BOZEMAN, Mont. ? A solid showing by Alaska Anchorage's Alpine team, including garnering two more All-America finishes, helped the Seawolves vault two spots in the overall standings to eighth after the men's and women's giant slalom events Thursday at Bridger Bowl.
Freshman Egil Ismar earned his first All-America accolade while junior Kristina Repcinova collected the second of her career as the duo each recorded top-10 finishes to lead the ?Wolves. UAA amassed a combined 120.5 points in the GS pushing its two-day total to 177.5.
Denver, which placed four racers in the top 10, surged to the top spot in the team standings after a stellar day on the slopes with 316.5 points, while Utah improved from sixth to second overall (288). Day 1 leader Colorado slipped to third (282), Middlebury stands fourth (279) and defending champ Dartmouth is fifth (267).
Ismar produced the Seawolves top result by placing sixth in the men's GS, earning second-team All-America recognition. The Norwegian, who was third after the first run, record a two-run time of 1:40.89, finishing .15 seconds out of the top 5.
Ismar's effort ? his fourth top-10 result in the last five races ? marked the third All-America honor for UAA's men's Alpine squad in the last 10 years.
Junior Max Meier-Meitinger completed his first-career NCAA race by placing 29th with a time of 1:44.18.
UAA's men raced a man short as junior Jonathan Hverven was unable to compete as he was summoned back to has native Norway for personal reasons.
The Seawolf women placed all three of their racers in the top 20 while finishing fourth overall in the event standings with 75.5 points.
Repcinova, who earned second-team All-America nods for the first time since her freshman season, paced the women's squad by tying Denver's Molly Ryan for 10th overall as she completed the GS course with a time of 1:48.38. The top-10 result was the fourth of the season for Repcinova.
Competing at NCAAs for the second time in her career, junior Allison Empey placed 16th with a time of 1:49.42, while senior Smaranda Munteanu finished 18th with a two-run time of 1:50.00.
UAA's two All-America performances pushes its all-time tally to 109.
Front Range schools swept the GS individual crowns as CU's Lucie Zikova claimed the women's title (1:44.88) and DU's John Buchar won the men's (1:38.85) by just .02 seconds over runner-up Greg Hardy of Vermont.
The Alpine team returns to the slopes Saturday for the slalom competition.
The NCAA Championships continue Friday with the men's and women's classical races at Bohart Ranch. The women will race a 15K and the men will ski a 20K. Both races are mass starts.
