Buffs ski team wins for first time since National Championship

The CU Ski Team had a strong showing this weekend on the slopes, as both the Nordic and Alpine factions were in action. The Buffs best results came in the Spencer James Nelson Memorial Invitational, where the Nordic racers ran away with the victory. Their first meet win since 2011.

The Alpine men and women, vaulted into 2nd place on Sunday at the Denver Invitational.

The Buffs Nordic team won the Spencer James Nelson Memorial Invitational this weekend. (Adam Milner/CU Independent Illustration)

The Women’s Alpine struggled at times, with two racers not completing their second runs. However, solid performances from other racers helped to limit the damage. The top two finishers for CU, freshmen Thea Grosvold and Brooke Wales, showed a lot of young promise as they finished 12^th and 13^th respectively.

On the men’s side, a sweep of spots 3-6 prove the Buffs are a force to be reckoned with going forward, and made up for short comings on the women’s side. Junior Fletcher McDonald was the highest placing Buff as he took third.

He was shortly followed by freshman Henrik Gunnarsson, who took fourth, and senior Max Lamb, who came in fifth.

“It gives you a lot of confidence, it’s a good solid feeling on the start when everybody is skiing well and raising the bar as a group, said the sixth place finisher, junior Andreas Haug. ”We’re raising the bar in slalom and have a lot of confidence, so now we need to get our GS game back.”

We will next see the Alpine racers in action on Feb. 6, as they head to Loveland for the Utah Invitational.

The brightest spot of the weekend was the complete dominance shown by the Buffs on the Nordic side. While playing host to schools as nearby as Denver University, and from as far as Alaska Anchorage University, the Buffs had nine top seven finishers.

The closest challenger to the Buffs was DU, who finished 69.5 points back.

The CU Women reigned supreme, highlighted by a near sweep of the podium. Freshman Maria Nordstroem took the top spot and had the lone first place finish for the Buffs, which gave her two top three finishes in as many starts. Just 14 seconds behind her was senior Joanne Reid in second.

Seniors Eliska Hajkova and Mary Rose came in sixth and seventh respectively. Rose finds herself on a hot streak, with her second straight top 10 finish.

In the men’s division, a second place finish by Rune ‘The Norse Rocket’ Odegaard set the tone for CU, who finished with five men in the top 25.

Although the Buffs had a good weekend, they will improve in the coming weeks, after two top racers return to action. Junior Andreas Hoye was unable to compete due to illness, and star freshman racer Gustav Nordstrom was competing in the World Cup, and his return will surely make a splash.

The Nordic teams will finish the Denver Invitational next weekend, Jan. 19—20.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Charlie Barkeier at [email protected]