Two UW Nordic Skiers Win National Titles on Opening Day

It was a good day to be a University of Wyoming Cowgirl and Cowboy.

The UW women’s and men’s Nordic ski teams opened the United States Collegiate Ski Association (USCSA) championships Tuesday at Mount Bachelor in Bend, Ore., in rousing fashion, crowning two individual champions, while taking the early lead in the team races.

Casper junior Elise Sulser and Laramie freshman Mason Vincent won their respective 7.5km races to pace the Cowgirls and Cowboys at the USCSA championships, which run through Saturday, March 7.

Sulser won her title by nearly a minute. The defending national champion Cowgirls had four team members place in the top 10. Teammate Sierra Jech, a Cody junior, placed fourth; Jackson sophomore Yara Thomas took sixth; and, in eighth place, was junior Britta Schroeter, from Ironwood, Mich.

Also placing among the top 20 skiers for the UW women were Leann Bentley, a Laramie freshman, in 11th place; sophomore Meghan Kent, also from Laramie, in 16th; and finishing 19th was Jackson senior Sevi Hagen.

The Cowgirls lead the team race by two points over perennial power St. Olaf College (Northfield, Minn.).

“The women had a great day, and then our men raced and just crushed it,” UW co-head coach Christi Boggs says.

The Pokes put four team members among the top 10 finishers.

Vincent won the overall race. Placing fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, were Will Timmons, an Anchorage, Alaska, sophomore; Kyle Bochanski, a senior from Fairfax, Vt.; and Ben Noren, a senior from Ironwood, Mich.

Just finishing out of the top 10 in 11th place was Anchorage senior Kyle Carpenter; Casper junior Taylor Vignaroli placed 13th; and, in 16th place, was Cheyenne junior Sindre Solvang.

“Half the top 16 place winners were in brown and gold,” Boggs says. “Two individual national champions and two national championship teams in one day -- it’s good to be a Poke.”

The UW men, who were the national runners-up last season, opened up a 14-point lead for the men’s team championship over St. Olaf.

Action resumes Wednesday with the 1.5km freestyle sprint competition.