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2003 NCAA Ski Championships Regional Previews: West

By Jamie Klund * University of Nevada

Utah came from third place at the halfway point of the two-day West regional to upset three-time defending NCAA champion Denver and defending regional champion Colorado at Winter Park, Colorado, last week.

The Utes tallied 314 points in the giant slalom and classical Nordic to overcome runner-up Colorado and third-place Denver. Utah finished with 581 points to Colorado's 563 and Denver's 539.5. It was the first Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Skiing Association title for the Utes, who showed depth and balance by scoring three top-10 finishers in all four disciplines (slalom, giant slalom, Nordic freestyle and Nordic classical).

"We had an exceptional day," said Utah coach Kevin Sweeney. "I'm very excited with the overall team's performance. It was great to see us scoring three athletes in the top 10 in every discipline. By doing that, we demonstrated we are a contender for the national title."

Utah placed three top-10 finishers in all four events Monday to score 314 points after scoring 267 Sunday in the slalom and freestyle Nordic events. In Monday's giant slalom, David Lamb of Denver posted the best-combined time with runs of 2:00.10, an eyelash ahead of teammate Dominik Schweiger at 2:00.22. Utah's Benjamin Thornhill was third in 2:01.15 and teammate Pierre Olsson was fourth in 2:01.18, while Jernej Bukovec was 10th in 2:02.02 to give the Utes three top-10 finishers again.

Sophie Ormond of Denver took the women's giant slalom in 2:05.07 but Utah had runner-up Rowena Bright in 2:06.05, along with Petra Svet fourth in 2:07.24, Lina Johansson in sixth with runs of 2:07.65 and 10th-place finisher Elisha Stephens in 2:09.19 for four top-10 placers.

In the Nordic events, Tobias Schworer of Alaska Anchorage won in 45:21.8. Utah managed fourth with Jess Kiesel in 46:26.6, sixth by Ryan Quinn in 46:57.0 and eighth by Zack Simons in 46:57.8 to score 75 points in the event.

Utah's Katrin Smigun won the women's 10-kilometer in 32:17.4 and teammate Sara Svendsen was second and Barbro Hatlevik was eighth to give the Utes three top 10 placers and 82 points.

Sunday's opening events, the slalom and freestyle Nordic races, ended with a virtual deadlock between Denver (290.5) and Colorado (290), though Utah was lurking right behind with a score of 267. Colorado had 163 Alpine points to lead Denver with 151.5 and Utah with 132. In the Nordic races, New Mexico held a slight lead over Denver with 142, while the Pioneers tallied 139 and Utah was right behind in third with 135 points.

The Utes took the top spot in the women's 5k freestyle with Smigun winning in 14:55.7 while teammates Hatlevik and Svendsen were eighth and 12th, respectively, but New Mexico took second and fifth and Colorado third and fifth for a close team battle in that event. Denver tallied 76 points in the event to 74 for New Mexico and 63 for Utah.

In the men's 10-k freestyle, New Mexico's Jimmy Vika won in 26:11.9 and the Lobos had third and 15th to score 68 points for second place. But Denver piled up 63 points with fourth, fifth and eighth to remain close while the Utes placed sixth, 10th and 14th for 72 points to score the most points in the event.

In the men's slalom, Ben Brown took medalist honors with two runs of 1:28.04 for Western State. Colorado had second, third and ninth to win the event with 79 points while Denver had fourth, sixth and seventh for 75.5 points. Nevada was third in the event with 63.5 points with a tie for fourth, plus the 12th, 13th and 14th-place finishers.

On the women's side, Sophie Ormond of Denver won in 1:28.03, but Colorado took second, third and fourth with Erika Hogan, Tove Pashkowski and Mia Cullman helping to pile up 84 points, eight more than Denver and 13 ahead of Utah.

Event schedule