UW Nordic Ski Teams Win Three of Four Team Races at Western Colorado University Invitational

The University of Wyoming Nordic ski team captured three of four team races and had one individual winner at last weekend’s Westen Colorado University (WCU) Invitational.

The women captured both the 1km classic sprint Saturday, Feb. 7, and the 10km skate mass start race Sunday, Feb. 8. Jack Jendro, a sophomore from Andover, Minn., took individual honors in the men’s classic sprint. The men’s team also won the classic sprint but finished second in the skate mass start -- only three points behind the host team WCU.

“Jack skied more powerfully every round and was so strong. He was able to drop the field and hold his lead on the first hill,” says co-Head Coach Rachel Watson. “This is a particularly meaningful achievement since he had to rehab an early-season injury.”

Hunter Pickett, a freshman from Casper, was second in the classic sprint; Austin Quillinan, a junior from Laramie, just missed the podium, finishing fourth; and Diego Labatos, a Lander sophomore, was seventh.

Other UW finishers were William Blair, a Casper freshman, in 10th; Eliot Kramer, a junior from Duluth, Minn., placed 12th; Drew Crouch, a freshman from Salt Lake City, Utah, followed in 13th; Ben Clough, a freshman from New London, N.H., finished 16th; and Henry Phillips, a freshman from Sheridan, was 21st.

UW had the low and winning team score of seven points, well ahead of host WCU, which had 22 points. They were followed by Colorado Mesa University (CMU), Colorado College (CC), Colorado State University (CSU) and the Air Force Academy.

For the Cowgirls, Shayla Babits, a Lander junior, led the way in third in the classic sprint. Babits was followed by Eleanor Veauthier, a Casper sophomore, in fifth; and Leah Ines, a freshman from Holderness, N.H., took seventh.

Other Cowgirl finishers were Gigi Mahood, a freshman from Jackson, in 12th; Morgan Gelwicks, a freshman from Laramie, was 13th; Kiana Henny, a graduate student from Whidbey Island, Wash., finished 17th; and Stella Ordahl, a junior from Hillman, Minn., placed 19th. Mia Yu, a graduate student from Qingdao, China, finished 21st; Kelly Xu, a senior from Chuxiong, China, was 22nd; and Freya Zhang, a graduate student from Hefei, China, finished 23rd.

The Cowgirls won the race with a low score of 15 points, followed by CMU with 22 points. They were followed by WCU, the University of Colorado Boulder (CU) club team, CC and CSU.

Going the distance

In the 10km skate mass start, Diego Labatos, a Lander sophomore, paced the Cowboys to a second-place team finish by taking fourth place overall. Blair followed in sixth; Jendro was eighth; and Clough was ninth.

Other Cowboy finishers were Pickett in 12th, followed by Austin Quillinan, a junior from Laramie, in 13th. Kramer was 15th and Phillips was 19th.

Host WCU took the men’s distance race with a low score of 15 points, just nipping UW with 18 points. Those two teams were followed by CMU, Air Force, CC, Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU), CSU and CU.

In the women’s 10km skate mass start, Babits again led the way for the Cowgirls, finishing fourth, and sparking a first-place team win. She was followed by Veauthier in fifth; Ines in sixth; Gelwicks was eighth and Mahood, 10th.

Results for other Cowgirls in the distance race were Ordahl in 18th; with Henny on her heels in 19th place and Xu was 20th. Yu and Zhang followed in 22nd and 23rd, respectively.

The Cowgirls had a low score of 15, followed by CMU with 21 points. The two schools were followed by CU, WCU, CC, CSU and Air Force.

“Another great day on the trails! The top three women skied in a tight pack for the entire race, and this enabled them to take the double team win for the weekend. Five women in the top 10 was a fantastic achievement,” co-Head Coach Christi Boggs says about the second-day races. “The men managed four in the top 10, but one of our top skiers got tangled at the start, putting us squarely at a disadvantage. Despite this, some of our younger skiers stepped up and really skied strong. Only losing to Western Colorado University by three points was impressive in this tough race.”