Hannes Zirknitzer placed 17th in the men's giant slalom and Rachel Walker was 22nd in the women's slalom to give the Whitman ski teams their top performances as the alpine portion of University of Alaska-Anchorage (UAA) Invitational got underway Wednesday at Park City, Utah.
"It was a solid opening to the season for us," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "Nothing spectacular, but all of our skiers finished. We were consistent today and we're going to get faster."
Zirknitzer, a senior from Bright, Australia, flew into Utah Tuesday night after spending most of his semester break at home. "Considering that he flew halfway around the world the day before, Hannes turned in a great effort," Olson said.
Zirknitzer, an NCAA All-American two years ago in the slalom, finished his two giant slalom runs in 2:00.35. The University of Utah's Scott Veenis, a freshman from Massanutten, Va., won the event with a time of 1:58.26. The University of New Mexico's Lars Loeseth, a junior from Oslo, Norway, was second in 1:58.41.
Walker, a junior from Whistler, British Columbia, finished her two slalom runs in 1:40.92. Lucie Zikova, a sophomore from the Czech Republic who skies for the University of Colorado, took first place in 1:30.95. One of her teammates, first-year skier Lisa Perricone (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) was the runner-up in 1:32.31.
Sophomore Nicole Wolf (Littleton, Colo.) had the next best finish for Whitman. She placed 28th in 1:45.14. Next in line for the Missionaries were two more sophomores: Charlotte Gourlay (Ketchum, Idaho), who was 35th in 1:48.48, and Meredith Riley (Park City, Utah), who was 36th in 1:49.47. Senior Victoria Amorello (Sutton, Mass.) finished 39th in 1:51.31, and junior Maria Corcorran (Bellevue, Wash.) was 42nd in 1:59.04.
Two freshmen, Marc Nabelek (Corvallis, Ore.) and Andy Erickson (Kirkland, Wash.), and sophomore Matt Bingham (Seattle) also skied for the Whitman men. Nabelek placed 36th in 2:08.90, while Erickson and Bingham were 44th and 45th, respectively, with times of 2:17.95 and 2:21.75. Senior Nate Johnson (Mukilteo, Wash.) skipped the races this week to concentrate on his senior exams.
In the combined alpine scoring, Whitman scored 50 points and placed eighth among the 10 participating Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) schools. Whitman is the only NCAA Div. III school in the ski conference. The University of Colorado was in first place in the alpine scoring with 154 points. The University of Denver was in second place with 144 points, 11 points in front of third-place University of New Mexico.
The University of Alaska-Anchorage Invitational got underway last weekend with two Nordic events. After three events, Whitman is eighth with 164 points. Denver is in the top spot with 426 points, followed by Colorado with 406 points and Utah with 368. The invitational concludes Thursday with the men's slalom and the women's giant slalom.
Hannes Zirknitzer and Rachel Walker, Whitman's top two alpine skiers, placed 18th and 21st, respectively as the University of Alaska-Anchorage Invitational concluded Thursday at Utah's Park City Mountain Resort.
Zirknitzer, a senior from Bright, Australia, finished the men's slalom in 1:35.66. Norway's Tor Henn Fodnesbergene, a freshman at the University of New Mexico, won the race in 1:31.42.
Walker, a junior from Whistler, British Columbia, posted a 2:11.84 in the women's giant slalom. The University of Colorado's Sabrina Mocellin (Tignes, France) and Lucie Zikova (Prague, Czech Republic) finished first and second, respectively, with times of 2:05.64 and 2:06.19.
"We had eight to 10 inches of snow last night, so the course was soft," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "The conditions were tough and challenging. If you weren't in the first 15 on each run, you had to deal with deep ruts. It was a rodeo out there."
The level of talent in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA), already high in previous years, has also risen another notch or two, Olson said. "Two years ago Hannes was an NCAA All-American and top 10 in the country. Thursday, he started the slalom in the 45th position, which means there are 44 skiers in the conference with higher point profiles. What we're facing are world-class skiers from all over the world."
"The talent in the men's field in particular just floors me," Olson added. "But Hannes did pretty well this weekend. He's holding his own."
Others placing for the Whitman men were freshman Marc Nabelek (Corvallis, Ore.) 36th, 1:45.03; sophomore Matt Bingham (Seattle), 39th, 1:47.79; and freshman Andy Erickson (Kirkland, Wash.), 41st, 1:52.30.
Nicole Wolf, a sophomore from Littleton, Colo., finished 30th for the Whitman women in 2:11.84. Also placing for the Missionaries were sophomore Charlotte Gourlay (Ketchum, Idaho), 33rd, 2:23.04; senior Victoria Amorello (Sutton, Mass.), 34th, 2:26.10; junior Maria Corcorran (Bellevue, Wash.), 35th, 2:27.29; and sophomore Meredith Riley (Park City, Utah) 38th, 2:38.33.
"Overall, it was a respectable first couple of races for us," Olson said. "It could have been better. Could have been worse. At this point we're not doing much more than learning to finish, which is important. We can worry about getting faster as the season continues."
Thursday's alpine races were the fourth and final set of events in the UAA Invitational. In the combined alpine and Nordic team scoring, Whitman finished eighth among 11 RMISA schools with 198 points. The University of Denver won the invitational with 553 points, edging the University of Colorado by two points. The universities of Utah, New Mexico and Alaska-Anchorage rounded out the top five.
The RMISA season continues Saturday and Sunday with the Montana State University Invitational. The alpine events take place at Big Sky, while the Nordic events are set for Bohart Ranch.
Whitman's Rachel Walker turned in a strong second run to finish 21st in the giant slalom as the Montana State University Invitational got underway Saturday at Montana's Big Sky Resort.
Walker completed her two runs in a total time of 2:04.95, edging teammate Nicole Wolf by just over one second. Wolf, a sophomore who had a faster first run than Walker, was clocked in 2:05.97 and placed 24th.
In the men's giant slalom Saturday, senior Hannes Zirknitzer paced Whitman by placing 30tht in 2:03.91. The University of New Mexico's Peter Roering, a junior from Oslo, Norway, won the men's race in 1:57.05. Less than eight-tenths of a second separated the top six finishers.
The University of Colorado's Lucie Zikova, a sophomore from the Czech Republic, won the women's race in 1:59.13, edging the University of Denver's Florence Roujas (Embrun, France) by 14 one-hundredths of a second.
Four other Missionaries completed both runs in the women's giant slalom. Sophomore Charlotte Gourlay was 34th in 2:10.80. Senior Victoria Amorello and junior Maria Corcorran were next, placing 38th and 39th, respectively, with times of 2:14.73 and 2:14.77. Sophomore Meredith Riley finished 41st in 2:16.26.
Others placing in the men's race for Whitman were freshman Marc Nabelek (34th, 2:07.61), sophomore Matt Bingham (37th, 2:07.91), and freshman Andy Erickson (45th, 2:19.22).
"Every one of our skiers finished both runs, which continues to be a good sign for us," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "We're making progress, slow yet steady."
In Saturday's combined alpine scoring, the Whitman teams finished eighth among 10 schools with 45 points. Denver was first place with 147 points, followed by the University of Alaska-Anchorage with 130 and the University of Utah with 123. Colorado and New Mexico rounded out the top five.
The alpine portion of the invitational concludes Sunday with men's and women's slalom races.
Whitman's Rachel Walker finished 21st for the third consecutive event and Matt Bingham placed a career-best 23rd in the slalom races Sunday at the Montana State University Invitational at Big Sky, Mont.
Walker, a junior from Whistler, British Columbia, finished her two runs in 1:58.63. "Rachel continues to hover just above the top 20," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "We're only talking about a difference of about one second, which would put her in the top 15. She can do that easily. It's still early in the season."
Bingham, a sophomore from Seattle, completed his two runs in 1:59.77. "That's an awesome finish for Matt," Olson said. "The weather conditions weren't very good today, but Matt held it together and skied solid."
Gusting winds and snowfall "affected a lot of the skiers," Olson added. "You never knew when a gust of wind was going to come up."
Senior Hannes Zirknitzer, Whitman's top skier on the men's side, was one of many who struggled. "Hannes had to hike back around a gate on his first run, and then he wasn't able to finish his second run," Olson said. "It was a tough day for him and a lot of other people."
Whitman's two freshmen, Andy Erickson and Marc Nabelek, also hiked on one or both runs, finishing 36th and 37th, respectively, in 2:18.35 and 2:23.22. The University of New Mexico's Alex Mach, a junior from Ottawa, Canada, won the men's race with a two-run time of 1:47.96.
In the women's race, Whitman senior Victoria Amorello had her best race of the season, placing 31st in 2:09.25. "Victoria was out for two seasons, so she's making some good progress," Olson said.
Sophomore Meredith Riley was next in line for the Missionaries, finishing 33rd in 2:13.27. Others placing for Whitman were junior Maria Corcorran, 37th, 2:24.83; sophomore Nicole Wolf, 39th, 2:30.80; and sophomore Charlotte Gourlay, 40th, 2:46.92.
The University of Colorado's Lucie Zikova, a sophomore from the Czech Republic, continued to dominate the women's field, winning Sunday's slalom in 1:51.88.
"Today wasn't our best outing, but it was good to see some of our skiers show progress despite the weather and the challenging conditions," Olson said. "We're struggling just a bit, but we're also a Division III school competing against a bunch of Division I programs."
The Montana State Invitational, which included two Nordic events and two alpine races for both the women and men, finished with the University of Denver edging the University of Colorado by three points, 568-564. The University of Alaska-Anchorage was third, the University of Utah fourth and the University of New Mexico fifth. Whitman scored 166 points and finished ninth among 11 schools.
Enjoying her best race of the season, Whitman's Rachel Walker finished fifth on her second run and placed 12th overall as the alpine portion of the University of Colorado Invitational got underway Friday with the women's giant slalom on Mt. Werner in Steamboat Springs, Colo.
Walker was timed in 2:22.24 for her two runs, finishing just one second out of seventh place. "It was a very good day for Rachel," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "This is her best result of the season so far. It's great to see her get on track."
The men's slalom also was held Friday -- under the lights on Howelsen Hill. "Competing under the lights was a lot of fun, but the race didn't turn out as well for our men as I had hoped," Olson said.
Senior Hannes Zirknitzer, Whitman's top male skier, had a decent first run but then straddled a gate on his second run and did not finish. Freshman Marc Nabelek also failed to finish, losing a ski on his second run to drop from the event.
Whitman senior Nate Johnson, seeing his first race action of the season, turned in a strong second run and placed 35th in 1:39.71. Freshman Andy Erickson also enjoyed a good second run, moving into 37th place with a time of 1:45.54.
In the women's giant slalom, junior Renee Thibodeau finished 24th in 2:32.15 to lead a group of four other Missionary placers. Filling spots 26 through 28 were sophomore Charlotte Gourlay (2:37.16), senior Victoria Amorello (2:39.11) and junior Maria Corcorran (2:39.31). Sophomore Nicole Wolf failed to finish her first run.
"It was a decent day for our women as a whole," Olson said. "Nothing spectacular, but they had a good day."
The Missionary women scored 38 points to place seventh among 10 schools.
The University of Denver's Florence Roujas, a sophomore from Embrun, France, won the women's giant slalom in 2:16.39. The University of Colorado's Lucie Zikova, a sophomore from Prague, Czech Republic, was the runner-up in 2:17.39.
The University of New Mexico's Alex Mach, a junior from Ottawa, Canada, was first in the men's slalom in 1:27.05. The University of Alaska-Anchorage's Timothee Theaux, a sophomore from Val Thorens, France, took second in 1:27.46.
Including the Nordic events from last weekend, Colorado has scored a total 460 points to take a firm grip on first place in its invitational. New Mexico is second with 406 points and Denver third with 388.5. Whitman is ninth among 11 schools with 105 points.
The Colorado invitational concludes Saturday with a men's daytime giant slalom and a women's nightime slalom.
Whitman's Rachel Walker had another good day on the slopes Saturday, placing 16th in the women's slalom at the University of Colorado Invitational Saturday night at Howelsen Hill in Steamboat Springs, Colo.
Competing on a lighted course, Walker finished her two runs in 1:34.19. As she did in Friday's giant slalom, Walker made her best showing on the second run, placing fifth.
"Rachel is skiing fast, but she hasn't yet put two great runs together," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "When she does, she can place in the top 10 in both the slalom and giant slalom."
In the men's giant slalom, held earlier in the day Saturday, all four of Whitman's entries failed to finish. Three of the four -- Hannes Zirknitzer, Marc Nabelek and Andy Erickson -- crashed on the course. "We lost Marc and Nate (Johnson) on the first run and Hannes and Andy on the second," Olson said. "Andy may have broken his nose, and Marc bruised his shoulder pretty well. None of the guys finished, but they left their hearts and souls out there, and it was a tough course."
Three Whitman women, in addition to Walker, placed in the night slalom. Victoria Amorello and Charlotte Gourlay placed 27th and 28th, respectively, in 1:44.90 and 1:45.01. Maria Corcorran was 33rd in 1:52.31. Renee Thibodeau missed a gate on her first run, and Nicole Wolf failed to finish her second run.
Winning Saturday's events were the University of Colorado's Lisa Perricone (1:29.20) on the women's side and the University of Denver's Todd Ligare (2:07.56) on the men's side.
In the final team scoring for eight alpine and Nordic events, Colorado won its own invitational with 592 points. New Mexico was second with 544 points and Denver third with 531.5.
Whitman, the only NCAA Div. III school in the field, totaled 135 points to place ninth among 11 schools.
Battling bitterly cold temperatures on Friday, Whitman senior Hannes Zirknitzer placed 21st in the men’s slalom in the Western State Invitational at Crested Butte, Colo.
Zirknitzer finished his two runs in 1:16.53. “Hannes had a few bobbles on his first run, but then he came back with a good second run,” Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said.
In the women’s giant slalom Friday, sophomore Charlotte Gourlay posted Whitman’s best finish, placing 36th in 2:53.93.
Whitman’s top skier on the women’s side, junior Rachel Walker, missed the race because of on-campus academic commitments. “It’s too bad Rachel couldn’t be here,” Olson said. “This course is made for her. She placed second on this same course two years ago, and she needs another top 10 finish this season to have a shot at qualifying for nationals.”
Wind and cold temperatures dropped Friday’s wind chill to about minus 21 degrees, Olson said. “The conditions were very difficult, and we had trouble with the timing equipment.”
Whitman senior Nate Johnson finished 29th in the men’s slalom, and freshman Andy Erickson was 38th in 1:28.28. Freshman Marc Nabelek missed a gate on his second run and failed to finish.
In the women’s giant slalom, Whitman junior Maria Corcorran was 38th in 2:56.32. Senior teammate Victoria Amorello was 40th in 2:57.28.
Whitman sophomore Nicole Wolf had a good first run going when she missed a gate and fell. Junior Renee Thibodeau dropped from the competition after a ski released. “That happens in ski racing,” Olson said. “You hit it just right and the ski releases. But it’s still very disappointing for Renee. She had a good week of practice, and she had a decent shot at making the top 25 today.”
The Czech Republic’s Lucie Zikova lead a one-two-three sweep for the University of Colorado in the women’s giant slalom. She was the winner in 2:37.0, finished just four one-hundredths of a second ahead of teammate Lisa Perricone.
Canadian Cameron Barnes, skiing for the University of Nevada, won the men’s race in 1:13.12.
In the combined men’s and women’s Nordic and alpine scoring on Friday, Colorado was in first place with 309 points. Denver was second with 285 points and the University of New Mexico third with 259. Whitman with 93 points was in eighth among 10 schools.
The invitational concludes Saturday.
Seniors Hannes Zirknitzer and Nate Johnson placed 31st and 33rd, respectively, in the men's giant slalom and all five Missionary women finished their slalom event as the Western State Invitational concluded in sub-zero weather conditions Saturday at Colorado's Crested Butte.
"We're satisfied with the way we skied today," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "We weren't as fast as we would have liked, but we were solid and we think all of the skiing and training we've done this past week will pay off in a few weeks at the regional championships."
Renee Thibodeau, a junior, paced the Missionaries in the women's slalom, placing 32nd in 1:25.07 for her two runs down the hill. Sophomore Nicole Wolf was 36th in 1:26.73, while senior Victoria Amorello and sophomore Charlotte Gourlay finished 38th and 39th, respectively, in 1:28.08 and 1:28.21. Senior Maria Corcorran was 42nd in 1:39.83.
Zirknitzer was clocked in 2:35.10 for his two giant slalom runs. Johnson's time was 2:36.52. Freshman Marc Nabelek fell on his first run, and freshman Andy Erickson missed the race due to illness.
The University of New Mexico's Tor Henn Fodnesbergene, a freshman from Fagernes, Norway, won the men's race in 2:27.64. The University of Colorado's Lucie Zikova, a sophomore from Prague in the Czech Republic, was the women's slalom winner in 1:17.17.
In the final team scoring, combing men's and women's results from the alpine and nordic events, Colorado took top honors with 600 points. The University of Denver was second with 556 points, and New Mexico was third with 527 points. Whitman finished ninth among 10 schools with 173 points.
Rachel Walker placed 20th and Hannes Zirknitzer was 28th as the Whitman alpine ski teams competed in giant slalom races Thursday at the NCAA West Regional, which is taking place at the Sugar Bowl Ski Resort near Norden, Calif.
Walker, a junior, finished her two runs in 2:05.56. Zirknitzer, a senior, was timed in 1:56.70 for his two runs down the hill.
"We were solid and consistent, but not as fast as we would have liked," Whitman coach Tom Olson said. "We've been a better slalom team this season, so we're hoping for better results in tomorrow's races."
Nate Johnson, a senior who missed the last two seasons because of injury, had the next best finish for the Whitman men Thursday. He was 32nd in 1:57.91. Freshmen Marc Nabelek and Andy Erickson placed 38th and 40th, respectively, in 2:01.57 and 2:05.87.
On the women's side, Whitman junior Renee Thibodeau was 31st in 2:07.26, followed by sophomore Nicole Wolf in 32nd in 2:07.47. Finishing in the 41st through 43rd spots were sophomore Charlotte Gourlay (2:11.91), senior Victoria Amorello (2:13.74) and junior Maria Corcorran (2:15.31).
The University of Denver's Jenny Tank, a first-year skier from Sonneberg, Germany, won the women's race in 2:01.73. Kristina Repcinova, a first-year competitor from Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, was second in 2:02.43.
The University of New Mexico's Tor Fodnesbergene, a freshman from Fagernes, Norway, won the men's race in 1:52.80. The University of Utah's Scott Veenis, a freshman from Massanutten, Va., was the runner-up in 1:53.25.
Whitman's Hannes Zirknitzer turned in his best alpine ski performance of the season on Friday, placing seventh in the men's slalom at the NCAA West Regional at the Sugar Bowl Ski Resort near Norden, Calif.
In the women's slalom, Missionary junior Rachel Walker placed 20th.
Zirknitzer, a senior from Bright, Australia, finished his two runs in 1:16.05, finishing less than one second out of the runner-up spot and just 1.81 seconds behind the winner.
"Hannes had a tremendous day," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "It was great to see him wrap up his college career on such a positive note."
It was Zirknitzer's best finish since he placed fifth in the slalom at last year's NCAA West Regional, which also serves each winter as the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) Championships. As was the case a year ago, however, Zirknitzer's late-heroics weren't enough for him to qualify for the NCAA National Championships.
"Neither Hannes nor Rachel are among the 17 men and 18 women who qualified from the west region," Olson said. "There are several excellent skiers throughout the conference who didn't make it. This is by far the toughest ski conference in the country."
Whitman is the only Division III competing in RMISA, a 10-school conference dominated by several Division I schools.
Walker finished her two slalom runs in 1:24.54. "Rachel was a little disappointed she didn't place higher, but she's been off snow for a few weeks. She can come back next year and have a great senior season."
Four of Walker's five teammates also finished the women's slalom. Renee Thibodeau, also a junior, was 27th in 1:27.08, while sophomore Nicole Wolf was 30th in 1:28.15. Senior Victoria Amorello was 35th in 1:30.68, finishing one spot in front of sophomore Charlotte Gourlay, who was timed in 1:31.16. Junior Maria Corcorran did not finish her second run.
In the men's race, Whitman senior Nate Johnson recovered from a rough first run to place 28th in 1:26.30. Freshmen Andy Erickson and Marc Nabelek finished 31st and 35th, respectively, in 1:29.34 and 1:37.77.
The University of New Mexico's Tor Fodnesbergene, a freshman from Fagernes, Norway, won the men's slalom in 1:14.24. He also won Thursday's giant slalom.
The University of Colorado's Lucie Zikova, a sophomore from the Czech Republic, won the women's slalom in 1:19.74.