STEAMBOAT SPRINGS / WINTER PARK, Colo. – The Alaska Anchorage Nordic team made its collegiate debut with a solid showing at the Spencer James Memorial Colorado Invitational, while the Alpine team commence Day 1 at the Denver Invitational on Saturday.
The Seawolves used two podium results on Day 3 of the Colorado Invite to maintain a fourth-place standing after six events. UAA has 514 points, while host Colorado leads the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association field with 646. Denver sits in second at 620.5, while New Mexico is just one position above UAA at 578.
Leading the Seawolves in her collegiate debut was rookie Marine Dusser in the women's 15K freestyle. Dusser, from Villar de Lans, France, led UAA to 99 points with a time of 46 minutes, 6.7 seconds. Also scoring for the Seawolves was newcomer and cross country running standout Sarah Freistone (48:48.3) in 14th and freshman Patricia Sprecher (49:22.2) in 16th.
On the men's cross country side, junior Lukas Ebner led the Seawolf pack with a third-place result in the 20K freestyle. Ebner, a local of Furtwangen, Germany, completed the race at 53:51.3. Rookie Viktor Braennmark (55:14.4) and junior Lasse Molgaard-Nielsen (56:14.6) finished 9th and 12th, respectively.
On the slopes at Winter Park Resort, the Seawolves are currently seventh after two giant slalom events with 141 points. Denver leads the way at 253, while Utah, the defending NCAA Champion, is second at 193 and Colorado is third at 187.
Posting UAA's lone top-10 finish was All-American Vanessa Berther in seventh place. A native of Bellevue, Wash., Berther furnished a two-run time of 2:05.37. Anna Berecz (2:07.71) was 19th, while senior Kayla Hoog-Fry (2:11.08) was 24th.
The men's team received points from newcomer James Schindler (26th, 2:06.41), junior Christopher Kollenborg (29th, 2:07.18) and senior Cameron Brewington (32nd, 2:11.21).
The UAA Nordic team will conclude the Colorado Invite tomorrow with the classic race, while the Alpine team will compete in the second day of the Denver Invite with the slalom.
