Tefre, Smart take NCAA slalom crowns

By Published On: March 13th, 2021Comments Off on Tefre, Smart take NCAA slalom crowns

Day 3 of the 2021 NCAA Championships was slalom day, or, what CU coach Richard Rokos calls, “the great equalizer.” The script can rewrite itself in an eye blink, with a hooked tip, a straddle, a rogue rut. Anything can happen to anyone, even in perfect conditions, and the reverse 30 second running order can foster huge moves up the rankings from athletes deep inside the flip. 

Add in: the pressure each athlete feels to finish and thereby earn team points; an event with a high attrition rate even on a good day; and a challenging sun-cupped surface brought to you by Mother Nature, and you’ve got yourself an icy roulette wheel. At the NCAA champs, “that’s 12 times a day my heart rate goes to 200,” explains Rokos. For one team to complete its full 12 runs of slalom without a major incident requires a minor miracle.

That miracle would not happen for any team Friday.

The NCAA Championships are not FIS-sanctioned events, and the rules allow athletes to finish even if it means putting on a lost ski. Finishing—even a minute or more off the pace—means getting precious points for your team. Hiking becomes an event in itself, a matter of honor, with or without a title at stake. It’s not just that you can hike. It’s that nobody will let you not hike. The moment an athlete falters, coaches, course workers and teammates—even from as far away as the finish—lend their collective voices to will them back up the hill as fast as possible.

The men opened the day, with Colorado junior Filip Forejtek starting first and setting the pace at 43.38. With Racer No. 2, the hiking began. Eleven of the 33 men would hike, some of them twice, as nerves and deteriorating course conditions took their tolls. Forejtek’s run would not be touched. UVM sophomore Mathias Tefre recovered from a small mistake on the top section and finished second, .79 behind, while UNH sophomore Marius Solbakken (brother of GS winner Mikkel Solbakken) skied to third, 1.53 off the pace. Montana’s Aage Sohlheim and UVM’s David Frisk tied for fourth place.

In the women’s first run, Denver senior Amelia Smart, who won the NCAA SL and GS titles as a freshman in 2018, showed her World Cup chops posting the fastest time of 48.95, 1.21 ahead of teammate Reece Bell. Westminster’s Julia Toiviainen, fourth in the GS, was .18 behind Bell in third, while UVM teammates Justine Clement and Francesca English landed in forth and fifth respectively.

Conditions for the second run were even more challenging, as springtime temps and a brisk wind proved difficult to tame. A bit warmer and salt would have worked its magic; a bit colder and the surface would have locked up harder. Instead, the surface was “super groovy,” for both men and women, demanding loose, strong skiing especially on the top section.

GS winner Mikkel Solbakken, the fastest of the morning hikers, laid down the fastest time on the second run. Tefre told his coach Bill Reichelt between runs that he was going to win, and he delivered. With a loose, aggressive run Tefre finished just .06 ahead of Forejtek, who articulated what makes NCAA skiing so difficult. “I focused on finishing, which makes me ski a bit more defensive, more cautious,” said the 2018 Czech Olympian, who was nonetheless pleased with his result. “That’s what we all need to do here at NCAAs. We need all the points.”

The three next finishers all made big second run jumps to earn First Team All American honors Denver’s Simon Fournier jumped from 8th to third, Utah’s Joachim Lein from 11th to 4th, and Montana’s Louis Muhlen-Schulte from 9th to 5th place.

Saint Lawrence sophomore Tommy Kenosh was all smiles in the finish, happy to not only survive the rough course, but to finish in 6th. Kenosh was the sole American male to earn All American honors in the Alpine events.

In the women’s afternoon rodeo, Montana’s Tegan Wold followed up her epic hiking skills in Run 1 by recording the fastest second run. For the overall, however, Smart would not be denied. “I had no plans to ski conservatively, even with a lead because anything can happen. My plan was just to ski as aggressively as I could.” The plan worked, and Smart skied fast and solid, finishing a full two seconds ahead of UVM freshman Justine Clement, who moved from forth place to second. Toiviainen held on to third while GS runner-up Stef Fleckenstein moved up from seventh to fourth. Reece Bell rounded out the top five, the one American among the First Team All Americans.

Other American’s earning All American honors on the day were Francesca English in eighth place and Utah junior Katie Vesterstein in 10th.

Denver coach Andy Leroy echoed the gratitude expressed by coaches and athletes at getting to this season finale. “It was impressive the college circuit got off so well this year. I was not expecting to have this full of a season,” said Leroy, who had many athletes competing full time across two continents while keeping up with their academics. “The athletes have gone above and beyond.”

Denver won the slalom with 88 points to UVM’s 83 and Colorado’s 64. Denver also won the alpine portion of the championships with 250 points to UVM’s 242 and CU’s 240. None of these efforts have so far been enough to unseat defending champion Utah, which leads the championships with 383 points to CU’s 373.5 going into the final day of Nordic competition.

For all the stats to this point, and full results click here.

Men’s Slalom All Americans

First-Team

1 Mathias Tefre, Vermont, So
2 Filip Forejtek, Colorado, Jr
3 Simon Fournier, Denver, Jr
4 Joachim Lein, Utah, Sr
5 Louis Muhlen-Schulte, Montana St. Jr

Second-Team

6 Tommy Kenosh, St. Lawrence, So
7 Age Solheim, Montana State, Jr
8 Will Bruneau-Bouchard, UNH, Sr
9 Hunter Watson, Plymouth State, So
10 David Frisk, Vermont, Sr

Women’s Slalom All Americans

First-Team

1 Amelia Smart, Denver, Sr
2 Justine Clement, Vermont, Fr
3 Julia Toiviainen, Westminster, So
4 Stef Fleckenstein, Colorado, Jr
5 Reece Bell, Denver, So

Second-Team

6 Rebecca Fiegl, Alaska Anchorage, Sr
7 Josephine Selvaag, Vermont, Sr
8 Francesca English, Vermont, Sr
9 Kristiane Bekkestad, Montana St. Fr
10 Katie Vesterstein, Utah, Jr

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About the Author: Edie Thys Morgan

Former U.S. Ski Team downhill racer Edie Thys Morgan started her writing career at Ski Racing with the column Racer eX. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband, Chan, and their RacerNext boys.