Utah Wins RMISA Championship

Saturday, February 26, 2022 • by Curtis Snyder, RMISA

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo.—Utah closed out a dominant performance on a high note Saturday here at Howelsen Hill, putting the finishing touches on another RMISA Championship and winning by 120 points over the rest of the field.

The Utes tallied 670 points on the week, scoring 80 or more in five of eight races and 100-plus in both women's Nordic races to secure the win. Denver was second with 570 points with host Colorado taking third with 532.5 followed by Montana State (465) and Alaska Anchorage (435) rounding out the top five.

Utes Luke Jager and Novie McCabe both picked up Regional Championship distinctions by winning the two races on the day, as well. McCabe and teammate Sophia Laulki both finished the 15K women's race in the 43rd minute (43:06.5 for McCabe, 43:17.9 for Laulki), and the next finisher was Alaska Fairbanks' Mariel Pulles at two-teths shy of 47 minutes (46:59.8), an astonishing feat for the two Utes.

Two Utes also placed on the podium in the men's race as Jager won a sprint at the end with Colorado's Magnus Boee, the two just six-tenths of a second apart, with Bjorn Riksaasen holding off Denver's Bernhard Flaschberger to pick up the final podium spot.

On the alpine hill, the teams were competing in an exhibition parallel slalom race, the biggest win of the day that the event was a huge success. Coaches are hoping to add the event to the NCAA Championships in the coming years.

A smaller field, 14 women and 22 men competed and the women's race was dominated by Colorado, with its three participants all coming in the top five. Emma Hammergaard won with Elena Exenberger, who met Hammergaard in the semifinals, taking third on the podium and Katilyn Harsch finishing fifth.

On the men's side, Utah's Jeremy Mathers won the race with Alaska Anchorage's Didrik Nilsen taking second and Colorado's Jacob Dilling third.

Next up is the awaiting of the announcement of the NCAA teams on Tuesday, March 1. The NCAA Championships will take place March 9-12 in Park City and Midway, Utah at Park City Resort and Soldier Hollow Resort, hosted by the Utes.