|
|
Utah is optimistic to ski to its 11th national championship this season.
|
March 3, 2003
THIS WEEK:
The NCAA Skiing Committee recently selected the 74 men and 74 women that will participate in the 2003 National Collegiate Men's and Women's Skiing Championships. The events will be held March 5-8 at Dartmouth Skiway and Silver Fox Trails in Hanover, N.H. Dartmouth College will serve as host of this year's championships.
LAST WEEK:
Utah finally ended its streak of second-place podium spots, after taking first in the RMISA Regional Championships, in Winter Park, Colo., Feb 23-24. In the final day of the events, Utah was able to score top 10 finishes in each discipline. The Utes finished with an overall point total of 581, beating out rivals Colorado (563) and Denver (541.5).
Skiers from both the alpine and nordic teams came away with best-ever finishes. On the alpine side, sophomore Rowena Bright placed second in the giant slalom, marking her best college finish this season. Benjamin Thornhill also finished with an impressive third-place finish to lead the men's squad.
The cross country team had its share of success in both the freestyle and classical events. Junior Katrin Smigun still remains unbeaten, skiing to another first-place finish in both the FS and CL races. Sara Svendsen finished the CL event with a solid second-place effort. The men's nordic team was piloted by freshman Jess Kiesel's fourth-place finish. This noteworthy finish marked his best-ever college result.
NCAA QUALIFIERS:
Men's Alpine: Pierre Olsson, Jernej Bukovec and Benjamin Thornhill
(Alternate: Josh Whitham)
Women's Alpine: Lina Johansson, Petra Svet and Rowena Bright
(Alternate: Elisha Stephens)
Men's Nordic: Zack Simons, Ryan Quinn and Jess Kiesel
(Alternate: Torin Koos and Tony Bozzio)
Women's Nordic: Katrin Smigun, Sara Svendsen and Barbro Hatlevik
(Alternate: Ashley McQueen, Anna Sprague and Kjersti Veum)
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS SELECTION CRITERIA:
Participants are selected on a regional basis from two designated regions for Alpine skiing (East and West regions), and three designated regions for Nordic skiing (Central, East and West regions). Bids are awarded to regions using a formula determined by the skiing committee. A maximum of 12 student-athletes (three per gender per discipline) may participate from an institution.
RANKED UTES:
Alpine Teams Overall GS SL Pierre Olsson 2nd 1st 8th Jernej Bukovec 8th 5th 7th Benjamin Thornhill 10th 6th 17th Lina Johansson 2nd 1st 8th Petra Svet 6th 4th 10th Rowena Bright 11th 7th 11thNordic Teams Overall FS CL Zack Simons 3rd 3rd 4th Ryan Quinn 5th 4th 9th Jess Kiesel 6th 13th 3rd Katrin Smigun 1st 1st 1st Sara Svendsen 3rd 4th 2nd Barbro Hatlevik 13th 11th 11th
NORDIC NCAA SCHEDULE:
The 5/10 km freestyle event will be skied Wednesday, March 5, while the 15/20 km classic race will be skied Friday, March 7. These races will be skied at Silver Fox Trails.
Men's 10 km FS: (9:00 a.m.-6:30 p.m.) Women's 5 km FS: (10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.) Women's 15 km CL: (9:00 a.m.-10:15 a.m.) Men's 20 km CL: (10:30 a.m.-11:15 a.m.)
ALPINE NCAA SCHEDULE:
The giant slalom event will be skied Thursday, March 6, while the slalom race will be skied Saturday, March 8. These events will be skied at Dartmouth Skiway.
Men's GS: (9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.) Women's GS: (11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.) Men's SL: (9:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.) Women's SL: (10:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m.)
|
|
 |
