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The U ski team endured harsh conditions to capture a number of top-10 finishes and claim a second-place finish at last week’s Colorado Invitational.
“Overall, I’m very happy with our second-place overall finish,” said Kevin Sweeney, director of skiing. “I think we continued to really build as a team. What stands out for me is two things: I’ve got my returning athletes scoring well. Some of our new recruits are skiing exceptionally well.”
On day one, the team had a good showing in the women’s 5-km freestyle, as all five Utah skiers finished in the top-15 with Veronika Mayerhofer and Sloan Storey finishing in third and sixth, respectively.
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On the men’s side, Niklas Persson placed fifth in the 10-km freestyle, with Nick Hendrickson finishing just behind him in sixth. Kevin Bolger grabbed Utah’s final top-10 spot, placing ninth.
Mayerhofer earned her first career first-place finish on day two of the competition, winning the 15-km classic race for her third podium finish of the year.
“The skies were awesome,” she said. “It’s a really important part of classic skiing.”
The men’s side also had a successful day, as Persson notched a podium finish in the 20-km race. Noe Bellet came in sixth, and Bolger followed up with a seventh place finish. Utah had three others finish in the top-20.
Even with the team’s strong second day, Sweeney said the team must continue to focus on skiing more consistently.
“You’ve got some real intersquad building going on behind the scenes,” Sweeney said. “I’m just trying to encourage this men’s group to stay tight and continue to build. We’ve got to continue to be a solid group.”
Chloe Fausa took first in the giant slalom on day three of the event, and she wasn’t alone on the podium. Teammate Kristiina Rove joined Fausa on the medal stand following a third-place finish. Utah also had skiers finish 12th, 14th and 22nd in the event.
The men didn’t capture any podium finishes in the giant slalom, but they did score three athletes in the top-15. Andy Trow and Joergen Brath tied for eighth place, which were the highest Utah finishes of the day.
Sweeney said he was pleased with both Trow’s and Joergen’s improvement from the team’s previous invitational.
For the most part Sweeney has not been surprised by the team’s performances at this point in the season. He was a little surprised, however, that his team scored a second-place finish in Colorado. Sweeney said the fact the team is skiing for each other and not just focusing on the individual aspect of skiing has helped.
The Utes will take a short break before traveling to New Mexico for an invitational starting on Friday.
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