Featured Image: Winner, Mikkel Solbakken of University of Utah. Credit: C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via University of Denver Athletics)

The alpine ski races kicked off the 2024 NCAA Championships in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The University of Colorado is the host of this year’s prestigious event. There was no doubt that all of the athletes were exerting their utmost effort, attacking through every section to achieve the top position for their team.

The University of Utah ended the day dominating on the men’s side, standing on the first and second steps of the podium. For the women, the University of Colorado achieved the top two results.

The competitive day had advantageous conditions where the athletes could attack both courses. However, the racers needed to be light on their edges and not overski the Colorado snow.

In both the fields, 34 racers began the competition. The field sizes were small but had the top collegiate skiers competing for victory.

The Men 

After two tight races, Mikkel Solbakken and Sindre Myklebust from the University of Utah completed the day in 1st and 2nd place. The teammates were only +0.07 off of each other.

JJ Johnson, the Head coach for the University of Utah, stated, “Mikkel did the same thing he’s always done. It’s unbelievable. Sindre wasn’t in the conversation (for NCAAs) a month ago, and he’s been trending upward. His personality, how he’s been as a teammate, and how he looks at courses—for him to do that today was incredible.”

Solbakken stated, “I think we all prepared really good. The whole team has been preparing for this moment, and mentally, I knew I could ski fast on this hill, and It was nice to see that I could pull it off on this hill.”

Solbakken came out of the start, gunning for another NCAA Championship title. He was dominant on this hill at the 2024 Spencer James Memorial race and knew what he had to do to be successful.

He threw down a fast first run time but finished only ahead by -0.01 over University of Colorado athlete Etienne Mazellier. Solbakken remained confident and composed in the second run, attacking from gate to gate. He expanded his lead by only 6-hundredths more but managed the victory.

His teammate, Myklebust, was +0.37 behind the lead after the first run, so he needed to put down a fast time to move up on the leaderboard. He executed a second run-winning time, which awarded him 2nd place overall. It was his top finish this season and his second time on the podium in the 2024 University races.

University of Denver athlete Christian Oliveira Soevik rounded out the giant slalom podium. The DU athlete set himself up to be in contingency for a top result after the first run, sitting in 4th place heading into the afternoon race. He put together two consistently fast runs, which earned him the 3rd-place result.

The Utes were the only team with more than one racer in the top 10. The RMISA had six men in the top 10, and the EISA had four.

The Women

The women’s competition was thrilling, and the women had to really charge to come across the finish on the leaderboard. Magdalena Luczak of the University of Colorado dominated the field, finishing -1.18 ahead.

Luczek stated, “We took matters into our own hands,” she continued, “I’m happy for the whole team, we had some really good runs today. I felt good today, I had two solid runs. I’ve felt really good on skis the past few weeks.”

Her teammate Denise Dingsleder tied for second place with Madison Hoffman from the University of Utah. After the first run, Dingsleder was in 2nd place, but she could not hold back if she wanted to maintain her podium result.

“I’m super proud of DD (Dingsleder). Being in the start with her (as the final two racers to compete in the final run) was the best I could’ve asked for,” Luczek stated.

Dignsleder added, “We did it together.”

The Ute, Madison Hoffman, was a two-time winner at the 2023 NCAA Championships and was looking to achieve it again. She stated her goals for this season before the competition, “I wanted to continue and keep the ball rolling.”

The University of Denver had three women in the top 10, the most out of any team. Liv Moritz was the top DU athlete, earning 5th place. Nora Brand ended in 7th, and Sara Rask achieved a 9th-place result.

The Denver Alpine Head Coach Joonas Rasanen stated, “Liv with a top five and was the youngest racer in the field and the best American, so that’s a big thing for the program,” He continued, “Nora had a blazing second run, and Sara was just a little off her normal best. Overall, we have the field where we want them on the women’s side.”

Overall, it was an excellent first day of racing for the NCAA Championships. The University of Utah came out on top with 154.5 points, the University of Colorado ended the day in 2nd with 137.5, and the University of Denver had 133 points.

The Nordic side kicks off today with a 7.5K freestyle interval race and the alpine racing resumes on Friday at Howelsen Hill for the slalom event.