UW Nordic Ski Teams Win West Regional, Head to Nationals March 9-14

They’re going to Lake Placid.

The University of Wyoming men’s and women’s Nordic ski teams captured the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) West Regional Championships Feb. 28-March 1 over five other teams at Chimney Park Nordic Trails. By virtue of their win in all four races, the Cowboys and Cowgirls earned a trip to the USCSA National Championships, scheduled in Lake Placid, N.Y., Monday through Saturday, March 9-14. The UW men’s team is the defending national champion, and the women’s team was national runner-up last year.

The regional competition began with a 15km mass start race Saturday, Feb. 28, and both UW teams responded well to the course, located between Woods Landing and Fox Park southwest of Laramie. The UW men had the individual winner in Lander sophomore Diego Lobatos with a time of 39:48.52 and placed five skiers in the top 10 on their way to the team win. Eleanor Veauthier, a Casper sophomore, led the way for the Cowgirls with a fourth-place individual finish, and three other teammates finished in the top 10 to secure first overall as a team.

“It was such a fun race today. The trails were great, and the top men all skied in a pack. Watching the sea of brown and gold at the front of the pack was so inspiring,” says co-head coach Christine Boggs. “Diego (Lobatos) made a bold move with about 3km to go, and no one could go with him. Austin (Quillinan) made a late move on second place but was just squeezed out in the finish. The women skied very solidly, right in the hunt and, thanks to Gigi (Mahood), were able to take home the team win. Everyone is looking good for College Nationals the second week in March.”

After Lobatos, Quillinan, a Laramie junior, crossed the line in third. Ben Clough, a freshman from New London, N.H., was right behind in fourth; William Blair, a Casper freshman, came home in sixth; and Drew Crouch, a freshman from Salt Lake City, Utah, finished eighth.

Other Cowboy finishers were Eliot Kramer, a junior from Duluth, Minn., in 11th; Jack Jendro, a sophomore from Andover, Minn., placed 12th; Henry Philips, a Cody freshman, took 14th place; Jason Zanghuan, a graduate student from Shanghai, China, was 19th; and John Zhang, a graduate student from Nanjing China, rounded out the top 20.   

The Cowboys took the team race with a low score of eight, followed by runner-up Colorado Mesa University (CMU), which had 17 points. Those teams were followed by Western Colorado University (WCU), Colorado College (CC), the University of Colorado-Boulder (CU) club team and Colorado State University (CSU).

After Veauthier on the women’s side, Leah Ines, a freshman from Holderness, N.H., glided to a sixth-place finish; Shayla Babits, a Lander junior, was seventh; and Mahood, a Jackson freshman, took ninth.

Other Cowgirl finishers were Morgan Gelwicks, a freshman from Laramie, in 14th; Stella Ordahl, a junior from Hillman, Minn., was right behind in 15th; Kelly Xu, a senior from Chuxiong, China, took 16th; and Mia Yu, a graduate student from Qingdao, China, finished 18th.

The Cowgirls and CMU tied for first with 17 points each, but UW was the ultimate winner by virtue of having Mahood, its fourth-place finisher, finish ahead of CMU’s fourth-place skier for the tiebreaker, Bogg says. Those teams were followed by WCU, CC, CU club and CSU.

No letting up

Both UW teams came right back Sunday, March 1, to each take the team titles in the 7.5km classic individual start race. Jendro took first with a time of 22:37.83 to lead the Cowboys, and Veauthier paced the Cowgirls with a second-place individual finish in 27:52.61.

“It was the most challenging type of classic waxing possible. The racers had to make difficult decisions about having a gliding ski or a kicking ski that might grab, and no choice was perfect,” says co-head coach Rachel Watson. “In these challenging conditions, our skiers got gritty and used every tool they had to overcome the barriers that every competitor had. They dug in and rose to the occasion.”

After Jendro, Lobatos was third; Crouch was right behind in fourth; Clough took eighth; and Kramer rounded out the top 10.

Other Cowboy finishers were Quillinan in 11th; Phillips took 13th; Hunter Pickett, a Casper freshman, placed 16th; Zhang was 21st; and Zanghuan came home in 23rd place.

The Cowboys had the low and winning score of eight, with WCU taking second with 15 points. CMU, CC and CSU followed in third through sixth.

After Veauthier, Ines followed in seventh for the Cowgirls; Babits took eighth; and Mahood rounded out the top 10.

Other Cowgirl finishers were Gelwicks in 13th; Kiana Henny, a graduate student from Whidbey Island, Wash., in 17th; Ordahl was 19th; Xu took 20th place; Yu was close behind in 22nd; and Danielle Taylor, a graduate student from Vail, Colo., rounded out the UW finishers in 24th.

The Cowgirls completed the four-race winning sweep for UW with a low score of 17 points, holding off CMU, which had 25 points. WCU, CU club, CSU and CC, as teams, placed fourth through sixth.

UW teams capture Rocky Mountain Conference

The regional competition also served as the culminating races for the entire Rocky Mountain Conference. The top three teams and the five top individuals after the eight-race season are recognized.

“The points are tallied like World Cup points and demonstrate quality of racing as well as consistency,” Watson says.

 

For the eight races, the UW men had the overall low score of 92 points, followed by WCU with 150 points, and CMU scored 229 points. The top three teams were followed by CMU, the U.S. Air Force Academy, CC, CU club and CSU. For UW, Lobatos, Quillinan, Jendro, Clough, Crouch, Blair, Kramer, Simonson and Pickett qualified for nationals.

 

“We are only allowed to race seven athletes in a race. So, while all skiers will be able to go to the national competition, only seven will be able to race each race,” Watson says of the nine UW male skiers.

 

The story was the same for the UW women skiers. For the eight races, the Cowgirls tallied a combined low mark of 123 to finish first overall on the season. They were followed in second by CMU with 146 points, and WCU was third with 264 points. The top three teams were followed by CU club, CC, CSU and Air Force. Individually, Veauthier, Babits, Ines, Mahood, Gelwicks and Ordahl qualified for nationals for UW.

 

During nationals, which will take place on Whiteface Mountain and Mount Van Hoevenberg, skiers will compete in a 7.5km classic race Tuesday, March 10; a skate sprint Wednesday, March 11; and a 15km skate mass start Friday, March 13. The competition concludes with a team sprint race and an awards ceremony for overall team winners Saturday, March 14. During the week, daily team awards will be handed out, Boggs says.