STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. – The Alaska Anchorage Seawolves finished the 63rd 2016 NCAA Skiing Championships in ninth place at the conclusion of the men's and women's classical races Saturday at Howelsen Hill.
The Seawolves racked up a combined 179.5 points after eight scored events for their ninth straight top-10 finish at the NCAAs and 33rd overall all. Denver took over the lead with three events remaining and pulled away in winning its 23rd NCAA ski title, racking up 567.5 points. The NCAA defending champion Colorado leapfrogged Utah for second, while the Utes finished third (485); Montana State finished fourth (406), its highest finish in its history, and Dartmouth took fifth (335).
Western schools continued their dominance, now placing at least three in the top four 31 times in the 34 meets since the sport went coed in 1983; this was the fifth time the west swept the top four spots.
In the final two Nordic races, the Seawolves were led by freshman Luca Winkler in 26th, finishing the 20K classic races with a time of 53 minutes, 58.5 seconds. Additionally, senior Etienne Richard was 36th at 55:19.4 and freshman Toomas Kollo was 38th at 55:57.9.
Meanwhile in the women's 15K classic, senior Mackenzie Kanady wrapped up her collegiate career with a 32nd-place performance at 1:00:23.6. Sophomore Casey Wright was 35th at 1:01:52.7 and senior Patricia Sprecher was 39th at 1:11:10.3.
The Seawolves conclude the 2016 slate with an All-America result by senior Sean Alexander, who finished sixth in the giant slalom on Wednesday. UAA landed three Seawolves – Kanady, Alexander and Maria Gudmundsdottir – on the All-RMISA Second Team, while Alexander captured the giant slalom title at the conference meet.
New Hampshire will host the 2017 meet in Franconia, N.H. (March 8-11); the 2018 meet will be in the west with sites currently bidding for the honor.
NCAA Skiing Championship Team Scores (Final, 8 events)— 1. Denver 567½; 2. Colorado 491½; 3. Utah 485; 4. Montana State 406; 5. Dartmouth 335; 6. New Mexico 317½; 7. Vermont 310; 8. Northern Michigan 217; 9. Alaska Anchorage 179½; 10. New Hampshire 151; 11. Middlebury 133; 12. Colby 107; 13. Alaska-Fairbanks 97; 14. Williams 86; 15. St. Michael's 50; 16. Plymouth State 27; 17. Michigan Tech 19; 18. St. Scholastica 6; 19. Bates 1; 20. Harvard and Wisconsin-Green Bay 0.
Men's 20-Kilometer Classical (38 finishers)— 1. Mads Stroem, CU, 49:41.9; 2. Moritz Madlener, DU, 49:43.6; 3. Niklas Persson, Utah, 50:00.6; 4. Ian Torchia, NMU, 50:22.1; 5. Adam Martin, NMU, 50:39.7; 6. Eli Hoenig, Williams, 50:43.2; 7. Kevin Bolger, Utah, 50:47.4; 8. Jack Hegman, UVM, 50:49.5; 9. Petter Reistad, CU, 51:17.3; 10. Dag Trolleboe, DU, 51:24.2. Other CU Finisher: 19. Arnaud DuPasquier, 52:46.3.
Women's 15-Kilometer Classical (38 finishers)— 1. Linn Eriksen, DU, 54:37.6; 2. Katie Roivas, UNM, 54:57.5; 3. Ane Johnsen, CU, 54:58.8; 4. Veronica Kayerhofer, Utah, 55:06.0; 5. Jesse Knorri, CU, 55:13.8; 6. Aja Starkey, DU, 55:20.5; 7. Nicole Bathe, UAF, 55:22.1; 8. Emilie Cedervaern, UNM, 55:22.5; 9. Olivia Amber, Colby, 55:30.7; 10. Eva Severrus, UNM, 55:39.8. Other CU Finisher: 17. Petra Hyncicova, 56:24.2.
