RED RIVER/TAOS, N.M. ? Junior Raphael Wunderle skated to a second-place finish in the men's 5K freestyle and senior Stephanie Klocker would power her way to a third-place finish in the women's slalom to help lead Alaska Anchorage to a solid fourth-place team finish in its final regular-season meet today at the New Mexico Invitational.
Matching their best team result of the season, the Seawolves earned a season-high 447.5 points at the two-day meet to record their second top 5 result of the year. Denver edged rival Colorado on the final day of racing to earn the overall team title, outscoring its Front Range rival 591-587.5. Host New Mexico was third with 481.5, while Utah placed fifth with 422.
One of three UAA skiers to place in the top 12 in the men's 5K freestyle, Wunderle skated to his second runner-up effort this season and fourth-career podium finish by clocking a time of 13:50.1. The Bubenbach, Germany, product finished nearly 17 seconds behind race winner Kit Richmond of Colorado's time of 13:33.3.
Sophomore Andy Liebner registered his second top-5 result of the season by placing fifth (14:04.2) and senior Paul Schauer recorded his second-best result of the year by finishing 12th (14:17.9).
The men's solid outing led them to a second-place finish in the event, as CU would own a 78-74 edge.
Klocker solidified her chances of qualifying for her third consecutive NCAA meet with her third-place showing in the women's slalom, as she posted a two-run time of 1:43.72. Her third consecutive top-10 outing in the slalom, Klocker has now registered five-career podium results.
Second across the line for UAA in the women's slalom was junior Allison Empey, who placed 19th (1:47.46), while sophomore Lacy Saugstad picked up points by finishing 27th (1:54.14). Senior Smaranda Munteanu and junior Kristina Repcinova did not start their second runs.
UAA's men placed two racers in the top 10 in the slalom for the first time this season, as freshman Egil Ismar matched a season-best event result of eighth (1:40.10) and junior Max Meier-Meitinger finished a season-best ninth (1:40.27). Ismar's finish was his third in the top 10 this season while Meier-Meitinger's was the second of his career.
Also scoring points for the Seawolves was rookie Ryan Wolosyn who finished 26th (1:54.22).
Recording the second-best finish of her two-year career in the women's 5K freestyle was sophomore Kelsey Coolidge, who led UAA with a 16th-place showing (17:12.6). Senior Brittany Greer placed 21st (17:27.6) and freshman Hanna Johnson claimed 26th (18:12.2).
Colorado's Lucie Zikova won the women's individual slalom title (1:43.20), Utah's Tague Thorson claimed the men's slalom (1:37.28) and Denver's Annelise Baily won the women's skate race (15:28.0).
The Seawolves return to racing Feb. 22-23 at the RMISA Championships/NCAA West Regional in Bozeman, Mont.
