Utah returns fire, takes lead at CU Invitational

Utah returned heavy fire in the make-up slaloms of the University of Colorado Invitational/Spencer Nelson Memorial held at Breckenridge on Tuesday (Jan. 11) and Wednesday (Jan. 12) as add-ons to the previously scheduled Surefoot Colorado Ski Cup races. A barrage of podium results launched the Utes into a 29-point lead over Colorado heading into the four Nordic races still to be contested.

In the women’s race, Sterling Grant’s (Denver) winning streak in slalom came to an unfortunate end when she finished second to Utah’s Julie Bordeau who pilfered the victory by nearly a second. Utah locked up first, third, and fourth place results with Anna Kocken and Tii-Maria Romar lending ammunition to the assault.

Petter Brenna of Westminster College rallied in the second run to overtake Utah’s Ryan Wilson, the first run winner who held on for third on the day. Second place went to Denver’s freshman standout, Trevor Philp, who helped move his team into third place overall. Colorado’s Fletcher McDonald finished fourth, but Utah still maintained its team lead.

The University of Colorado Invitational concludes on Saturday after the Nordic races at Steamboat Springs, while the University of Denver Invitational kicks off Saturday with alpine events at Winter Park.

Team scores following alpine events of the Colorado Invitational:
University of Utah – 469
University of Colorado – 440
University of Denver – 386
University of New Mexico – 379
University of Alaska Anchorage – 341
Westminster College – 293
Montana State University – 276
Colorado Mountain College – 87

Photo of men’s race winner Petter Brenna by Joel Broida