February 5, 2008 (Crested Butte, CO) — University of Colorado senior Maria Grevsgaard made history on Saturday, Feb. 2, and the Buffaloes needed her performance to hang on to the lead in the Western State Invitational. Conditions remained challenging, as snow fell throughout the day in an area that has been besieged by the white stuff the last month, along with temperatures in single digits.

Colorado continues to lead the meet with 505.5 team points, as it is a three-school race for the third time in as many meets this winter. Utah is breathing down CU’s neck with 502 points, and Denver is in the hunt with 493. Nevada climbed into fourth with 361, passing New Mexico (360) as the two flip-flopped positions Saturday. Alaska-Anchorage is a distant sixth (341).

The Nordic competition had its challenges with the soft, fresh snow and the bitter cold. Grevsgaard had her closest call of the season but still won for the sixth time in as many races in winning the 10km freestyle in 29:03.9. That was good for a half-second win over Denver’s Annelise Bailly, who completed the course in 29:04.4. With the conditions (soft and blowing snow), the coaches decided against a mass start and sent the competitors off in 30-second intervals, thus there was no sprint toward the finish as would usually be the case in a freestyle race.

The win was Grevsgaard’s 14th at Colorado and broke a tie with Per Kare Jakobsen for the most individual wins in the 59-year history of the CU ski team. Jakobsen, also a Norwegian like Grevsgaard (he was from Trondheim) claimed 13 cross country events from 1988-90. Grevsgaard is not guaranteed the record at the end of her career just yet, as teammate Lucie Zikova, an alpine skier, has 12 career wins, only the second time two active skiers on the same CU team have logged 10 or more wins.

All Time Individual Wins by CU Skiers
– 14 wins – Maria Grevsgaard, 2006-08 (9 CL, 5 FS)
– 13 wins – Per Kare Jakobsen, 1988-90 (9 FS/XC, 4 CL)
– 12 wins – John Skajem, 1985-87 (8 SL, 4 GS)
– 12 wins – Lucie Zikova, 2005-08 (9 SL, 3 GS)
– 11 wins – Anette Skjolden, 1991-93 (7 CL, 4 FS)
– 11 wins – Line Selnes, 1998 (6 FS, 5 CL)
– 10 wins – Bjorn Svensson, 1990-93 (6 FS, 4 CL)

With the six straight wins, Grevsgaard has the longest individual streak by a CU skier since 2006, when Jana Rehemaa, now CU’s assistant Nordic coach, won the last six races of the season. The school record for the most consecutive wins is eight, by Nordic skier Line Selnes in 1998, her only year in the CU program. Those eight came in the first eight races of the year, the school mark for the most consecutive wins to start a season.

Junior Lenka Palanova finished third in 29:33.1, with senior Mia Gaw posting her third straight top 10 effort in landing in 10th in 31:10.7. Two other Buffs placed in the top 15, senior Jenny Hamilton grabbing 13th in 31:36.7 and sophomore Kristin Ronnestrand finishing 14th in 31:37.0. Freshman Karoline Borgnes, still recovering from illness, skied to a 25th place finish in 33:01.2.

“It was a lot tighter for Maria, but with a little less than a kilometer to go, she was about 10 seconds (in the splits) behind Annelise,” CU Nordic coordinator Bruce Cranmer said. “She knew it would be close, and she really revved it up at the end. Kind of a nice way to get the record, showing she can win the close ones as well. We had another solid day with Lenka third and Mia 10th , which was her first top 10 finish ever in the skate (freestyle). Any time you have three in the top 10 it’s a pretty solid performance, especially since it was a really cold day.

“The guys had a tough day,” he continued. “Kit was in there fighting and snuck into third with a good finish. He still isn’t 100 percent and still has a little way to go to get back to his ‘A’ game. I am not sure what went on with the other guys, but Jesper and Karl usually do better in harder conditions. This snow was softer and can suck the energy out you, and you won’t go any faster. If you get tired, you start losing your technique, and when you lose your technique, you get tired. It’s a catch-22.

“So winning Nordic when we’re not anywhere near 100 percent bodes well. Hopefully we’ll get over our sickness issues and start our return to full strength toward regionals in three weeks.”

Men’s 15km Freestyle
In the men’s 15-kilometer freestyle race, Utah skiers again finished 1-2 for the third straight outing. Snorri Einarsson won in 35:56.6, besting teammate Even Sletten by nearly 12 seconds (he finished in 36:08.5). CU senior Kit Richmond snared third in 36:26.8, the Buffs only finisher in the top 10. Sophomore Josh Smith was CU’s next skier, as he placed 13th in 37:41.0, while freshman Jesper Ostensen had an uncharacteristic 24th place finish in 39:07.8. Junior Karl Nygren, who posted a collegiate best third in Friday’s classic, slipped to 25th (39:08.9), with sophomore Joaquin Goodpaster rounding out the action for the CU men with a 35th place showing in 42:13.6.

Sophomore Matt Gelso missed his fourth straight race for the Buffs, as he continues to battle typical illness that hits most Nordic skiers at one point or another during the season.

The final competition ahead of the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association championships is set for next Friday and Saturday in Taos and Red River, N.M. The RMISA meet, which doubles as the NCAA West Regional, will be in Bozeman, Mont., February 22-23, the same site as next month’s NCAA Championships.

Results

Western State Invitational Team Scores

1. Colorado 505.5
2. Utah 502
3. Denver 493.5
4. Nevada 361
5. New Mexico 360
6. Alaska-Anchorage 341
7. Montana State 306
8. Whitman 176
. Western State 134
10. Wyoming 48.

Feb. 1

Women’s 5km Classical

1. Maria Grevsgaard, CU, 19:03.7
2. Antje Maempel, DU, 19:29.6
3. Annelise Bailly, DU, 19:42.3
4. Zoe Roy, Utah, 20:17.1
5. Kjersti Boe, Utah, 20:19.8
6. Lenka Palanova, CU, 20:23.8
7. Sarah MacCarthy, Utah, 20:24.3
8. Mia Gaw, CU, 20:26.1
9. Jenny Hamilton, CU, 20:29.8
10. Annelies Cook, Utah, 20:33.3

Other Area Results:
15. Katie Ronsse, DU, 21:05.0
16. Kristin Ronnestrand, CU, 21:06.9
23. Karoline Borgnes, CU, 21:31.7
26. Stefanie Wunderle, DU, 22:01.0
36. Brittany Perkins, WSC, 23:46.3
44. Mary Matthews, WSC, 25:46.8
47. Heidi Lovett, WSC, 26:34.6

Men’s 10km Classical
1. Even Sletten, Utah, 29:10.3
2. Snorri Einarsson, Utah, 29:22.0
3. Karl Nygren, CU, 29:27.7
4. Mike Hinckley, DU, 29:48.2
5. Kit Richmond, CU, 29:51.9
6. Jesper Ostensen, CU, and John Stene, DU, 29:53.0
8. Havard Selseng, DU, 29:55.4
9. Anders Folleraas, MSU, 29:58.4
10. Raphael Wunderle, UAA, 30:13.6

Other Area Results:
12. Harald Lovenskiold, DU, 30:34.8
16. Daniel Clark, DU, 30:55.5
22. Joshua Smith, CU, 31:47.0
25. Joaquin Goodpaster, CU, 31:55.1
27. Kyle Ahern, DU, 32:23.7
28. Taylor Sheldon, DU, 32:30.1
36. Tom Sunderland, WSC, 34:23.2
41. Tyler Allyn, WSC, 35:17.9
42. Ansel Schimpff, WSC, 36:34.4
45. Seth Carvill, WSC, 38:23.6

Feb. 2

Women’s 10km Freestyle
1. Maria Grevsgaard, CU, 29:03.9
2. Annelise Bailly, DU, 29:04.4
3. Lenka Palanova, CU, 29:33.1
4. Chelsea Holmes, UN, 29:59.1
5. Kaelin Kiesel, MSU, 30:12.3
6. Antje Maempel, DU, 30:22.5
7. Devon Spika, WC, 30:27.5
8. Sara Schweiger, Utah, 31:05.7
9. Polina Ermoshina, UNM, 31:06.3
10. Mia Gaw, CU, 31:10.7

Other Area Results:
13. Jenny Hamilton, CU, 31:36.7
14. Kristin Ronnestrand, CU, 31:37.0
22. Katie Ronsse, DU, 32:50.4
25. Karoline Borgnes, CU, 33:01.2
29. Stefanie Wunderle, DU, 34:37.1
36. Brittany Perkins, WSC, 36:01.2
41. Mary Matthews, WSC, 37:26.8
42. Heidi Lovett, WSC, 38:09.0

Men’s 15K Freestyle
1. Snorri Einarsson, Utah, 35:56.6
2. Even Sletten, Utah, 36:08.5
3. Kit Richmond, CU, 36:26.8
4. Anders Folleraas, MSU, 36:38.2
5. Raphael Wunderle, UAA, 36:47.7
6. Mike Hinckley, DU, 37:07.4
7. John Stene, DU, 37:10.9
8. Lutz Preussler, UN, 37:19.4
9. Gunnar Kristiansen, MSU, 37:20.1
10. Andy Liebner, UAA, 37:22.8

Other Area Results:
13. Joshua Smith, CU, 37:41.0
16. Harald Lovenskiold, DU, 37:56.3
19. Havard Selseng, DU, 28:25.2
21. Taylor Sheldon, DU, 38:29.7
24. Jesper Ostensen, CU 39:07.8
25. Karl Nygren, CU, 39:08.9
28. Daniel Clark, DU, 39:48.7
29. Kyle Ahern, DU, 40:44.4
33. Tom Sunderland, WSC, 41:28.0
35. Joaquin Goodpaster, CU, 42:13.6
37. Tyler Allyn, WSC, 42:58.5
40. Ansel Schimpff, WSC, 44:16.1