Steamboat, Colorado – The DU ski team clung to a narrow 15.5 point lead after a dramatic evening of nighttime racing on Steamboat’s Howelson Hill.
The fireworks started early and never ended during the tense evening event as Montana State, Utah, Denver, and Colorado jockeyed for position and skiers battled nerves.
In a spectacular evening under the lights, the technical slalom courses provided a dramatic backdrop as the mens’ side was led by NCAA Champion Pioneer Eric Read who finished first in men’s slalom followed by DU’s Taylor Shiffrin in 14th and Sabastian Brigovic in 24th position. Both Utah and Colorado had skiers off-course and lost valuable time and positions for both programs.
On the women’s side, Monica Hubner captured 3rd place and Christine Haugen took 6th. Tuva Norgye picked up critical points after finishing 20th on her first run – she lit up the course with the 5th best time of the second run to secure the 13th spot for the Pioneers
Battling for the top overall slot, DU had to play a team game balancing solid runs while limiting DNF’s or off-course mistakes that would have damaged their overall chances for an NCAA team title.
Points after 3 of 4 days:
- DU – 405
- Montana State University – 390
- Utah 362
- Colorado 340
Now, it falls to the classical men’s 20K at 9:00 MST & women’s classical 15K event at 11:00 am MST Saturday morning. You can follow the results HERE.
Go Pioneers!
Great race from the guys in the 20K. DU with 2 in the top ten, including a second place finish. I think the 3rd DU skier finished in top 15, too. I didn’t see any Montana state skiers in the top 10, which is huge for DU’s chances to win it all. I think if our 3 women do well in the next and last race coming up, we have a good shot. Would hope that all our women finish in the top 15, good luck to them!
We are in great shape- fingers crossed!
Looks like DU has a 45 point lead heading into the final race, 481.5 over Utah’s 436, with CU in third at 414 and Montana State fourth at 395.
Good deal with the team scores. It’s a good lead, but it ain’t over. Utah scored about 30 points better than DU in the first women’s nordic race a couple days ago. DU still needs a strong race, because Utah will be going for broke. Fun to be able to watch the live stream of the races on the NCAA app!
We are the champions!!! Dominant team performance today, and Lynn Erickson wins the race for DU. Championship U, we are. Congrats!!! 31 and counting, 23 now for the ski program.
Great race from the guys in the 20K. DU with 2 in the top ten, including a second place finish. I think the 3rd DU skier finished in top 15, too. I didn’t see any Montana state skiers in the top 10, which is huge for DU’s chances to win it all. I think if our 3 women do well in the next and last race coming up, we have a good shot. Would hope that all our women finish in the top 15, good luck to them!
We are in great shape- fingers crossed!
Looks like DU has a 45 point lead heading into the final race, 481.5 over Utah’s 436, with CU in third at 414 and Montana State fourth at 395.
Good deal with the team scores. It’s a good lead, but it ain’t over. Utah scored about 30 points better than DU in the first women’s nordic race a couple days ago. DU still needs a strong race, because Utah will be going for broke. Fun to be able to watch the live stream of the races on the NCAA app!
We are the champions!!! Dominant team performance today, and Lynn Erickson wins the race for DU. Championship U, we are. Congrats!!! 31 and counting, 23 now for the ski program.