NEDERLAND, COLO. – University of Alaska Anchorage skiers Ashleigh Alexander and Ainsley Proffit both finished in the top-10 in the giant slalom at the CU Invite Thursday.
Alexander placed seventh (1:47.03) and Proffit was ninth (1:47.23).
The Seawolves also enjoyed top-25 finishes from Carmen Nielson 23rd (1:49.63) and Alyssa Hill 25th (1:49.78).
Leon Nikic was the top UAA skier in the men's race finishing 14th (1:40.59).
Hunter Eid placed 23rd (1:41.86), and Jan Ronner was 24th (1:41.93).
"Solid start to the CU Invite for the Alpine group," said head coach Sparky Anderson. "Ashleigh and Ainsley both top 10. Alyssa skied great but got caught inside and skied off-line, otherwise she'd have been right there with them. Nice job for Leon to fight his way from a late bib into the top 15. Hunter showcased some really good stuff today. He was hammering and loaded his ski off the bottom jump and lost a bunch of time. We're excited to see what he can do with a mistake free run. The rest of our group is getting there. It's about climbing the ladder one rung at a time. Progress. You want to keep going up without falling off."
Denver's Sara Rask won the women's race in 1:44.92, and Filip Foregtek of Colorado won the men's race in 1:38.90.
UAA is currently fifth of 10 teams with 371 points.
The CU Invite concludes Friday with the slalom races.
