University of Colorado freshman Ola Johansen and junior Mads Stroem were named MVPs of the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association at the association’s annual banquet Friday evening.
The awards are given for both alpine and Nordic. The MVP is given to the skier who accumulates the most NCAA qualification points during the regular season.
Johansen finished the season with two wins, four runner-ups and eight podium appearances in 10 races, giving him 50 more points than teammate Max Luukko.Johansen in the first CU skier to earn the men’s alpine MVP since Andreas Haug in 2011.
“Ola is unique in many ways,” CU coach Richard Rokos said. “It was pretty obvious he was a world cup level skier, but he came to CU as a walk-on and his commitment to CU was surprising. He did his homework and decided CU was the place to go. He’s committed and focused and every time he puts a foot in the binding and goes down the hill, he’s very fast. He and Max have raised the caliber of competition in training for the entire team and the results are showing all season long for us.”
Stroem held off Utah’s Niklas Persson in men’s Nordic by only four points. Persson had an eight-point lead before Stroem won both races in the final meet of the season, giving him the edge.
“It’s great that Mads was able to win MVP honors,” CU Nordic coach Bruce Cranmer said. “Especially since he had a couple of races he struggled in. To be able to stay healthy and compete in all the races is a challenge and we’re all happy for him.”
CU skiing in third at RMISA Championships
Stroem won his third straight RMISA Individual Championship, leading the Buffs to third place halfway through the RMISA Championships in Minturn, which are also the NCAA Western Regional Championships.
Stroem had a time of 22 minutes, 12.6 seconds — 43.6 seconds ahead of the field in the largest margin of victory in an RMISA 10K race in more than a decade. In 2006, Alaska Anchorage’s Kjetil Dammen won the 10K classic race at the U.S. National Championships by 43.7 seconds.
Stroem has won three straight races and five overall this season. His 11 career victories are tied for sixth most in program history since skiing became a coed sport in 1983.
Freshman Petter Reistad finished sixth in a time of 23:23.5 and he was just 20 seconds off the podium, and junior Jackson Hill finished 10th in 23:41.1.
“Mads had a great race,” Cranmer said. “He led from the beginning and obviously a 43-second win is very solid. He’s had a great season and seems to be getting stronger as the season goes on, especially after the break after the CU meet.”
The Buffs have 297 points in four of eight races. Utah is in first at 361 points, the University of Denver is second at 304, Montana State is at 221 and Alaska Anchorage has 216.
“Overall, it wasn’t the day we wanted,” Rokos said. “It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t as good as we’ve had recently. Utah had a good showing. But with Mads winning and (Max Luukko and Henrik Gunnarsson) going 2-3 today in the men’s GS race, it’s still a strong day overall.”
CU sophomore Ane Johnsen was sixth with a time of 13:41.4 in the women’s 5K freestyle race.
At Beaver Creek, Johansen did not race Friday and will not race Saturday after suffering a fall in training Thursday.
Despite missing Johansen, Luukko and Gunnarsson reached the podium for the third straight race. Gunnarsson took second in a time of 2:19.61, and Luukko was third in 2:19.71. It was Gunnarsson’s best GS finish this season. He is now 12th on the NCAA qualification.
CU freshman Tonje Trulsrud led the women’s alpine team with an eighth-place finish in the GS race in a time of 2:21.50.
RMISA Championships
At Minturn and Beaver Creek
Team scores — 1. Utah 361; 2. Denver 304; 3. Colorado 297; 4. Montana State 269; 5. New Mexico 221; 6. Alaska Anchorage 216; 7. Wyoming 58; 8. Colorado Mountain 49.
Men’s 10K Freestyle — 1. Mads Stroem, CU, 22:12.6; 2. Nick Hendrickson, UU, 22:56.2; 3. Moritz Madlener, DU, 23:03.8; 4. Kevin Bolger, UU, 23:06.9; 5. Niklas Persson, UU, 23:21.4; 6. Petter Reistad, CU, 23:23.5; 7. Sawyer Kisselheim, MSU, 23:28.1; 8. Austin Huenck, UNM, 23:35.2; 9. Oscar Ivars, UU, 23:35.6; 10. Jackson Hill, CU, 23:41.1. Other CU finishers — 17. Arnaud Du Pasquier, 24:09.6; 28. Max Scrimgeour, 25:15.6; 32. Ian Boucher, 25:56.1.
Women’s 5K Freestyle — 1. Veronika Mayerhofer, UU, 13:04.6; 2. Linn Eriksen, DU, 13:13.2; 3. Sloan Storey, UU, 13:20.1; 4. Cambria McDermott, MSU, 13:32.1; 5. Natalie Mueller, UU, 13:40.1; 6. Ane Johnsen, CU, 13:41.4; 7. Anika Miller, MSU, 13:45.7; 8. Johanna Taliharm, MSU, 13:46.2; 9. Emilie Cedervarn, UNM, 13:48.8; 10. Mackenzie Kanady, UAA, 13:55.4. Other CU finishers — 13. Christina Rolandsen, 14:05.4; 15. Jesse Knori, 14:16.1; 21. Camilla Brautaset, 14:35.8; 22. Lucy Newman, 14:36.0.
Men’s Giant Slalom — 1. Sean Alexander, UAA, 2:19.30; 2. Henrik Gunnarsson, CU, 2:19.61; 3. Max Luukko, CU, 2:19.71; 4. Dominic Demschar, UU, 2:20.17; 5. Seabatian Brigovic, DU, 2:20.35; 6. Carl-Johan Oseter, UNM, 2:20.43; 7. Erik Read, DU, 2:20.48; 8. Hughston Norton, UAA, 2:20.64; 9. Entre Bjertness & Joergen Brath, UU, 2:20.71. Other CU finishers — 11. Adam Zika, 2:20.80; 18. Cameron Smith, 2:22.34; 21. Kasper Hietanen, 2:23.40.
Women’s Giant Slalom — 1. Benedicte Lyche, MSU, 2:19.74; 2. Kristine Haugen, DU, 2:19.80; 3. Roni Remme, UU, 2:19.84; 4. Julie Mohagen, UU, 2:20.30; 5. Tuva Norbye, DU, 2:20.76; 6. Charley Field, UAA, 2:20.81; 7. Monica Huebner, DU, 2:21.03; 8. Tonje Trulsrud, CU, 2:21.50; 9. Chloe Fausa, UU, 2:21.60; 10. Karoline Myklebust, UNM, 2:21.81. Other CU finishers — 14. Jessica Honkonen, 2:23.25; 16. Nora Christensen, 2:24.63; 18. Thea Grosvold, 2:26.06; 23. Clare Wise, 2:28.63; 24. Katie Hostetler, 2:28.79.
CU’s Caldwell wins MPSF 5K title
CU sophomore Mackenzie Caldwell won the 5,000-meter run at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Indoor Track and Field in Seattle on Friday.
Caldwell won in 16 minutes, 32.54 seconds, ahead of Portland’s Anna Farello (16:34.55). CU freshman Cayla Seligman finished fifth with a time of 16:35.85.
“This is the time of year that people are trying to accomplish different things and in Mackenzie’s case, she is just practicing racing and making good racing decisions,” CU head coach Mark Wetmore said. “She waited until the final stages of the race, made a sound move, and no one went with her. I’m very happy for her.”
In the men’s race, freshman John Dressel took third at 13:53.77 in his 5K debut, while senior Ammar Moussa was 12th in 14:13.26.
“The longer the race, the longer there is time for doubt and yet John stayed on the pace we talked about, stayed in the mix the whole way, and beat some good people,” Wetmore said. “That was a very good freshman debut.”
Senior Abrianna Torres finished her indoor career with a fourth-place finish in the pentathlon after recording a score of 3,852. Freshman Maja Wichhart-Donzo was 11th with a personal-best 3,513 points and sophomore Michaela Wenning was 12th at 3,444.
“Abrianna has been a little off this winter,” Wetmore said. “It’s hard during a senior year with real life looming in the distance. I am confident that she will put in eight or 10 good weeks of training and come out as good as ever in the heptathlon.”
In the 200 finals, sophomore Ana Holland became just the second Buff to run a sub-24 second 200, clocking in at 23.95, which placed her seventh overall. Holland was a fraction of a second from breaking the 23.81 record by Amaris Buchanan from 2001.
Sophomore Duane McClurkin Jr. led the Buffs in the men’s 200 race, placing sixth with a 21.74 mark. Junior Austin Mitsch placed 12th (22.04) and Jaysean Skrine was 18th (22.47).
MPSF Indoor Track & Field Championships
At Seattle
Women
Team scores — 1. USC 33; 2. Oregon 32; 3. Washington 28.75; 4. Arizona State 23; 5. BYU 21.25; 6. Colorado 21; 6. UCLA 21; 8. Washington State 20; 9. Stanford 18.75; 10. California 15; 11. Long Beach State 11; 12. Oregon State 9; 13. Portland 8; 14. Hawai’i 4.50; 15. Arizona 3; 16. Cal State Fullerton 2; 17. Cal State Northridge 1.75.
Women’s Pentathlon
Points: 1. Amalie Iuel, USC, 4,444. CU: 4. Abrianna Torres, 3,852; 11. Maja Wichhart-Donzo, 3,513; 12. Michaela Wenning, 3,444
60-meter hurdles 1. Riley Cooks, LBSU, 8.41. CU 7. Torres, 8.95; 11. Wichhart-Donzo, 9.08; 16. Wenning, 9.63
High jump: 1. Liz Harper, WSU, 5-11.25. CU: t3. Torres, 5-6.50; t7. Wenning, 5-4.25; t10. Wichhart-Donzo, 5-1.75
Shot put: 1. Torres, 44-00.75. CU: 8. Wenning, 34-10.25; t13. Wichhart-Donzo, 33-11.25
Long jump: 1. Amalie Iuel, USC, 19-9.50. CU: 4. Torres, 18-4.25; 8. Wichhart-Donzo, 17-9; 13. Wenning, 16-7.25.
800 meters: 1. Amalie Iuel, USC, 2:06.88. CU: 10. Wenning, 2:25.99; 14. Wichhart-Donzo, 2:30.01; 18. Torres, 2:36.94
Women’s weight throw: 1. Maggie Ewen, ASU, 66-7.75. CU: 10. Sophie Hallam-Eames, 57-6.25/17.53; 16. Elisa Grandemange, 53-9.75/16.40; 19. Mariah Walker, 53-2.25/16.21.
Women’s long jump: 1. Margaux Jones, USC, 20-10. CU: 9. Abrianna Torres, 18-5.
Women’s 60 meters: 1. Hannah Cunliffe, UO, 7.28. CU: 14. Ana Holland, 7.53.
Women’s 5,000 meters (finals): 1. Mackenzie Caldwell, CU, 16:32.54. Other CU: 5. Cayla Seligman, 16:35.85.
Women’s 200 meters (finals): (1. Deajah Stevens, UO, 23.14. CU: 7. Ana Holland, 23.95; 15. Alex Peters, 24.67; 30. Rajon O’Quinn, 25.47.
Men
Men’s team scores (through six events)
1. BYU 33; 2. Oregon 28.50; 3. California 25; 4. Washington 24.50; 5. Stanford 20.50; 6. USC 18; 6. Arizona State 18; 8. Long Beach State 17.50; 9. Arizona 17; 10. UCLA 12; 11. Colorado 9; 12. Washington State 8; 13. Portland 3.
Men’s Heptathlon
Points: 1. Steele Wasik, UCLA, 3,257. CU: 16. Andrew Ghizzone, 2,607.
60 meters: 1. Steele Wasik, UCLA, 6.99. CU: 15. Ghizzone, 7.41.
Long jump: 1. Kevin Nielson, BYU, 24-1.50. CU: 16. Ghizzone, 20-6.25.
Shot put: 1. Zach Bronstein, UCLA, 47-8. CU: 14. Ghizzone, 37-00.25 .
High jump: 1. Steele Wasik, UCLA, 6-7.50. CU: t12. Ghizzone, 6-00.50.
Men’s weight throw: 1. Greg Skippe, UO, 72-6.50. CU: 12. Brady Rutt, 56-10.75.
Men’s long jump: 1. Eric Sloan, USC, 25-02.75. CU: 14. Isaiah Oliver, 22-5.25.
Men’s 60-meter hurdles (prelims): 1. Chris Williams, UW, 7.72. CU: t7. Isaiah Oliver, 8.15q.
Men’s 60 meters (prelims): 1. Jamol James, ASU, 6.65. CU: 19. Austin Mitsch, 7.05; 20. Jaysean Skrine, 7.08.
Men’s 5,000 meters (finals): 1. Aaron Nelson, UW, 13:49.93. CU: 3. John Dressel, 13:53.77; 12. Ammar Moussa, 14:13.26.
Men’s 200 meters (finals): 1. Tatenda Tsumba, BYU, 21.38. CU: 6. Duane McClurkin Jr., 21.74; 12. Austin Mitsch, 22.04; 18. Jaysean Skrine, 22.47
