Norbye leads DU Pioneers in UAA Invitational

By Published On: January 30th, 2017Comments Off on Norbye leads DU Pioneers in UAA Invitational

Although the schedule of the University of Alaska – Anchorage (UAA) Invitational changed due to heavy rain on Thursday, RMISA athletes were able to complete the event. The University of Denver’s (DU) Tuva Norbye was unbeatable through the final two days of the Alaskan trip, and with her stellar performance, she helped put the University of Denver narrowly in the lead after the alpine portion of the event.

The Invitational’s slalom races started Friday afternoon directly after the Seawolf Invitational slalom and ended in the early evening. The snow conditions were unfavorable, and the course would only deteriorate as the race carried on. Norbye ran first in the women’s race and seized the opportunity. The Pioneer was able to separate herself from the rest of the field by nearly a second, and to make it a little easier for her, the second and third place finishers from the first run failed to finish the second.

She was able to hang on and although she placed seventh in the second run, she won the race with a combined time of 1:37.35,  2.30 seconds ahead of second place finisher Sydney Staples from the University of New Mexico (UNM). The University of Utah’s (UU) Julie Flo Mohagen finished third, 2.42 seconds back. This was the first NCAA podium finish for Staples, and the ninth for Mohagen.

On the men’s side, the University of Colorado’s (CU) David Ketterer found himself back on top of the podium after a second-place finish earlier in the day during the Seawolf Invitational–his worst finish in an invitational slalom this season. He won with a combined time of 1:37.49. Ketterer is coming off of his first ever World Cup starts; he traveled to Austria a week earlier to compete in the Kitzbuehel and Schladming slalom races.

Ketterer has tied a CU school record with four slalom wins this season and at the RMISA Regional Championship, he will have a chance to break it.

“I’m really happy with how the season is going so far, but I’m not looking for any records,” Ketterer said. “I’m just skiing from race to race and from run to run and just trying to keep it going.”

In second place was Vegard Busengdal from the University of New Mexico, 0.50 seconds behind. Endre Bjertness finished third, 0.78 seconds back.

The very next day Norbye was lucky enough to start second, and she once again gave herself some breathing room for the second run. Norbye won the first run by 0.97 seconds over CU’s Tonje Healy Trulsrud, who ran first. Norbye was able to hold onto the lead in the second run and won the event with a combined time of 1:36.23. At then end of the day, she was followed by her teammate, Kristine Fausa Aasberg in second place.

Norbye said that she had a solid block of training in Colorado before flying to Alaska for the Invitationals, and she noted that running early in both races was definitely an advantage.

“I am skiing pretty well right now and also I am pretty good with challenging conditions,” Norbye said of her achievement.

Aasberg finished 0.71 seconds back, and in third was UNM’s Karoline Myklebust, 0.95 seconds off the pace.

It has not been very easy for Aasberg this season. Before Saturday, she was running a tab of six consecutive non-finishing results. All in all, she has finished four Invitational races, and she has been on the podium in two of them.

Sam Dupratt won his second race of the season in the men’s GS with a combined time of 1:33.20. Busengdal finished 0.19 seconds behind for second, and in third was CU’s Max Lukko, 0.33 seconds behind. Busengdal now has five podium finishes, but has yet to claim a win.

Although Norbye dominated throughout the two-day event, the University of Denver with 319 points just barely edged out the University of Utah, who compiled 318 points. Dupratt’s win helped the Utes significantly although they relied consistent skiing throughout the weekend; they garnered eight top ten finishes. The University of New Mexico sits in third with 307 points.

The nordic portions of the Seawolf and UAA Invitationals take place from Feb. 7-12. Complete results for the both series can be found here.

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About the Author: Chris Keating

Chris Keating grew up in Vermont and skied at Boston College where he served as captain during his senior year. He is currently a staff writer at The Valley Reporter in Waitsfield, Vt., and will be covering the NCAA and NorAm circuits for SkiRacing.com this winter.