Anchorage Daily News

UAA freshman Egil Ismar and junior Kristina Repcinova earned All-American honors Thursday in the giant slalom as the NCAA ski championships shifted to alpine races at Bridger Bowl Resort in Bozeman, Mont.

Ismar, once a skier on Norway's junior national team, placed sixth in the men's GS. He was in fourth place after his first run and skied slightly faster on his second pass. But the bulk of the top-20 skiers were significantly faster on their second run.

Still, Ismar's total time was just 0.26 seconds from a podium finish.

"He put a little too much pressure on his skis coming into the flats," UAA coach Sparky Anderson said by phone.

He added that challenging conditions -- Bridger Bowl reported up to 10 inches of snow in the past 24 hours and winds 10-20 mph early Thursday morning -- slowed the race.

Repcinova, a former member of the Slovakian national ski team, placed 10th in the women's GS. She also earned All-American status as a freshman, placing seventh in the GS at nationals, but did not qualify last season.

Repcinova's finish highlighted a strong day for the UAA women. Allison Empey, a junior from Calgary, placed 16th, and Smaranda Munteanu, a senior originally from Vermont, was 18th.

Munteanu was back skiing on familiar terrain -- she transferred to UAA last year from Montana State University, which is hosting the meet.

"I couldn't be happier with all the girls, finishing in the top half of the field," Anderson said. "It was a good outing for them."

Max Meier-Meitinger, a junior from Starnberg, Germany, had a slow first run and finished 29th. The slalom, however, is Meier-Meitinger's best event, and Anderson expects him to have a top finish in that event Saturday.

Meier-Meitinger placed sixth in the slalom at the NCAA west regional this season.

Junior Jonathan Hverven, UAA's top hope at a GS medal, flew home to Norway on Thursday morning to attend to the death of a friend, Anderson said, and will miss Saturday's slalom race as well.

UAA moved into eighth place in the 21-team field. The event today moves back to Bohart Ranch for men's and women's classical ski races. It concludes Saturday at Bridger Bowl with men's and women's slalom races.

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