The members of the buffs ski team might be nursing hurt egos after this weekend’s performance at the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolf Invitational.
In the last meet before the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) alpine qualifiers, the Buffs had a poor showing. They ended up in third place, only the third time in the last 14 meets the team has placed outside the top two.
The Buffs finished third at the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolf Invitational Sunday. (CU Independent File Illustration/Adam Milner)
The defending national champion CU ski team trailed first-place University of Utah by only 13 points entering Saturday, the final day of the meet. But on Saturday, the best CU performance in the men’s slalom race came from senior Taggart Spenst, who finished 20th.
The women did better on the final day, placing five women in the top 12, though it wasn’t enough to sway the overall team standings. Senior Carolina Nordh was the top finisher in sixth place with a time of 1:25.26. Seniors Katie Hartman and Erika Ghent finished eighth and ninth, followed by freshman Shane McLean in 10th and senior Jennifer Allen in 12th.
Head coach Richard Rokos was not pleased with the men’s performance.
“It’s good to have this behind us,” Rokos said to the CU Sports Information Department. “It was a tough four days. The last day was one of the worst, both how our guys finished and the weather. I don’t remember a performance like the guys had today.”
The team will have to get over the loss quickly and get ready for the RMISA Championships on February 24-25.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Scott Annis at Robert.annis@colorado.edu.
Statistics and quotes courtesy of the CU Sports Information Department.
