UW Nordic Ski Teams Pick Up Victories

January 31, 2012

Both University of Wyoming Nordic ski teams swept races at last weekend‘s Colorado Mesa University (CMU) invitational.

The Cowboys and Cowgirls captured the 1km freestyle sprint race Saturday and a 10km classic Sunday as UW continues to dominate heading to the 34th annual United States Collegiate Ski Association (USCSA) championships March 5-10, in Sunday River, Maine.

During Saturday's competition, Cody's Sierra Jech, a sophomore, skied away from the field, followed by teammate Bridget Weiner, a Casper sophomore. Cowgirls Sarah Dixson, a Steamboat Springs, Colo., sophomore, and junior Sarah Johnson, from Duluth, Minn., placed fourth and fifth, respectively.

With her second-place finish, Weiner took back the overall leader's bib from CMU's Brooke Bosman.

With four women placing among the top five finishers, the UW team had a season-low seven points to win the 1km race, followed by CMU with 19 points. The United States Air Force Academy had 28 points for third place and fourth went to Western State College (WSC) with 47.

On the men's side, UW edged the host CMU club by a single point -- 15-16 -- to take the overall title. Air Force had 24 points and WSC was six points back.

All four Cowboy team members placed in the top 10. Junior Willie Via, of Fairbanks, Alaska, placed fourth followed in order by junior Kyle Bochanski, of Fairfax, Vt., and senior Devin Oderwald from Granby, Colo. Senior Adam Karges, of Grand Rapids, Minn., placed ninth.

Jech was Sunday's classic race runner-up and Cowgirl teammate Linnea Dixson, a Steamboat Springs freshman, placed fourth. Senior Cara Noseworthy, a Medford, N. J., senior took sixth and Sarah Dixson was seventh.

The Cowgirls were in single-digit scoring again, with nine team points followed by CMU with 17, Air Force with 27 and WSU with 50 for fourth place.

The UW men also captured the 10km classic competition with 12 points, while runner-up CMU had 20. The Air Force club scored 22 points and WSU 26.

Individually, Bochanski was the race's second-place finisher. Teammate Via was fourth and Oderwald placed sixth. Bochanski has skied his way up the men's individual season standings to third place overall, just three points out of the runner-up position.

"Both teams skied amazing and are starting to ski faster as we start our peaking program for nationals," UW Coach Christi Boggs says.

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