Colorado Sweeps Slalom Races, Utah In Command Of Team Standings

Friday, March 8, 2024 • by Tanner Feith, RMISA

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo.—After the first three days of the NCAA Ski Championships, the three teams atop the standings are RMISA schools. For the first time since 2016, the teams competed in a Night Slalom on Friday. The Utah Utes currently hold the team lead with the Denver Pioneers and the host, Colorado Buffaloes falling behind.

Utah leads with a team score of 444.5 followed by Denver with 401 and Colorado in third with 393.5. Fourth-place Dartmouth and fifth-place Montana State fall far behind both more than 100 points back from Colorado with 278 and 251 points respectively.

Two more RMISA schools, Alaska Anchorage and Westminster, currently sit in sixth and ninth place respectively with 227 and 136 points. Westminster is currently the top-performing team for a school with one discipline participating in Steamboat Springs.

Colorado’s Magdalena Luczak took home her second individual National Championship title of the weekend, dominating in the Women’s Slalom. Her first three runs of the week were the fastest times in the pool of skiers. This is Luczak’s third National Championship and first in the slalom.

Utah’s Madison Hoffman stormed back onto the podium with the second-fastest time on her second run moving her from the 11th on her first run into the second position. Hoffman picks up her second First-Team All-America honors of the week.

Denver’s Nora Brand and Sara Rask both put together fantastic runs at the Night Slalom to take home third and fourth place along with First-Team All-America honors. Rask finished just four one-hundredth of a second slower than her teammate but helped the Pioneers jump the Colorado Buffaloes in the team standings after Friday.

Colorado’s Filip Wahlqvist helped the Buffs sweep the standings at the men’s Slalom race at Howelsen Hill on Friday Night. Wahlqvist picks up his first individual National Championship and First-Team All-America Honors. Earlier in the season, Wahlqvist did not finish the same race on the same hill at the CU Invitational. On Friday, he put together the fastest run on his first time down helping him bring home Colorado’s 106th Individual National Championship.

Dartmouth’s Oscar Zimmer made a massive comeback, jumping eleven spots to finish in second. His second-run time of 41.55 ranked sixth among the 34 skiers and propelled the Big Green to First-Team All-America honors.

Utah’s Mikkel Solbakken helped the Utes extend their commanding lead finishing third. Solbakken reached his second podium of the weekend and will return to Utah with a National Championship in the Men’s Giant Slalom.

Nordic teams finish things off tomorrow at Howelsen Hill with the 20K women's and men's classic races starting at 10 a.m. A National Champion will be crowned shortly after.