Among the great college sports rivalries for more than a half-century, Denver and Colorado continue to share dominance over American collegiate skiing.
When it’s not too snowy.
Nasty weather stamped out the start of the 56th NCAA Ski Championships on Wednesday in Bethel, Maine. But when the Pioneers and Buffaloes finally got going Thursday, their names raced right toward the top of the standings.
Through the halfway mark, Denver topped the 22-team field with 330 points, followed closely by Vermont (326), Utah (318), Colorado (299) and Alaska-Anchorage (283).
Just 69 points separate the top seven teams through four events. Those rankings likely won’t stand through Saturday, when the meet ends and the NCAA crowns another champion. At the halfway point last year, the difference between No. 1 and No. 7 was 117.5 points.
Defending champion Denver and Colorado have combined for 35 titles, and the schools have finished 1-2 in 12 championship meets. Denver’s 19 titles are a record, followed by CU with 16. But Colorado’s 78 individual titles are the high mark, followed by Denver with 72.
DU’s newest solo champion joined the list Thursday. Antje Maempel won the women’s 5-kilometer classical title by 6.5 seconds.
“This was our best nordic performance of the year, when it mattered the most,” DU coach David Stewart said of the sophomore from Stuelzerbach, Germany. “Antje consistently prepared throughout the season. . . . This was a matter of peaking at the right time.”
Last season in Montana, the championships went to the wire. Denver overcame a 17.5-point deficit on the final day to vault past second-place Colorado. It was the second time in NCAA history a team won the title with one skier less than the 12-member limit. The other team to win with just 11 skiers? Colorado, of course, in 1999.
The Buffs on Thursday were led by Jesper Ostensen’s third-place finish in the men’s 10K classical race. “I felt really good today, better than in a long time,” Ostensen said.
The championships continue through Saturday at the Sunday River in Bethel and the Black Mountain Touring Center in nearby Rumford, Maine.
NCAA skiing championships
Through Saturday, at Bethel and Rumford, Maine
• In 55 previous championship meets, Denver (19) and Colorado (16) have combined for 35 national titles.
• Since 1998, Pios and Buffs have combined to win eight of 11 titles.
• Colorado won a record eight consecutive titles in the 1970s. Denver won seven in a row in the ’60s
• CU’s 78 individual titles are a record, followed by DU’s 72.
AROUND TOWN
Bump, set, spike festival.
Like a swarm of bees — if bees were hard-hitting spikers and expert diggers — more than 10,000 girls volleyball players and many more spectators will be in Denver this weekend and next for the Colorado Crossroads national qualifier.
The tournament, one of five in the country — and, according to organizers, the third-largest indoor volleyball ever in the nation — will weed teams of girls ages 10 to 18 for the USA Junior Olympic Championships starting in June in Miami.
The qualifier at the Colorado Convention Center collects teams from 34 states and has done so for the past 23 years. Action starts Saturday and runs through Monday, then is followed by another three-day session next weekend.
STAY ON THE COUCH
Break out those brackets.
There’s plenty of basketball to be played before Sunday’s NCAA Tournament selection show, including the Big 12 Conference championship game Saturday at 4 p.m. (ESPN) and the final conference title game, the Big Ten championship, Sunday at 1:30 p.m. (KCNC-4).
And already there is surprise. The Big 12’s top seed, Kansas, was knocked out Thursday by Baylor. It’s the kind of loss that can cause a domino effect through the college scene and pick up or drop bubble teams.
But the selection show will sort it all out. Fill in your early brackets for the 65-team field, being announced Sunday at 4 p.m. on CBS (KCNC-4).
GET OFF THE COUCH
Going for the green.
Among the many St. Patrick’s Day running events this weekend throughout Colorado, the biggest, greenest edition will run through LoDo in Denver.
The Runnin’ of the Green Lucky 7K and 2-mile walk starts and finishes at McCormick’s Fish House and Bar at 17th and Wazee streets. Best of all, the race starts at the hangover-friendly time of 10:15 a.m.
The Runnin’, now in its 21st year, had more runners preregister than any previous year. The race benefits the Meals on Wheels program, which helps deliver meals to elderly people.
Check for more information.
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
Ready for indoor war.
The NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, today and Saturday at College Station, Texas, will crown dozens of champions. Among the top contenders, three from Colorado and one from Air Force could end up All-Americans.
Colorado’s Jenny Barringer, who owns collegiate bests this season in the mile and 5,000 meters, will compete in the 3,000, for which she also owns the nation’s fastest time this season. Jeremy Dodson, who owns the CU record in the 200 meters, enters the finals with the fifth-fastest time in the country. And Kenyon Neuman, 5,000 meters, enters ranked No. 6.
In men’s pole vault, Air Force’s Nick Frawley, the Falcons’ record-holder at 18 feet, 1 inch, is fourth in the nation this season.
OUT AND ABOUT
Lacrosse will rock the Rockies.
The Regis University women’s lacrosse team will host the Rock the Rockies Lax and Jams — a collection of youth lacrosse clinics, live music and a high school game between Ralston Valley and Chaparral — on Saturday.
The coaching staff from the Denver Outlaws of Major League Lacrosse will head the clinic, and be helped by several area college players.
It’s all a benefit for the University of Colorado Cancer Center. Check and click on clinics and camps for more info.
