Monday, January 8, 2018 • by Brooke Frederickson, RMISA
BIG SKY, Mont.—It was a Colorado sweep at the Montana State Invitational on Monday as Tonje Trulsrud and Ola Johansen closed out the alpine portion of the meet with wins in the slalom.
The Buffs lead the overall team standings with 306 points, followed by Denver (297), Montana State (276), New Mexico (272) and Utah (263.5) in the top five. Westminster College is sixth in the standings with 193.5 points followed by Alaska Anchorage (190) and Colorado Mountain College (71).
The Nordic portion of the Montana State Invitational is Jan. 13-14 in West Yellowstone, Mont.
Women’s Slalom Leaders
- Tonje Trulsrud, Colorado
- Nora Christensen, Colorado
- Amelia Smart, Denver
- Ann-Kathrin Breuning, Utah
- Sofija Novoselic, Westminster
- Benedicte Lyche, Montana State
- Andrea Komsic, Denver
- Jocelyn McCarthy, Montana State
- Rebecca Fiegl, New Mexico
- Juliette Gauthier, Westminster
Race Notes
- Colorado was the top-scoring team in the women’s slalom with 94 points, followed by Denver (71) and Utah and Montana State tied for fourth with 69 points each.
- It was Trulsrud’s first win of the season. She has three career victories. This is her first slalom victory. She has two podium finishes this year.
- Colorado’s Christensen and Denver’s Smart both earned their best career finishes. It was the first podium finish of the season for both skiers.
- Utah’s Breuning is the only skier who has finished in the top five in all three races this season.
- Westminster’s Novoselic earned her first top five finish of the season.
Men’s Slalom Leaders
- Ola Johnasen, Colorado
- Garret Driller, Montana State
- Vegard Busengdal, New Mexico
- Joseph Young, Colorado
- Addison Dvoracek, Montana State
- Linus Walch, Utah
- Nick Santaniello, Denver
- Alex Leever, Denver
- Jett Seymour, Denver
- Dominic Unterberger, Alaska Anchorage
Race Notes
- Montana State was the top-scoring team with 86 points, followed by Colorado (83) and Denver (70).
- Johnasen has won two of the three races held this season, finishing second in the other.
- Montana State’s Driller and New Mexico’s Busengdal each earned their second podium finishes of the season.
- Colorado freshman Young earned his first career top five finish.
- Montana State’s Dvoracek earned his second top five finish of the season.