondre Oestervold in 16th and senior
Micah Steinberg in 18th. Sophomore
Eemil Juntunen placed 23rd, senior
Krystof Zatloukal finished 28th and sophomore
Joe Graziadei came in 30th.
The host Utes finished with three on the podium and won each individual race as well. Erica Laven picked up her third victory of the year on the women's side (20:08.2), while UU teammate Sofia Pedersen was second and Colorado's Nina Schamberger was third.
Mons Melbye won the men's race in 17:17.07 and was joined on the stage by a pair of CU Buffaloes with Jakob Moch in second place and Storm Pedersen in third.
Denver is in fourth place in the team standings after the first two events of the meet with 122 points and trails third-place Montana State by just 16 points (136). Colorado used its three podium finishers and had all of its scorers place in the top seven to take the overall meet lead with 188 points, 14 more than Utah in second place (174).
UP NEXT: The Nordic races of the Utah Invitational conclude on Sunday morning at Solider Hollow with the 15K classic mass start. The alpine events for the UU Invite are Feb. 22-24 at Utah Olympic Park in Park City. The next alpine races on the schedule are four days of racing in Lake Tahoe on Jan. 31-Feb. 3 with the return of the Nevada Invitational and two RMISA Alpine Qualifier events.
DENVER WOMEN 7.5K FREESTYLE INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
7.
Eve-Ondine Duchaufour, 20:53.6
8.
Maja Moland, 21:18.3
11.
Anna Stewart, 21:38.9
24.
Synne Bollingmo, 23:55.5
25.
Estelle Darbellay, 23:55.7
DNR:
Ruby Serrouya
DENVER MEN 7.5K FREESTYLE INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
10.
Yannick Zellweger, 18:30.9
16.
Sondre Oestervold, 18:49.6
18.
Micah Steinberg, 18:58.3
23.
Eemil Juntunen, 19:04.1
28.
Krystof Zatloukal, 19:49.3
30.
Joe Graziadei, 20:04.5
TEAM STANDINGS (through 2-of-8 events): 1. Colorado 188; 2. Utah 174; 3. Montana State 136; 4. Denver 122; 5. Alaska Fairbanks 118; 6. Alaska Anchorage 91
WOMEN'S 7.5K FREESTYLE TOP 10 (26 finishers): 1. Erica Laven, UU, 20:08.2; 2. Sofia Pedersen, UU, 20:13.4; 3. Nina Schamberger, CU, 20:20.4; 4. Tilde Baangman, CU, 20:23.7; 5. Katey Houser, MSU, 20:24.1; 6. Astri Lunde, CU, 20:35.9;
7. Eve-Ondine Duchaufour, DU, 20:53.6; 8. Maja Moland, DU, 21:18.3; 9. Ally Wheeler, UU, 21:35.9; 10. Felice Chappaz, MSU, 21:37.3
MEN'S 7.5K FREESTYLE TOP 10 (33 finishers): 1. Mons Melbye, 17:17.8; 2. Jakob Moch, CU, 17:26.3; 3. Storm Pedersen, CU, 17:54.3; 4. Benjamin Dohlby, UAF, 18:03.3; 5. Corbin Carpenter, UAA, 18:06.7; 6. Gavin Galyardt, MSU, 18:17.3; 7. Johannes Flaaten, CU, 18:18.0; 8. Philipp Moosmayer, UAF, 18:22.4; 9. Benjamin Barbier, MSU, 18:27.5;
10. Yannick Zellweger, DU, 18:30.9.
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