Hoegbom, Sierra Nevada claim USCSA GS wins

By Published On: March 7th, 2013Comments Off on Hoegbom, Sierra Nevada claim USCSA GS wins

Nils Hoegbom of Rocky Mountain College survived a wild final run in near whiteout conditions to win the USCSA Men’s Giant Slalom National Championship on the Grayhawk Trail at Sun Valley.

Sierra Nevada College claimed the team title in the Giant Slalom, as the Eagles had three competitors finishing in the top six.

Hoegbom, a freshman, from Ostersund, Sweden, had nearly a two-second lead after the first run as the fourth skier down the hill. Conditions deteriorated throughout the first run, as the course was twice put on hold.

After an outstanding second run by Luca Ricou of SNC set the time for Hoegbom, he was in position to cruise to the win – but caught an edge in a tricky exchange six gates from the finish, nearly missed two gates, but held it together to  finished off-balance, still nearly a full second ahead of the competition.

Ricou and Jaka Jazbec placed second and third for SNC, with teammate Viking Roald placing sixth. Rocky took second as a team – with placing three skiers in the Top-10. St. Olaf, Babson, and Clarkson rounded out the Top-5.

British Columbia’s Mike Bisnaire finished fourth, with Haakon Schoenheyder of St. Olaf placing fifth. A total of 22 competitors did not finish the first run, with 20 other competitors failing to finish run two.

The men will return to the course for their slalom competition to complete the alpine combined on Friday.

Individual Results
1 Nils Hoegbom (RMC) 2:02.73
2 Luca Ricou (SNC) 2:03.46
3 Jaka Jazbec (SNC) 2:04.70
4 Mike Bisnaire (UBC) 2:05.04
5 Haakon Schoenheyder (St. Olaf) 2:05.26
6 Viking Roald (SNC) 2:06.43
7 Arthur Loye (RMC) 2:06.70
8 Reilly Harris (Ohio U.) 2:07.76
9 Harlan Collins (RMC) 2:08.68
10 Paal Andre Protiz (St. Olaf) 2:09.47.

Team Results
1 Sierra Nevada (Nev.) 6:14.59
2 Rocky Mountain (MT) 6:18.11
3 St. Olaf (MN) 6:38.41
4 Babson (MA) 6:42.11
5 Clarkson (NY) 6:45.49
6 St. Anselm (NH) 6:45.89
7 Renesslear Polytechnic (NY) 6:53.71
8 Massachusetts 6:57.98
9 Castleton State (VT) 6:59.26
10 Navy 7:24.91
11 British Columbia 7:35.45
12 California 7:45.96
13 Michigan 8:02.99
14 College of Idaho 8:06.69
15 Penn State 8:22.54
16 Minnesota-Duluth 8:31.03
17 Virginia 8:58.14
18 Cornell 8:59.23
19 Air Force 9:04.61.

Share This Article

About the Author: Hank McKee

In memoriam: The veteran of the staff, McKee started with Ski Racing in 1980. Over the seasons, he covered virtually every aspect of the sport, from the pro tours to junior racing, freestyle and World Cup alpine competition. He wrote the first national stories for many U.S. team stars, and was still around to report on their retirements. “Longevity has its rewards,” he said, “but it’s a slow process.”