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DU wins third consecutive NCAA skiing title

Four-day event wrapped up Saturday at Howelsen Hill

Joel Reichenberger
University of Denver’s Antje Maempel, four-time NCAA individual champion, lifts the NCAA team championship trophy Saturday in Steamboat Springs. DU won the championship for the 21st time and the third time in three years.
Joel Reichenberger

NCAA National Skiing Championships

Saturday

Steamboat Springs

Team results

1. Denver 785.5

2. Colorado 714

3. New Mexico 677

4. Utah, 595

5. Dartmouth, 523

6. Vermont, 516.5

7. Alaska-Anchorage, 506

8. Montana State, 402

9. New Hampshire, 303

10. Middlebury, 270.5

11. Nevada, 258

12. Williams, 176

13. Colby, 172.5

14. Northern Michigan, 116

15.Alaska-Fairbanks, 118

16. Bates, 98

17. Wisconsin-Green Bay, 88

18. St. Lawrence ,75

19. Michigan Tech, 30

20. Wellesley, 25

21. St. Michael’s, 19

22. Gustavus Adolphus, 7

Men’s 20-Kilometer Freestyle

  1. Franz Bernstein, UVM, 49:19.7
  2. Martin Kaas, UNM, 49:20.9
  3. Matt Gelso, CU, 49:23.5
  4. Harald Loevenskiold, DU, 49:26.0
  5. Bernhard Roenning, MSU, 49:27.7
  6. Tyler Reinking, MSU, 49:31.1
  7. Ryan Scott, MSU, 49:32.6
  8. Patrick Johnson, MID, 49:33.6
  9. Lex Treinen, UAA, 49:41.6
  10. Santiago Ocariz, UWG, 49:44.3
  11. Michael Schallinger, UAA, 49:47.4
  12. Didrik Smith, UU, 49:48.7
  13. Benjamin Knowles, SLU, 49:49.5
  14. Dimitri Luthi, WIL, 49:50.1
  15. Tor-Hakon Hellebostad, UNM, 49:50.8
  16. Jesper Ostensen, CU, 49:57.9
  17. Martin Liljemark, UU, 49:59.4
  18. Andrew Dougherty, DU, 50:02.0
  19. Vegard Kjoelhamar, CU, 50:15.5
  20. Charlie Smith, UN, 50:31.8
  21. Kristian Soerlund, DU, 50:34.4
  22. Miles Havlick, UU, 50:35.4
  23. Elias Bucher, UN, 50:36.3
  24. Pierre Niess, UNM, 50:38.3
  25. Nils Koons, DAR, 50:40.1
  26. Eric Packer, DAR, 50:41.1
  27. Patrick O’Brien, DAR, 50:41.4
  28. Eric Wolcott, SLU, 50:44.0
  29. Dylan McGuffin, UNH, 51:13.8
  30. George Cartwright, NMU, 51:43.4
  31. Tyler Kornfield, UAF, 52:00.0
  32. Tor Christopherson, UAA, 52:02.5
  33. Oskar Lund, MTU, 52:11.4
  34. Chris Bowler, NMU, 52:18.1
  35. John Parry, UAF, 52:34.1
  36. Zachary Wetherell, SLU, 53:02.8
  37. Wyatt Fereday, CBC, 53:25.2
  38. Kevin Cutts, NMU, 54:19.5
  39. Jens Brabbit, GAC, 55:09.5

Women’s 15-Kilometer Freestyle

  1. Antje Maempel, DU, 41:03.0
  2. Alexa Turzian, CU, 41:09.0
  3. Eliska Hajkova, CU, 41:42.5
  4. Maria Graefnings, UN, 42:23.7
  5. Rosie Brennan, DAR, 42:25.9
  6. Polina Ermoshina, UNM, 42:34.7
  7. Mari Elden, DU, 42:36.2
  8. Jaime Bronga, UAA, 42:46.5
  9. Kaelin Kiesel, MSU, 42:47.9
  10. Joanne Reid, CU, 43:05.0
  11. Kate Dolan, DU, 43:08.9
  12. Laura DeWitt, NMU, 43:26.2
  13. Zoe Roy, UU, 43:34.5
  14. Monica Marksvarden, NMU, 43:36.5
  15. Stephanie Hiemer, UAA, 43:43.9
  16. Caitlin Patterson, UVM, 43:51.6
  17. Carolyn Freeman, UWG, 43:59.1
  18. Casey Kutz, MSU, 44:02.7
  19. Lucy Garrec, CBC, 44:06.4
  20. Mellie Park, MSU, 44:09.5
  21. Laura Rombach, UAA, 44:30.3
  22. Rose Kemp, UU, 45:04.6
  23. Linn Klaesson, UNM, 45:08.5
  24. Ida Sargent, DAR, 45:09.4
  25. Claire Egan, WC, 45:12.9
  26. Aurelia Korthauer, UAF, 45:16.6
  27. Katie Bono, DAR, 45:21.2
  28. Caitlin Curran, UVM, 45:23.6
  29. Anya Bean, UNH, 45:34.8
  30. Alice Nelson, WIL, 45:39.5
  31. Sarah MacCarthy, UU, 45:51.2
  32. Natalie Ruppertsberger, BAT, 46:07.1
  33. Jennie Bender, UVM, 46:21.4
  34. Christina Gillis, NMU, 47:02.2
  35. Natasha Kullas, UNH, 47:11.7
  36. Lauren Fritz, MID, 47:13.2
  37. Theresia Schnurr, UAF, 47:50.2
  38. Kristin Ronnestrand, UN, 48:18.1

Did Not Finish: Henna Riikonen-Purtsi, MTU





University of Denver’s Antje Maempel, four-time NCAA individual champion, lifts the NCAA team championship trophy Saturday in Steamboat Springs. DU won the championship for the 21st time and the third time in three years.
Joel Reichenberger

NCAA National Skiing Championships

Saturday

Steamboat Springs

Team results



1. Denver 785.5

2. Colorado 714



3. New Mexico 677

4. Utah, 595

5. Dartmouth, 523

6. Vermont, 516.5

7. Alaska-Anchorage, 506

8. Montana State, 402

9. New Hampshire, 303

10. Middlebury, 270.5

11. Nevada, 258

12. Williams, 176

13. Colby, 172.5

14. Northern Michigan, 116

15.Alaska-Fairbanks, 118

16. Bates, 98

17. Wisconsin-Green Bay, 88

18. St. Lawrence ,75

19. Michigan Tech, 30

20. Wellesley, 25

21. St. Michael’s, 19

22. Gustavus Adolphus, 7

Men’s 20-Kilometer Freestyle

  1. Franz Bernstein, UVM, 49:19.7
  2. Martin Kaas, UNM, 49:20.9
  3. Matt Gelso, CU, 49:23.5
  4. Harald Loevenskiold, DU, 49:26.0
  5. Bernhard Roenning, MSU, 49:27.7
  6. Tyler Reinking, MSU, 49:31.1
  7. Ryan Scott, MSU, 49:32.6
  8. Patrick Johnson, MID, 49:33.6
  9. Lex Treinen, UAA, 49:41.6
  10. Santiago Ocariz, UWG, 49:44.3
  11. Michael Schallinger, UAA, 49:47.4
  12. Didrik Smith, UU, 49:48.7
  13. Benjamin Knowles, SLU, 49:49.5
  14. Dimitri Luthi, WIL, 49:50.1
  15. Tor-Hakon Hellebostad, UNM, 49:50.8
  16. Jesper Ostensen, CU, 49:57.9
  17. Martin Liljemark, UU, 49:59.4
  18. Andrew Dougherty, DU, 50:02.0
  19. Vegard Kjoelhamar, CU, 50:15.5
  20. Charlie Smith, UN, 50:31.8
  21. Kristian Soerlund, DU, 50:34.4
  22. Miles Havlick, UU, 50:35.4
  23. Elias Bucher, UN, 50:36.3
  24. Pierre Niess, UNM, 50:38.3
  25. Nils Koons, DAR, 50:40.1
  26. Eric Packer, DAR, 50:41.1
  27. Patrick O’Brien, DAR, 50:41.4
  28. Eric Wolcott, SLU, 50:44.0
  29. Dylan McGuffin, UNH, 51:13.8
  30. George Cartwright, NMU, 51:43.4
  31. Tyler Kornfield, UAF, 52:00.0
  32. Tor Christopherson, UAA, 52:02.5
  33. Oskar Lund, MTU, 52:11.4
  34. Chris Bowler, NMU, 52:18.1
  35. John Parry, UAF, 52:34.1
  36. Zachary Wetherell, SLU, 53:02.8
  37. Wyatt Fereday, CBC, 53:25.2
  38. Kevin Cutts, NMU, 54:19.5
  39. Jens Brabbit, GAC, 55:09.5

Women’s 15-Kilometer Freestyle

  1. Antje Maempel, DU, 41:03.0
  2. Alexa Turzian, CU, 41:09.0
  3. Eliska Hajkova, CU, 41:42.5
  4. Maria Graefnings, UN, 42:23.7
  5. Rosie Brennan, DAR, 42:25.9
  6. Polina Ermoshina, UNM, 42:34.7
  7. Mari Elden, DU, 42:36.2
  8. Jaime Bronga, UAA, 42:46.5
  9. Kaelin Kiesel, MSU, 42:47.9
  10. Joanne Reid, CU, 43:05.0
  11. Kate Dolan, DU, 43:08.9
  12. Laura DeWitt, NMU, 43:26.2
  13. Zoe Roy, UU, 43:34.5
  14. Monica Marksvarden, NMU, 43:36.5
  15. Stephanie Hiemer, UAA, 43:43.9
  16. Caitlin Patterson, UVM, 43:51.6
  17. Carolyn Freeman, UWG, 43:59.1
  18. Casey Kutz, MSU, 44:02.7
  19. Lucy Garrec, CBC, 44:06.4
  20. Mellie Park, MSU, 44:09.5
  21. Laura Rombach, UAA, 44:30.3
  22. Rose Kemp, UU, 45:04.6
  23. Linn Klaesson, UNM, 45:08.5
  24. Ida Sargent, DAR, 45:09.4
  25. Claire Egan, WC, 45:12.9
  26. Aurelia Korthauer, UAF, 45:16.6
  27. Katie Bono, DAR, 45:21.2
  28. Caitlin Curran, UVM, 45:23.6
  29. Anya Bean, UNH, 45:34.8
  30. Alice Nelson, WIL, 45:39.5
  31. Sarah MacCarthy, UU, 45:51.2
  32. Natalie Ruppertsberger, BAT, 46:07.1
  33. Jennie Bender, UVM, 46:21.4
  34. Christina Gillis, NMU, 47:02.2
  35. Natasha Kullas, UNH, 47:11.7
  36. Lauren Fritz, MID, 47:13.2
  37. Theresia Schnurr, UAF, 47:50.2
  38. Kristin Ronnestrand, UN, 48:18.1

Did Not Finish: Henna Riikonen-Purtsi, MTU

— Antje Maempel knows a thing or seven about championships, so it would be wise to listen when she talks about which kind is the best.

Maempel won her second individual NCAA national championship of the weekend and the fourth of her career Saturday in Steamboat Springs, taking the four-day event’s final race, the women’s 15-kilometer Nordic freestyle.

And, the poi­nts she garnered for that victory were more than enough to allow her team, the University of Denver, to hang on to its overall lead and win the program’s third consecutive NCAA team skiing championship.

It was the program’s 21st skiing title.

“That’s so much more than winning an individual championship,” she said. “It’s so fun to be around all those people, everyone doing their best. When it works out, it’s so fun.”

The Pioneers finished with 785.5 points, enough for comfortable margins on second-place Colorado and third-place New Mexico.

“It takes a lot of luck on your side, no question,” Denver coach Andy LeRoy said. “This is such a competitive field. To come out on top as often as we have is truly something special.”

The good news came for Denver right up until the end.

Maempel, a member of each of the three-time defending DU championship squads, won the 15K race in 41 minutes, 3 seconds.

The German national out-sprinted Colorado’s Alexa Tur­zian to the finish line. She was second at 41:09. Colorado’s Eliska Hajkova was third at 41:42.5.

“The plan was to start out slow and stay behind other people, then if I had any strength left, to go at the end,” said Maempel, who also won Thursday’s 5K classic skiing event, repeating as champion in both events. “That’s just how it worked out. I knew I had a chance, but you never know.”

Franz Bernstein, of Vermont, won the men’s 20K Nordic freestyle race Saturday. He edged out Martin Kaas, of New Mexico. Bernstein was in at 49:19.7, and Kaas was in at 49:20.9.

Matt Gelso, of Colorado, was third but also close at 49:23.5.

With two on the women’s podium and one on the men’s, the University of Colorado had a good final day. It wasn’t enough to track down Denver, however, which had built a big lead, and in the end, finished with six podium finishers in the eight events and three individual national champions.

Colorado finished with 714 points. New Mexico had 677.

The Buffaloes had one champ — Gelso won the men’s 10K classic race — and five podiums.

“We’re a little disappointed because we’re always looking to win,” Colorado Nordic coach Bruce Cranmer said. “We’ve been second before. We come with the idea we want to win, so we’re disappointed, but you just have to stay hungry and be more motivated for next year.”


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