Tim Healy is a regular contributor to LetsGoDU on collegiate skiing.
Day 1 featured men’s and women’s Giant Slalom at Bridger Bown in Bozeman, Montana. Denver swept the top spot on the podium as Tobias Kogler surged from second place on his first run to the top of the podium on his final run of the day. On the women’s side, Storm Klomhaus lapped the field by .62 seconds on her two runs to take first place on the day.
Congrats to Tobias Kogler on becoming a National Champion in the giant slalom! #PioneerTogether pic.twitter.com/tWlPM5mWsj
— Denver Skiing (@DU_Skiing) March 11, 2020
Your 2020 giant slalom National Champion is Storm Klomhaus! #PioneerTogether pic.twitter.com/yJXPyxKipx
— Denver Skiing (@DU_Skiing) March 11, 2020
Their teammates did their job, too. On the men’s side, Simon Fournier finished 5th and Jett Seymour placed a solid 12th. DU’s Amelia Smart finished in 7th and Andrea Komsic picked up points for the Pioneers in 12th place.
The Alpine racers faced variable conditions all day. This was no more evident than during the women’s race, on the second run, when three of the top five finishers from first run crashed out on the same turn – all losing a ski on a rut. That allowed Klomhaus who smoked the Bridger bowl course with a run through the tough course. Klomhause was as smooth as butter on her runs and her teammates garnered valuable team points as well. DU was seeded earlier in the runs and benefitted as the snow began to deteriorate for the later racers.
Best news of all, DU held the defending national champions, the Utah Utes, in check. The solid day by DU racers was not unexpected as the Alpine events are Denver’s best disciplines. Here are the standings.
Team Standing:
1. DU – 172
2. Utah – 152
3. Middlebury – 115
4. Montana State – 98
5. New Hampshire & Westminster College (Utah) – 86
Nordic racing gets underway Thursday with the freestyle races, a 5K interval start for the women at 10 a.m. (MT) and a 10K men’s race set for noon (MT). If Denver can pick up some valuable points on Thursday, they can position themselves for a serious title run over the final two days.
I can’t wait to see how things turn out tomorrow. Look for my updates during the day on Twitter (Tim Healy@609Healy) and an end-of-day write up on LetsGoDU.
Go, Pioneers! Let’s make it #25.
Photos: Courtesy Denver Athletics
Healy updates are the best
Wow, what a first day! Congrats…not only to the 2 national champions, but to the teammates for turning in solid races on a tough course. Go DU!
DU three for three in event titles, with Piippo’s championship in the women’s race! Unfortunately, other 2 DU women got minimal points–hopefully all 3 men’s nordic skiers finish solid today, as we’re gonna need consistent results to stay close to Utah in the team standings.