University of Utah kicks off NCAA season with a win at MSU Invitational
The University of Utah started the 2022 RMISA NCAA circuit with a bang, winning the Montana State Invitational after a strong performance Tuesday and Wednesday. The races were hosted at Bridger Bowl and consisted of one GS and one slalom. Montana State University and Denver University finished the series ranked second and third, respectively.
Nellie Rose Talbot of MSU won the GS by 0.33 seconds, navigating some tricky conditions to capitalize at a familiar venue.
“Although the conditions in the GS race were variable and tough, I can’t think of anything better than starting the NCAA season at my home hill,” said Talbot. “It was a great start to the collegiate season. Everyone seemed focused and determined, resulting in a tight stacked race,” she said.
Westminster College’s Julia Toiviainen was just behind Talbot in second place, and Utah’s Madison Hoffman claimed the third step on the podium.
The slalom the following day was also won by a fairly slim margin. Katie Parker of the University of Utah put together two fifth-place runs for the fastest combined time of the day, beating Kristiane Bekkestad by 0.3 and DU’s Eleri Smart 0.46 seconds.
Parker is excited about the strength of her team, saying, “It was tough conditions today. You really had to fight because it wasn’t a good feeling for anybody I don’t think. I’m so excited about starting the college season and the Utes have a really strong team this year.”
The men
Filip Forejtek of CU won the GS on Tuesday. The top-five finishers were stacked within a second, with five schools represented: CU, DU, MSU and WM. His teammate, Louis Gustav Fausa finished in fifth.
“Well, I’m really excited about this season and looking forward to it. I think we have a strong team as Buffs and can do really well this year. I’m glad that I was able to win the first GS and I think we did pretty well as a team,” said Forejtek. “Considering conditions, the first half of the course is rough and the snow is soft there, but the second half is good and we can push there without limits as the base is hard.”
Utah’s Bjorn Brudevoll won the slalom. He was able to capitalize on a clean course first run to finish nearly a second ahead of his competition, but paired this with a 26th on the second run. He said, “I had a good bib in the first run and I was able to take advantage of that with some solid skiing. The conditions today was very soft and challenging, so when I started 30th in the second run, I kinda just wanted to get down without any big mistakes, since I had a pretty decent lead after the first run. Luckily, that worked, and it ended up being a great first slalom race to kick off the NCAA season.”
His teammate, Willhelm Normannseth also had a good day, finishing in second place. “It was a good day to be a Ute,” Brudevoll said, “Especially since I could share the podium with my teammate, Wilhelm.”
The RMISA Invitational slalom is also being held at Bridger Bowl and takes place on Thursday, Jan. 20.
About the Author: Lexi Hanus
