FRISCO, Colo. – Freshman
Synne Bollingmo earned her first career podium as five University of Denver skiers placed in the top 10 on Saturday in the DU Invitational's Nordic 10-kilometer classic at Frisco Nordic Center.
"It was a great day," said Denver Nordic Head Skiing Coach
Eliska Albrigtsen. "It's our home venue and, we've basically practicing on it. They did a really great job prepping for it the past few weeks, and I thought they did a really great job executing the race the way they wanted to. They pushed hard when it hurt, which at this altitude hurts a lot."
Bollingmo placed third in the women's race, as she climbed through the field in the three-lap mass start race and beat Montana State's Kate Houser (29:09.1) to the line by half a second, clocking in at 29:08.6. She was joined in the top 10 by senior teammate
Eve-Ondine Duchaufour in eighth place (29:49.0).
"For a freshman to get a podium, it's incredible," Albrigtsen said. "She has been kind of looking for herself, and she finished and came over and said, 'I finally felt like I was in my own body.' That matters so much. We're just climbing up as a team."
A pair of newcomers led DU's men's team as freshman
Yannick Zellweger (25:19.2) and graduate student
Sondre Oestervold (25:41.2) finished fourth and fifth place, respectively, and senior
Micah Steinberg registered a career-best result in eighth place for his fourth career top 10 and second of the season.
The Pioneers finished second in the team standings in both events on the first day of their home meet's Nordic races by totaling 158 points; DU remains in second place with 474 points overall. Colorado won both team races on Saturday and expanded its lead to 541 points overall, 67 ahead of Denver.
Freshman
Ruby Serrouya was DU's third scorer in the women's classical while fellow rookie
Estelle Darbellay was 20th and junior
Maja Moland came in 23rd. Sophomore
Anna Stewart did not start.
For the men, Pioneers sophomore
Eemil Juntunen was 19th, fellow second-year skier
Joe Graziadei finished 23rd and senior
Krystof Zatloukal came in 25th
CU took the top two spots in both races, with Tilde Baangman picking up the women's win and Astri Lunde coming in second to join Bollingmo on the podium. The Buffaloes' Storm Pedersen won the men's race while teammate Johannes Flaaten was second and Alaska Anchorage's Corbin Carpenter was third.
UP NEXT: The 2026 Denver Invitational concludes on Sunday with the Nordic 7.5K freestyle interval start from Frisco Nordic Center. The men begin the races at 9 a.m. MT while the women start the course at 10 a.m. MT.
DENVER WOMEN 10K CLASSIC INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
3.
Synne Bollingmo, 29:08.6
7.
Eve-Ondine Duchaufour, 29:50.1
18.
Ruby Serrouya, 30:58.6
20.
Estelle Darbellay, 31:12.8
23.
Maja Moland, 32:26.3
DNS:
Anna Stewart
DENVER MEN 10K CLASSIC INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
4.
Yannick Zellweger, 25:19.2
5.
Sondre Oestervold, 25:41.2
8.
Micah Steinberg, 25:50.1
19.
Eemil Juntunen, 26:31.4
23.
Joe Graziadei, 26:58.3
25.
Krystof Zatloukal, 27:51.0
TEAM STANDINGS (through 6-of-8 events): 1. Colorado 541;
2. Denver 474; 3. Utah 394.5; 4. Alaska Anchorage 344; 5. Montana State 334; 6. Nevada 195.5; 7. Colorado Mountain 163; 8. Westminster 119; 9. Alaska Fairbanks 112.
WOMEN'S 10K CLASSIC TOP 10 (27 finishers): 1. Tilde Baangman, CU, 27:52.4; 2. Astri Lunde, CU, 27:54.7;
3. Synne Bollingmo, DU, 29:08.6; 4. Katey Houser, MSU, 29:09.1; 5. Sofia Pedersen, UU, 29:14.0; 6. Witta Walcher, UU, 29:49.0;
7. Eve-Ondine Duchaufour, DU, 29:50.1; 8. Marit Flora, UAA, 29:52.1; 9. Felicie Chappaz, MSU, 29:53.9; 10. Dashe McCabe, UAA, 29:58.7.
MEN'S 10K CLASSIC TOP 10 (26 finishers): 1. Storm Pedersen, CU, 25:59.8; 2. Johannes Flaaten, CU, 26:01.9; 3. Corbin Carpenter, UAA, 26:03.9;
4. Yannick Zellweger, DU, 25:19.2; 5. Sondre Oestervold, DU, 25:41.2; 6. Garrett Sievers, UAA, 25:45.5; 7. Cole Flowers, UAF, 25:49.0;
8. Micah Steinberg, DU, 25:50.1; 9. Gabriele Rigaudo, UAF, 25:54.7; 10. Benjamin Barbier, MSU, 26:00.7.
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