NCAA: Reisshauer, Grevsgaard win classic races

By Published On: January 21st, 2007Comments Off on NCAA: Reisshauer, Grevsgaard win classic races

BOZEMAN, Mont. — Denver’s Rene Reisshauer and Maria Grevsgaard of Colorado posted cross-country wins Saturday as the Montana State Invitational moved closer to crowning a champion.
BOZEMAN, Mont. — Denver’s Rene Reisshauer and Maria Grevsgaard of Colorado posted cross-country wins Saturday as the Montana State Invitational moved closer to crowning a champion.
    The meet began two weeks ago with alpine slalom races, but bad weather forced the postponement of the giant slalom races at Big Sky, Montana. The GS races will be run Feb. 4 at Eldora Mountain Resort, near Boulder, Colorado, following the conclusion of the University of Denver meet the previous weekend at Winter Park.
    Short of a monumental collapse in the GS, Colorado will win the Montana State Invitational. The Buffaloes have compiled 449.5 points through six events, with Denver second at 396 and Utah third with 359.5. Alaska-Anchorage is fourth with 344.5 points.
    DU’s Reisshauer won his second straight NCAA classic event in the men’s 20 km race Saturday, finishing in 1 hour, 6 minutes, 38 seconds. Utah’s Snorri Einarsson was second (1:06.43) and Matt Gelso of Colorado third (1:06.53). Denver placed four racers in the top 11 to win the event as a team.
    “The Nordic team continues to be strong on the men’s side. With finishing one point behind CU [Friday] and winning today, we know we are on the right track toward the NCAA championships," said Wolf Wallendorf, DU's head Nordic coach. “We know that we need to improve on the women’s side to make things happen, but everybody is feeling better and better.”
    In the women’s 10 km classic, Grevsgaard again posted a dominant victory, skiing the course in a time of 53:09.12, just under 54 seconds ahead of Alaska’s Kasandra Rice (54:03.02). CU’s Kristin Ronnestrand was third and Utah’s Sara Schweiger fourth.
    Colorado won the women’s Nordic team race over Montana State.
    The win was Grevsgaard’s third win in four races this season, all by wide margins, as she added the classic win to her freestyle triumph on Friday. The junior has four career NCAA wins.
    “I felt I trained well last summer when I was home in Norway, and then again with the team in Boulder in the fall,” Grevsgaard said. “So I think it really has to do with the training and conditioning, and a goal I have of wanting to ski fast.  I had a good year last year, but I want to do better.  I feel the training I put in has enabled me to ski fast and with a lot of energy to where I still have something left at the finish line.”
    Colorado is seeking its sixth straight meet win (spread over two seasons), which would tie a school record established in 1995. The western record for consecutive wins is 11, set by Utah over the 1988-89 seasons, followed by two Denver streaks, eight (2005-06) and seven (2001-02).

    Montana State Invitational team scores — 1. Colorado 449.5;  2. Denver 396;  3. Utah 359.5;  4. Alaska-Anchorage 344.5;  5. Montana State 309.5;  6. Nevada 299;  7. New Mexico 289;  8. Western State 188;  9. Whitman 117;  10. Wyoming 27.
     Men’s 20 km classical — 1. Rene Reisshauer, Denver, 1:06:38.34;  2. Snorri Einarsson, Utah, 1:06:43.22;  3. Matt Gelso, Colorado, 1:06:53.87;  4. Raphael Wunderle, Alaska-Anchorage, 1:07:13.40;  5. Fabian Figi, Utah, 1:07:15.30;  6. John Stene, Denver, 1:07:16.45;  7. Havard Selseng, Denver, 1:07:19.27;  8. Lutz Preussler, Nevada, 1:07:20.96;  9. Andy Liebner, Alaska-Anchorage, 1:01:21.90;  10. Kit Richmond, Colorado, 1:07:27.44.
    Women’s 10 km classical — 1. Maria Grevsgaard, Colorado, 53:09.12;  2. Kasandra Rice, Alaska-Anchorage, 54:03.02;  3. Kristin Ronnestrand, Colorado, 54:42.36;  4. Sara Schweiger, Utah, 54:54.48;  5. Polina Ermoshina, New Mexico, 54:59.86; 6. Annelise Bailly, Denver, 55:31.69;  7. Jamie Woelk, Montana State, 55:51.31;  3. Claire Rennie, Montana State, 56:02.23;  9. Brittany Greer, Alaska-Anchorage, 56:05.50;  10. Mia Gaw, Colorado, 56:13.95.

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