By Máximo Steverlynck
This weekend saw college racing in both the Rocky Mountains (RMISA) and New England (EISA) regions, with the Midwest (CCSA) taking the weekend off in preparation for CCSA Championships next weekend.
RMISA: Andreas Kirkeng wins everything as Sydney Palmer-Leger leads American women
RMISA athletes competed in the Colorado Invitational, hosted in Steamboat Springs and consisting of a 7.5-kilometer freestyle interval-start competition on Friday and a 20km classic mass start on Saturday.
In the men’s 7.5km, Andreas Kirkeng of Denver took the win, skiing to a finish time of 19:35.2. Close behind him was Florian Knopf, also of Denver, coming in second with a time of 19:43.4. Rounding out the NCAA podium and breaking up the Denver streak was Hugo Hinckfuss, of Colorado, in third place among collegiate skiers with a time of 19:57.2.
Slightly ahead of Hinckfuss on the FIS results sheet was David Norris (Team Birkie currently, but also a Montana State RMISA athlete at one point in his long career), who clocked 19:54.4 in a final tuneup ahead of World Cup distance starts in Canmore later this week.
Anna-Maria Dietze of Colorado won the opening women’s race of the weekend, skiing to a 7.5km time of 22:36.1. Following her in second was Sydney Palmer-Leger of Utah, with a time of 22:54.0, and in third was Tilde Bångman, of Montana State, with a time of 23:11.7.
The 20km on Saturday featured some familiar names at the front. Andreas Kirkeng again won the men’s competition, with a winning time of 1:00:29.3. Following him in second from Colorado was Magnus Bøe, on course for 1:00:38.7. Just 0.3 seconds behind him was his teammate, Will Koch, who rounded out the podium for Colorado.
Hanna Abrahamsson, who had placed 10th on the day in the 7.5km, took the win for Colorado on Saturday, with a time of 1:07:18.2. Tilde Bångman, skiing to 3rd place the previous day, took a close 2nd place in the 20km to round out a great weekend for her, with a time of 1:07:23.8. Anna-Maria Dietze, the winner of the 7.5km, took 3rd place to stay on the podium all weekend long, with a time of 1:07:40.1.
Top American skiers on the weekend were Norris and then Koch in the 7.5km for the men, Koch and Kai Meyers in the 20km classic for the men, and Palmer-Leger and Kate Oldham, in that order, on both days for the women.
Full results (college skiers only) – Colorado Invitational / full FIS results (ft. David Norris)
EISA: Rémi Drolet sweeps for Harvard while guest athlete Ben Ogden crushes
EISA skiers took part in the Harvard Carnival, hosted at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, on Friday and Saturday. Competitions included a 15km mass start classic race and a 7.5km interval-start freestyle, with the EISA race being run in conjunction (but scored separately) with the Craftsbury Eastern Cup, an open race.
Shea Brams took the win in the 15km on Friday for Middlebury with a commanding lead, crossing the line in 43:42.0. Behind her was Emma Reeder, of Dartmouth, skiing to second place with a time of 44:15.1. Rounding out the podium was Emma Crum, of Bowdoin, taking third with a time of 44:25.7.
Winning the men’s 15km was Rémi Drolet of Harvard, with a time of 39:22.4 after a lethal late-race attack, shutting down a second-lap attack by Henrik Wist of Saint Michael’s and stringing out the competition with enough time to grab a Harvard flag into the finish. Finn Sweet of UVM took second with a time of 40:06.5. Rounding out the podium was Zach Ennis, of Bowdoin, hanging on to Sweet with a time of 40:10.1.
Ben Ogden, back in the states in transit to Canmore and racing in his mustache-emblazoned NNF fan bib, blew the open race out of the water on Saturday with a time of 15:47.0 and reminded us all why he’s on the World Cup. Winning the EISA competition was Rémi Drolet, making it a perfect EISA weekend with a time of 16:01.6. Keelan Durham took 2nd for Williams, with a time of 16:25.5. Rounding out the college podium was Jack Young of Colby, close behind Durham with a time of 16:26.2.
Finegan Bailey joined Ogden, his SMS teammate, on the open-race overall podium in third, behind Drolet in second.
Luci Anderson took the women’s 7.5km for UNH with a time of 18:10.5. Following her in second place was Elizabeth Tuttle, skiing for UVM, to a total time of 18:25.9. In third, was Annie McColgan, also for UVM, skiing to a time of 18:36.6. Also worth mentioning is Shea Brams, who took the win in the 15km, finishing just 0.2 seconds off of the podium in 4th on Saturay.
Racing continues next weekend for all three conferences in the leadup to NCAA Championships, to be hosted this year by Colorado in Steamboat Springs.
The RMISA races this coming weekend at the Denver Invitational, the EISA races at the Dartmouth Carnival, and the CCSA races at the CCSA Conference Championships, hosted by The College of Saint Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota.
