January 17, 2009 (Eldora, Co) – The University of Colorado ski team had both winners and five top 10 finishers overall in Friday’s Nordic events in Aspen as the Buffaloes head into the final day just a point-and-a-half out of the lead in the 15th Annual CU Invitational/Laura Sharpe Flood Memorial ski meet.

Denver took over a slim lead through six events, as the Pioneers have 415 points; host Colorado is right there with 413.5 and New Mexico is in striking distance at 395. Utah (368.5) and Alaska-Anchorage (341) round out the top five.

For the first time, the cross country portion of the meet is being held in conjunction with several races in the Aspen area this weekend.

In the men’s 10-kilometer classical race, CU freshman Vegard Kjoelhamar continued his early season dominance as he defeated the entire 200-plus skier field that included present and former Olympians. In topping the field in a 27:24.1 time, he won his second race of the winter to go with three runner-up finishes. He captured the 10k freestyle in last week’s UAA meet.

Junior Matt Gelso was the runner-up in 27:53.1; his fourth top three placing in a row gave CU two finishers in the top three for all five races in 2009. Sophomore Jesper Ostensen, who also has two wins this year, was fifth in 28:51.6. Senior Josh Smith was a fourth Buffalo in the top 10, as his ninth place effort in 29:14.4 was his collegiate best finish in the classical discipline.

“Our team overall today was very strong,” Kjoelhamar said. “I never expected to be one of the best. I was never first in any workouts and races before Christmas. I thought it was hard to do well with skiing and school but I have started to feel a lot better now that it’s race season. I was very tired after Alaska and today was the first day that I have felt good since then.”

“It’s really nice to know that everyone is doing so well,” he added. “It makes a big difference having such a strong team because we have better training and races when there is always someone pushing you.”

“It feels really good to be back up where I was my freshman year in the top three or five,” Gelso said. “It’s nice to feel strong again and it feels so good to have such a strong team. It gives us all a lot of confidence because as one person moves up, everyone tends to move up. It’s a good atmosphere for everyone to get better and excel.”

“Vegard winning his first Classic was good,” CU Nordic coordinator Bruce Cranmer said. “He struggled early on in the season when we were in Montana training with finding the right pace at altitude, but I think that as soon as he got into race mode he felt a lot better and on form.”

Rounding out the action for the Colorado men were sophomore Patrick Neel, who placed 22nd in 30:00.1 and junior Karl Nygren (27th, 30:37.3). Nygren actually was doing much better but had some trouble with the bindings on his skis over the last few kilometers that likely dropped him out of the top 20, if not higher.

In the women’s 5k race, senior Maria Grevsgaard added to her school record win total as she captured her 21st career race in 15:40.7. It was her second win this season and fourth top five finish as she appears to be completely back from a stomach flu-like virus that hampered her a bit in Alaska last week.

“I felt really good today. I was really relaxed and I was having a good time when I was warming up,” Grevsgaard said. “I was very excited to race and things all around just felt really good today. I am excited about the rest of the season but I try not to think about the past and future races. I just want to go out every race and do the best that I can and keep having fun.”

Sophomore Alex Turzian, still in the near-completion stage of her rehabilitation following hip surgery last year, finished 11th in 16:59.0. The next Buff didn’t appear until the 31st slot in the standings, where freshman Katie Stege placed in 18:55.4. Senior Megan Wilder was 42nd in 22:02.1; Stege and Wilder were racing for the first time this winter as they did not travel to Alaska.

“Maria is looking more like her old self,” Cranmer said. “Warm weather certainly agrees with her and she has always skied very strong at altitude. She seems happy and is feeling confident and that all goes together well for her.”
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“We aren’t even half way through the race season and I am confident that our women’s side has plenty of time to get stronger,” Cranmer added. “Alexa is still struggling to get back to being able to ski relaxed with strength. Her hip can sometimes be tight as she’s still doing a little rehab which can affect her technique at times, but I’m not worried about her getting back in full race mode. She’ll be right up there tomorrow.”

“Having a strong men’s team helps everyone,” he continued. “It takes pressure off guys to perform because so many of them are good enough to be in the top spots at any given time. If someone would have had a bad day today, Josh would have been right in there to pick it up and fill in. I think that’s extremely helpful for the team.”