STOWE, Vt. — The University of Colorado ski team ended a three-year run for the University of Denver on Saturday, dominating the 58th NCAA skiing championships.
“This was nice for us,” CU coach Richard Rokos said. “It was a good championship. Lots of things happened during the year and for us to win to put a lid on it this way — it was something we were fighting and hoping for all year long.”
It was a savored victory for a team beset by tragedy and trials this season. The team raced in memory of Spencer Nelson, a sophomore skier who was killed hiking near Aspen in August.
“We’ve kept him in our minds all season,” Rokos said heading into the competition.
A number of injuries dogged the team, but the season has come “full circle,” Rokos said.
The Buffs had a strong showing during the four-day championships, with team wins in women’s giant slalom and nordic 5K free technique, and in men’s slalom and nordic 20K classic.
The win is Colorado’s 17th national championship, and the first since 2006. Rokos said he was happy to keep the title in the state.
From Day One, the talking point of the competition was the weather. A massive storm Monday greeted competitors with 2 feet of snow, altering travel plans and forcing crews to work overtime clearing the race courses. The snow was followed by mild, rainy weather that forced rescheduling of the men’s and women’s giant slalom.
“It’s typical Vermont weather and you can’t complain about it,” Rokos said. “We were expecting it, actually.”
CU (831 points) beat out Utah (750.5) and Dartmouth (643) to take the team title.
Denver finished fifth (592), after multiple injuries forced coach Andy LeRoy to field a second-string team. Still, a team win in women’s slalom Saturday gave the Pioneers something to take home. Strong showings in the nordic races in rainy conditions also kept spirits up.
“That feels good for the week,” LeRoy said. “We can go back and believe all we’re doing is working and just go ahead with the next crop of youngsters and hope for a better next year.”
LeRoy also was happy the title will stay in Colorado.
“Congratulations to (the Buffaloes), they were unflappable this week,” he said. “They deserve this win. I couldn’t be more excited that if we didn’t do it they were able to clearly dominate like they did.”
The story of Saturday for DU was freshman Sterling Grant’s win in the women’s slalom. Grant, who was on the U.S. Ski Team, dominated the competition, with teammate Lindsay Cone coming in second.
Grant “has been the best skier all year,” LeRoy said, especially since she started the second run at the bottom of the start list.
“In those conditions, she had to scratch and claw her way to make it happen,” LeRoy said.
