The UAA ski team got off to a rough start at the NCAA skiing championships Wednesday in Bozeman, Montana.
Rebecca Fiegl of Austria had the team’s best finish in the giant slalom race at Bridger Bowl, where skiers from Denver University swept the men’s and women’s titles.
Fiegl placed 17th and Georgia Burgess of Calgary placed 28th in the women’s race, and Michael Soetaert of Edmonton, Alberta, finished 26th in the men’s race.
Fiegl was 25th after the first run but turned in the 12th-fastest second run to move up to 17th overall. Burgess was 13th in the first run but struggled in the second run when she caught an edge. Soeaert moved up in the men’s standings after finishing 31st in the first run, and Didrik Nilsen of Norway did not finish.
Victories went to Denver’s Tobias Kogler in the men’s race and Storm Klomhaus in the women’s race.
"We took the shots we had to take today," UAA coach Sparky Anderson said in a release from the school. "It's a world class field and to score points we knew we had to take some risks. … We gave it all we had, but the execution wasn't where it needed to be.”
Denver swept both individual titles with Tobias Kogler winning the men’s race (1:46.93), and Storm Klomhaus winning the women’s (1:53.35). The championships continue Thursday with a cross-country freestyle race.