The Utah ski team went into the NCAA Championships in Middlebury, Vt., with the goal of taking home the title. While the Utes came up short, finishing second, they jumped two teams on the final day and finished only behind Colorado.
Going into the final day of competition, Utah was sitting in fourth place in the team standings. As a team that entered the championships expecting to compete for the title, it was time to step up. The final race of the day, the Nordic freestyle, became a memorable one for the Utes.
Miles Havlick won his second career national title, and teammates Einar Ulsund and Niklas Persson finished in the top five to give Utah a total of 186 points for the day. While Havlick was worried about his own performance, it was the team effort that made the day.
“This year was different than last year, but every bit as rewarding,” Havlick said. “Going 1, 3, 5 [places] in that race was remarkable. I will never forget the smiles on everyone’s faces after that race.”
Head Nordic coach Abi Holt felt similarly about the race.
“That race will definitely go down as one of my top coaching memories,” Holt said. “Watching Miles defend his title and then turn around and see his teammates finishing right behind him was an amazing experience for every Ute who saw the race. We were all overwhelmed by that performance.”
Adding to podium finishes for Utah was Jeremy Elliot, who finished second in the men’s giant slalom. Elliot came out of the gates quickly, as he posted the fastest time among first runs. Elliot was unable to sustain that lead, but still held on to tie for second.
“I definitely could have won the race if I had not made a mistake on my second run,” Elliot said. “I was disappointed at first, but that soon turned to happiness once it settled in that I had just become an NCAA First Team All-American.”
On the women’s side, there were many top 10 finishes for Utah. In their NCAA Championships debuts, Kristiina Rove and Ana Kobal finished in fourth and sixth places in the giant slalom, respectively. Kobal also grabbed fifth place in the slalom. Sloan Storey finished fifth in the classical race while teammates Anna Svendsen and Rose Kemp finished in 10th and 11th places, respectively. Kemp also finished in ninth place in the freestyle race.
While the championships are the main focus of the year, there is still some racing to be done for these Utes. Both the alpine and Nordic teams will compete in the Spring Series in Truckee, Calif., and the alpine team will compete in the U.S. Nationals as well.
“We all took a breather last week during Spring Break, but this week we will be back to normal team training,” Holt said. “To be honest, I don’t even remember what free time feels like.”