Featured Image: Sara Rask of DU racing at the University of Utah Invitational. Credit: Utah Athletics
The alpine portion of the RMISA Qualifier and Utah Invitational took place last weekend at the Utah Olympic Park in Park City, Utah. Weather conditions made it necessary for the race officials to change the schedule in order to ensure a fair and safe event.
They successfully executed three solid days of racing for both fields. On February 8th, the student-athletes competed in the RMISA qualifier giant slalom. Then on the 9th and 10th, the fields battled in the University of Utah Invitational, starting with giant slalom and moving into slalom to conclude the series.
The athletes skied hard and aimed for the top step of the podium before the RMISA Championships in Alyeska on February 20th and 21st.
Five different athletes came out of the races victorious, but the University of Colorado athletes concluded with the most wins.
Buffalo Victories
During the three days of racing, the University of Colorado Buffaloes stampeded away with five victories, only missing the win in the women’s slalom race.
In the giant slalom races, Louison Accambray achieved dominant consecutive first-place wins in both the women’s RMISA Qualifier and the Utah Invitational. The freshman had already shown that she was a force to be reckoned with when she won her first University GS race at the DU Invitational.
After achieving triumphant results at the 2025 World University Games, Accambray had even more confidence coming back to compete in the collegiate circuit nationally.
She stated at the World University Games that, “Moving there [Boulder, CO, University of Colorado], I decided to prioritize myself and the opportunity to find my passion again. And that’s what happened. When you’re happy, the results will come.”
For the men, three Buffaloes were triumphant. Louis Gustav Fausa won the first day of GS, while Etienne Mazellier won the second day.
For Fausa, this win marked his 2nd victory on the circuit, and his 2nd-place result on the second day of GS was his sixth podium finish. For his teammate, Mazellier, this was his first victory of his college career. He even achieved it through dumping snow!
Filip Whalqvist clocked the fastest time in the slalom.
With his slalom victory, Filip Whalqvist not only claimed the win but also established a new school record, marking his eighth career victory and his sixth consecutive win in slalom events.
Whilqvist’s victory surpasses the previous school record of seven slalom wins. The Norwegian has been focused on achieving this goal since he became part of the team and aims for victory in every competition. He expressed, “I go into every race with the same mindset: send it and go for the win.”
Sara Rask’s Stellar Performance
After sending it on the initial slalom run, coming through with the fastest time, University of Denver athlete Sara Rask was ready to fight to maintain a victory result.
She lost a little time on the “tricky” second course set but was able to conclude +0.20 ahead of the field. Rask is proving to be unstoppable in the discipline, as this was the Swede’s fourth win of the season.
Rask stated, “I am very happy with my skiing, and I am excited to build on that.”
Her primary goal this season is to achieve her best at NCAA Championships and as a team. “We [DU Team] are excited to keep improving and build off each other to have a really strong National Championship,” Rask explained.
On top of her stellar victory in the slalom, Rask had already earned two 2nd-place results in the GS races. Overall, the Pioneer was the top-performing athlete of the event.
The Home Team’s Top-Performing Highlights
On the home hill, Kaja Norbye, competing for the University of Utah, achieved two podium finishes. On the first day of GS, she found herself off the podium but in the top 10, achieving a solid 7th-place result.
The following day in the GS, she ignited her performance with two impressive runs, securing a spot on the podium just +0.09 seconds behind Rask. On the final day, during the slalom, she battled through both runs and moved up to 2nd place, finishing two-tenths behind Rask.
Impressively, this marks the Ute’s 12th podium finish of her collegiate career.
Her teammate, Johs Bråthen Herland, also achieved two podium results in both GS and slalom. This marked the Ute’s first university slalom podium and second in giant slalom.
He has expressed excitement and gratitude about racing for the University of Utah. A highlight, he stated, was “having older teammates to look up to and learn from, both in skiing and life. It is a great environment to be in, and I believe we have the best team.
The series ended with the Buffaloes charging ahead. According to the RMISA regular season team standings, the CU Buffs head into the RMISA Championships with 673 points, Utah trails with 650 points, and Denver is in third with 631.5 points.
About the Author: Ellie Hartman
