The UAA ski team captured third place and was a scant half-point out of second place at a Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association meet that came to a premature end Friday in Park City, Utah.
The second of two men’s giant slalom races was called off because of heavy snow that made conditions unsafe.
“At some point I’m happy to walk away from this one without any injuries,” said UAA head coach Sparky Anderson, who said conditions “were extremely rough.”
The Seawolves sat in second place in the eight-team meet after a pair of women’s giant slalom races Thursday.
Georgia Burgess led UAA in both of those races, placing ninth in the first one and seventh in the second. Rebecca Fliegl posted a pair of top-15 finishes, placing 15th in the first race and 10th in the second.
[3 top-10 finishes for UAA alpine skiers in Utah]
Didrik Nilsen topped the men’s team with an 11th-place finish Saturday. He posted the fourth-fastest time in the first run and along with teammates Michael Soetaert and Moro Bamber were in good position heading into the second run. Neither Soetaert nor Bamber finished the second run and Nilsen struggled to drop seven places.
“Brutal day,” Anderson said. “The boys skied so well in the first run, and we had a chance to really put the lid on some other teams. Unfortunately, the guys just didn’t execute on the second run.
“The good news is that our team is skiing fast across the board, we just need better execution and consistency.”
The meet began with cross-country races at Utah’s Soldier Hollow in January. The University of Utah won the team title with 590.5 points. Montana State was second with 473 points, with UAA right behind with 472.5.
UAA’s alpine team returns to the Park City slopes for more racing next week.