New Mexico edges in front of Utah, Denver after Day 3 at NCAA's

New Mexico edges in front of Utah, Denver after Day 3 at NCAA’s{mosimage}New Mexico moved ahead of second-day leader Denver as the team race tightened through the third day of the NCAA Skiing Championships at the Sugar Bowl Ski Resort with the second day of alpine events.

New Mexico has 488 points, 30.5 in front of Utah, which also slipped past Denver with 457.5 points to the Pioneers’ 455. Vermont was in fourth with 423 and Middlebury was fifth with 396.5. Nevada was in ninth with 258 points.

The Lobos will head to Auburn Ski Club and Saturday’s final event, the women’s 15km classical and men’s 20km classical cross-country races in search of a national title.

Friday’s highlights included Dartmouth’s Paul McDonald edging Nevada’s Michal Rajcan in the men’s slalom, 1:14.09 to 1:14.22. Rajcan led after the first run with a time of 36.82 while McDonald was fourth in 37.40 but a great second run by McDonald clinched the win. Lars Loeseth of New Mexico was third and Roger Brown of Dartmouth.

Winning the women’s slalom was Pia Rivelsrud of Denver in 1:22.80. Finishing second was Courtney Calise of Dartmouth in 1:23.40 and in third was Barbara Knor of Denver in 1:24.01, with Jessica Smith of Middlebury in fourth.

For Nevada, Rajcan, a sophomore from Slovakia, earned his second top-three finish and All-America status by finishing in the top eight.

Conditions were sunny and warm as they have been all week in the Truckee Meadows with light wind in the morning. By afternoon, the temperatures were even warmer — great for spectators and recreational skiers, but not ideal for ski racing.

The four-day championships conclude Saturday at Auburn Ski Club with the men’s 20km classical and the women’s 15km classical, starting at 9 a.m.

Day Three Team Scores
(after six events)
1. New Mexico 488
2. Utah 457.5
3. Denver 455
4.Vermont 423
5. Middlebury 396.5
6. Dartmouth 363
7. Colorado 357.5
8. Alaska Anchorage 319
9. Nevada 258
10. Colby 210.5
11. Williams 164
12. Alaska-Fairbanks, 132
13. New Hampshire 130
14. Montana State 95
15. Western State 83
16. Northern Michigan 77
17. Boise State 67
18. Whitman 62
19. Bates 18
20. Harvard 17
21. Michigan Tech 2
22. UW-Green Bay 1