The defending national champion University of Colorado ski team is in first place after two events at the CU Invitational/Spencer Nelson Memorial, with the Buffaloes holding a three-point edge over Utah following Saturday’s giant slalom races at Eldora.
Colorado posted 239 team points to Utah’s 236, while the University of Denver is fourth with 182 points.
CU senior Erika Ghent won the women’s giant slalom with a time of 1:55.38, posting the fastest runs in both the morning (54.82) and afternoon (1:00.56) to easily win the race by nearly a full second on Eldora Mountain Resort’s La Belle Dame course. Buffs teammate Katie Hartman was third (1:56.55).
In the men’s giant slalom, the Buffaloes placed two in the top five, behind Utah’s Nick Cohee, who won with two runs totaling 1:55.96. CU freshman Adam Zika finished second with a time of 1:56.14. DU’s Espen Lysdahl got the final podium spot with a time of 1:56.88. CU’s Andreas Haug was fourth (1:57.03).
The slalom races are today, with the men’s two runs beginning at 8:30 a.m. and the women at 11:30.
