February 8, 2009 (Winter Park, Co) – The University of Colorado ski team captured its third straight meet here Saturday, as the Buffaloes used a strong all-around performance with 10 top 10 finishes in rallying to win the Denver Invitational.

CU was in second place at the midway point after Friday’s four events, 16 points behind then-leader Utah. But an improved showing on the alpine side helped the Buffs finish with 540 points, well ahead of host Denver (498) and the Utes (489). New Mexico (472) and Alaska-Anchorage (453) rounded out the top five.

The 48-point win by the Buffs more than doubled the previous margin of victory this year in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA), which had been CU’s 23-point win in its own invitational last month, as well as the biggest since 2007. It was also the first time only one school scored over 500 points and the first time since the current scoring format was adopted in 2000 that seven teams scored 400 points.

“Today was good, we rebounded a little bit after the kind of day we struggled through yesterday,” head coach Richard Rokos said. “After everything that happened yesterday, between the spills and kids being sick, I thought we really could finish second or even third up here, so with the mix of everything, we end up winning and that’s an awesome feeling.

“The Nordic teams are as solid as they can be and it looks like we can continue to count on them being great all the time,” Rokos added. “With the men’s race today, it’s a unique situation having the three guys who have dominated the region either not race or not healthy and still see the result we’re seeing.”

Senior Maria Grevsgaard captured her fourth straight race and fifth in the last six as she blitzed the field in winning the women’s 10-kilometer freestyle race in a 32:10.1 time. That bested DU’s Antje Maempel by 48 seconds and was her 24th win of her career, the 15th in freestyle competition. It was the 13th win by a Colorado skier this winter in 36 races, tops in the west.

Sophomore Alex Turzian claimed third in 33:02.1 to bolster Grevsgaard’s effort, with freshman Katie Stege 25th in 38:09.5 and senior Megan Wilder 32nd in 42:57.2. Despite CU skiing this winter with just four active members on the women’s cross country side, the Buffs tied for the second most team points (67) in the women’s freestyle Saturday; Denver led with 77.

“It was a good, solid race,” Turzian said. “The weather was good, the course was fast, and it was a good field of skiers, about all you can ask for. Now we just need to rest up, settle down, get caught up on life a little, get to class and then at the same time we leave for regionals soon, so we need to at the same time stay focused and get prepped for that.”

In the men’s 15km version, CU placed three in the top six despite resting two of its top performers, junior Matt Gelso and sophomore Jesper Ostensen. Sophomore Patrick Neel posted his career best finish in snaring third in 44:16.6, with freshman Reid Pletcher following up his runner-up finish in the classical race Friday with a fourth place showing in 44:17.1. New Mexico’s Simon Reissman won in 44:00.4.

“There was a group of about seven skiers that broke away at the midpoint, with Smith was among them. Neel pulled the second group of four skiers including Pletcher back with the first group.

“I was just trying to bridge the gap between the group I was in and the lead pack, I just wanted to make contact with them,” Neel said. “I’ve never pulled back that big of a gap before, it’s a first for me.”

“This is probably the best example of just how deep we are as a team,” Pletcher said. “Two of our top guys were out and we still got on the podium and had three in the top six. This is a good chance for the other guys to show what we have. Usually it’s the Norwegians leading us, but today it was the U.S. in third, fourth and sixth.

“About half way through the race, seven or eight guys broke away, about 150 meters or 20 seconds,” he added. “Usually you don’t come back from that. But over the middle three kilometers, Pat put the hammer down and pull use up with the lead group, we were able to catch those guys and pick them off.”

Senior Josh Smith, who had two career top 10 finishes entering the season, posted his fourth in a row in finishing sixth in 44:21.1. It was his best result of the winter and his second highest finish in the freestyle for his career. Freshman Vegard Kjoelhamar rounded out the CU performers, claiming 13th in 44:57.5.

“That was cool to see the other guys step up,” head Nordic coach Bruce Cranmer said. “It’s hard for a Nordic skier to be up all the time. Your body can fail on you at certain points.

“The guys that stepped up certainly made a statement, but right now health is a bigger issue to me. Today’s race was at altitude, regionals coming up are a little lower and then for NCAA’s were near sea level, so I will put a lot more on the next races to decide for NCAA’s than today, but that doesn’t diminish what Pat, Reid and Josh accomplished here, it was great to see it.”

“Maria is in such a good place right now, fitness wise, mentally, she’s having fun and that’s the most important thing with her,” Cranmer added. “Alexa had a good day. I was hoping she would hold onto second place but (Antje Maempel) is such a good skier, it was a great effort on her part.”


The regular season is now complete, as in two weeks, the RMISA Championships, which also serve as the NCAA West Regional, will be held February 20-21 in the Lake Tahoe area.

Denver Invitational Final Team Scores
1. Colorado 540
2. Denver 492
3. Utah 489
4. New Mexico 472
5. Alaska-Anchorage 453
6. Nevada 447
7. Montana State 413
8. Whitman 183
9. Wyoming 112


Men’s 15km Freestyle
1. Simon Reissmann, UNM, 44:00.4
2. Raphael Wunderle, UAA, 44:01.6
3. Patrick Neel, CU, 44:16.6
4. Reid Pletcher, CU, 44:17.1
5. Mike Hinkley, DU, 44:19.1
6. Josh Smith, CU, 44:21.1
7. Lutz Preussler, UN, 44:26.4
8. Even Sletten, UU, 44:33.4
9. Jonathan Pluvinet, UN, 44:33.7
10. Anders Folleraas, MSU, 44:34.4.

Other CU Results:
13. Vegard Kjoelhamar, CU, 44:57.5.

Women’s 15km Freestyle
1.Maria Grevsgaard, CU, 32:10.1
2. Antje Maempel, DU, 32.58.1
3. Alexa Turzian, CU, 33:02.1
4. Annelise Bailly, DU, 33:16.3
5. Chelsea Holmes, UN, 33:23.6
6. Polina Ermoshina, UNM, 33:37.9
7. Claire Rennie, MSU, 33:56.1
8. Kaelin Kiesel, MSU, 34:07.1
9. Laura Rombach, UAA, 34:09.7
10. Kate Dolan, DU, 34:27.1.

Other CU Results:
25. Katie Stege, CU, 38:09.1
33. Megan Wilder, CU, 42:57.2.