KINCAID PARK - Anchorage's own Jaime Bronga skied to a fourth-place
finish to lead the Alaska Anchorage women's team to a second-place finish here
Saturday morning in the UAA Invitational women's 5-K Classical race. Meanwhile, UAA's Lukas
Ebner's eighth-place finish in the men's 5-K Classical race led the Seawolf
men, who finished fifth.
Competed under sunny skies with temperatures in the low teens, the
Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association-sanctioned Nordic races were the
first of a week-long event that will feature Nordic racing at Kincaid Park and
Alpine racing at Alyeska Resort.
The Seawolves currently
sit fourth in the overall team standings with 187 points. Defending NCAA defending
champion Colorado (231) is first, followed by Utah (228) and Montana
State (208).
Utah, led by Maria Graefnings' second-place individual finish, won the
women's team race, while Colorado, paced
by Rune Malo Oedegaard's second-place finish, took the most points on the men's side.
Individual champions Saturday were CU's Eliska Hajikova in the women's
race in 16 minutes, 35 seconds, and Montana State's David Norris in the men's
race in 14:06.
Bronga, the RMISA points leader coming into the event, toured her home
course in 17:06. UAA's Laura Rombach was seventh in 17:17 and Steffi Hiemer was
ninth in 17:28. The team scores are determined by by each squad's top three
finishers. Also competing for the Seawolves were Maya Radonich (29th-18:48)
and Karina Smith (30th-18:49).
In support of Ebner, UAA's Nevio Zeni was 18th in 15:03,
Davis Dunlap 22nd in 15:31, Lutz Klausmann 23rd in 15:37,
Galen Johnston 24th in 15:38, and Max Treinen 29th in
16:09.
The UAA Invitational will continue on Monday (Feb. 6) with the Nordic
freestyle event at Kincaid Park with the women starting at 10 a.m., followed by
the men at 11 a.m.
