Utah Takes Commanding Lead At RMISA Championships

Friday, February 26, 2016 • by Curtis Snyder, RMISA

BEAVER CREEK & MINTURN, Colo.—The Utah Utes took a commanding 57 point lead over Denver and 64 point lead over Colorado after the first day of the 2016 RMISA Championships, which double this weekend as the NCAA Western Regional.

Utah won both Nordic races, took second in the women’s GS and third in the men’s GS to compile 361 points in the four races. Denver sits second with 304 points and Colorado third with 297. Montana State sits in fourth with 269 points with New Mexico (221) and Alaska Anchorage (216) taking fifth and sixth. Wyoming (58) and Colorado Mountain (49) round out the team scoring

The day began at Maloit Park with the women’s 5K freestyle race. A 2.5K loop that includes a lot of technical hills, both up and down, Utah’s Veronika Mayerhofer beat all other women over the two laps en route to her first win of the season in a time of 13:04.6. While she hasn’t won a race prior to Friday, she was the most consistent skier on the circuit being named the Women’s Alpine MVP, as well.

Denver’s Linn Eriksen took second in a time of 13:13.2 with Mayerhofer’s teammate Sloan Storey taking third in 13:20.1. Montana State’s Cambria McDermott was fourth in 13:32.1 and the Utes rounded out three in the top five with Natalia Mueller taking fifth in 13:40.1.

Utah put up 103 points, a season high for the Utes, and beat all times by 24 points with Montana State taking 79 points and Denver 74.

In the men’s 10K freestyle, Colorado’s Mads Stroem won his third straight race, his fifth of the season, and his third straight RMISA Championship race after sweeping the races in Alaska last season. He also won by an impressive 43.6 seconds in a time of 22:12.6. That margin of victory is the largest in a men’s Nordic 10K race in over a decade, since the 2006 Alaska Anchorage Invitational when the Seawolves’ Kjetil Dmmen won the 10K classic race over the other collegians at the U.S. National Championships race by 43.7 seconds.

The Utes also placed three in the top five of the men’s race with Nick Hendrickson taking second in 22:56.2, Kevin Bolger fourth in 23:06.9 and Niklas Persson fifth in 23:06.9. Denver’s Moritz Madlener hit the podium for the Pioneers in a time of 23:03.8.

Meanwhile over at Beaver Creek on the famous Birds of Prey course that played host to the 2015 Alpine World Championships and the only World Cup in the United States this year, Montana State’s Benedicte Lyche won the race in a time of 2:19.74, just six-hundredths over Denver’s Kristine Haugen to claim her first RMISA Individual Championship. It marked the second straight season the Bobcats won an RMISA Individual Championship with Lyche joining Garret Driller, who won the men’s slalom last year.

Utah’s Roni Remme rounded out the podium in 2:19.94 with the Utes Julie Mohagen taking fourth in 2:20.30 and Denver’s Tuva Norbye rounding out the top five in 2:20.76.

The Pioneer’s Monica Huebner took seventh to give DU the race victory with 91 points to Utah’s 87. Montana State took third with 78 points.

In the men’s race, Alaska Anchorage’s Sean Alexander won the race in a time of 2:19.30 over a pair of Buffaloes with Henrik Gunnarson taking second in 2:19.61 and Max Luukko right on his heels in 2:19.71. Utah’s Dominique Demschar was fourth in 2:20.17 and DU’s Sebastian Brigovic rounded out the top five in 2:20.35.

Alexander won UAA’s first RMISA Championship since 2011 when Lukas Ebner won the men’s classic race. Just a year before in 2010, the Seawolves’ Andreas Adde won the men’s giant slalom race.

The RMISA Championships conclude on Saturday with slalom races at Beaver Creek and classic races at Maloit Park.