Featured Image: Liv Moritz competing in the Westminster University Invitational. Credit: Utah Athletics
The Westminster University Invitational and University of Utah Invitational at Spencer F. Eccles Olympic Mountain Center, Utah Olympic Park (January 17th-20th) marked the inaugural RMISA invitationals. It was an exciting series with the men and women competing in slalom and giant slalom on a brand-new race hill.
The last two days of racing unveiled stiff competition in Alpine and Nordic disciplines, which made it one of, if not the closest-scored RMISA meet in recent history. The athletes were insistent on reaching the finish line on the leaderboard, displaying an abundance of determination on the hill.
The athletes faced relatively more favorable conditions during the two days of giant slalom in comparison to the slalom event. While there was no snow during the GS races, they did have to contend with some flat light conditions. The athletes were ready to get after it and finish the series strong.
Women’s Giant Slaloms
The university women were eager to attack their first giant slalom races of the RMISA season. There was an exhilarating showdown between Liv Moritz, University of Denver (DU), and Hannah Saethereng, Westminster University, for the top of the podium.
On the first day, senior Saethereng won the first run by a solid lead ahead of Sara Rask from the University of Denver. Starting 30th on the second run, she did not gain the speed needed to catch the 2nd run leader, Kaja Norbye of the University of Utah. Nevertheless, her combined time (2:09.20) was enough to clinch the 1st-place position for the day.
Liv Moritz ended the day achieving 2nd place, and Evelina Fredricsson of Westminster University rounded out the podium. This victory was Saethereng’s second win on the university circuit.
In the second GS race, Saethereng was looking to bring her winning momentum to achieve another victory. However, Liv Moritz ignited a fire when she was barely beaten by Saethereng the day prior. With Moritz’s eagerness to push for the top, she ended the first run in 3rd position, +0.09 off Justine Lamontagne’s winning first run time.
In the second run, Lamontagne did not finish, and Moritz was able to throw down a solid time that put her into first. Hannah Saethereng ended the day with a 2nd-place finish, and Evelina Fredricsson achieved third.
It was Moritz’s first college win, which unveiled her impressive all-round athletic capabilities. Besides successfully skiing for the University of Denver (DU), she competes for the Stifel US Ski Team and plays varsity soccer for DU. She is dedicated and loves both sports equally.
She enjoys the team aspect of skiing collegiately. She stated at the beginning of the season, “The team aspect. Everything in skiing is so individual until you join a college team. So on a college team, rooting for your teammates and celebrating their wins is much easier, which I know will be super fun.”
Nora Brand, skiing for the University of Denver, won the first day of slalom by -0.88. She continued to ski very well, earning 4th place on the second day, 7th place on the first giant slalom day, and 11th place in the last race.
Men’s Giant Slaloms
After two successful slalom days, the men were excited to transition into GS mode. The races were exciting, with aggressive panel-to-panel skiing and close competition. Two men who had stand-out performances in the GS races, achieving podiums on both days, were Gianluca Böhm, Montana State University, and Leon Nikic, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Gianluca Böhm boosted his confidence in the slalom races, earning 4th and 2nd place. When he changed to giant slalom, he revealed that he had more left in the tank. In the first run of the giant slalom event, Böhm wore bib-1, setting a pace that proved challenging to beat. He had a 0.53 lead heading into the second run, so when he lost time on the second run, his overall time was still enough for victory.
The 2023 NCAA West Regional Champion in giant slalom, Leon Nikic, was gunning for a victory. He started the invitational with a lights-out performance in the slalom, earning himself a 2nd-place result. Unfortunately, he did not finish the second day of slalom but was in contingency for a podium after his first run.
He brought that momentum into his GS races, which paid off. After attacking all four runs, he achieved two 2nd-place results. The highlight was his first run on the second day, setting the lead by .67 heading into the second run.
He stated on social media before the invitational, “Happy to put in the work. Grateful for everyone that’s supporting.”
University of Colorado Freshman Ryder Sarchett had an outstanding giant slalom performance. On the first day, he wore bib-36 and attacked his way into 7th place, but he wanted to make an even stronger first impression. On the last day of the invitational, Sarchett was aggressive from beginning to end on both runs, achieving his first win on the college circuit.
Sarchett skied for the Stifel US Ski Team for several years before becoming a CU Buffalo. He is a decorated athlete and will be someone to continue to watch throughout the NCAA season.
Teammate Filip Wahlqvist, the back-to-back winner in the slaloms, also unveiled his fast skiing in the GS races. He took his winning high from the slaloms to achieve a 3rd-place finish on the first GS day. Then, during the second race, he earned a commendable 4th place, merely +0.05 off the podium. The Norwegian will be striving for more podiums through the 2024 season.
Overall, the inaugural RMISA invitationals in Utah were a success. Utah finished in first with 579 points, University of Denver in a close second with 557 points, Montana State University (536), University of Colorado (525) and University of Alaska Anchorage (511). There is a lot of great collegiate racing left as the teams will fight to contend in NCAA Championships.
The next RMISA Invitational will be hosted by University of Colorado in Steamboat Springs, Colorado on February 2nd and 3rd. February 2nd the athletes will compete at Mt. Werner in giant slalom and on the 3rd the fields with move to Howelsen Hill for night slaloms.
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About the Author: Ellie Hartman
