Staff Report
The Lobo ski team brought home fourth-place honors from its regional meet Monday in Winter Park, Colo.
UNM entered the West Regional Championships in a seemingly secure third place, but the University of Denver rallied on its home slopes, to finish on top of the Lobos, 542-439. Utah and Colorado held the top two positions.
"We were a distant fourth," head coach George Brooks said. "We didn't ski well this weekend -- we had some tired legs."
The Alpine women led the Lobo squad, coming in second overall in the giant slalom race.
Junior Caroline Schicht finished third in 2:07.22, trailing Denver's Sophie Ormond, the first-place winner, by less than two seconds.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Junior Jennifer Delich earned seventh place, while sophomore Helena Woodrow placed 17th for UNM in the giant slalom.
Leading the way for the Alpine men was freshman Christian Jensen, who finished ninth in the GS. Freshmen Dustin Simons and Alexander Freberg also contributed points placing 24th and 33rd respectively. The men took sixth place overall in the giant slalom.
A number of the UNM Nordic skiers were unable to race last weekend, due to illnesses.
The women missed junior Jenny Wissting in the cross-country events, but senior Kristina Strandberg pulled through and finished third in the 10K classic. Strandberg was named Rocky Mountain Skier of the Week for her performance. Sophomore Martina Stursova came in ninth and junior Brooke Goosling placed 31st.
The men's cross-country team was without two of its top skiers, junior Johan Rydquist and freshman Jimmy Vika. However, sophomore Lars Krogsveen stepped up in their absence, racing to a 14th place finish, while junior Jacob Zehnder placed 19th. Sophomore Graham Bremner came in 27th enabling the Lobos to finish fifth overall.
Although Brooks considers the Lobos fourth-place performance relatively disappointing, he hopes to use it to their advantage.
"It may be a blessing in disguise," he said.
The Lobos are now preparing to come back with a vengeance at the 2003 NCAA Championships in Hanover, N.H., March 5-9.
Twelve skiers, three members of each team, will represent UNM. Those selected to represent the Lobos include Kathrin Spendier, Delich and Schicht for the women's Alpine team. Men's Alpine representatives are Jensen, Freberg and Gottfried Schwarzmuller. Stranberg, Wissting and Stursova will lead the dominant women's Nordic team into Hanover while Vika, Zehnder and Lars Bjorge will be there for the men.
