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  • Ødegård Defends Title; Denver Dominates at Second Day of NCAAs

    Ødegård Defends Title; Denver Dominates at Second Day of NCAAs

    Rune Ødegård (Colorado) stands atop the podium for his win in the 10 k classic at the 2014 NCAA Championships. Pierre Guedon (Denver) and Niklas Persson (Utah) followed in second and third for a European sweep.(Photo: http://bertboyer.zenfolio.com) All proceeds from photo sales will be directly donated to NNF.
    Rune Ødegård (Colorado) stands atop the podium for his win in the 10 k classic at the 2014 NCAA Championships. Pierre Guedon (Denver) and Niklas Persson (Utah) followed in second and third for a European sweep.(Photo: http://bertboyer.zenfolio.com) All proceeds from photo sales will be directly donated to NNF.

    FasterSkier’s coverage is made possible through the generous support of Madshus.

    “It’s almost cheating, having that good of skis,” Rune Ødegård of the University of Colorado joked after wining the men’s 10 k individual classic at the NCAA Championships Thursday. The junior from Molde, Norway defended his 2013 10 k classic title in spectacular form, with a time of 24:34.5.

    “It’s been a goal all season, winning NCAA again. It’s a good feeling right now,” said the 24-year-old of his win.

    Rune Ødegård en route to his repeat win in the men's 20 k classic at the 2014 NCAA Championships in Midway, Utah.(Photo: http://bertboyer.zenfolio.com) All proceeds from photo sales will be directly donated to NNF.
    Rune Ødegård en route to his repeat win in the men’s 20 k classic at the 2014 NCAA Championships in Midway, Utah.(Photo: http://bertboyer.zenfolio.com) All proceeds from photo sales will be directly donated to NNF.

    Thursday’s NCAA races were held at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, the venue of the 2014 U.S. Cross Country Championships, but the scene could not have looked more different than it did in January.

    Instead of a blanket of snow and bluebird skies often associated with the venue, the clouds were abundant and grey, there was hardly any snow to be seen, and temperatures were in the 50s. The ground would have been completely brown and barren had it not been for the white trail of manmade snow that snaked around the site of the 2002 Olympics.

    Such conditions are often terrible for waxing, especially for western teams who are used to pristine extra-blue days. Today, however, they got it right.

    Ødegård started 15 seconds behind the University of Vermont’s Scott Patterson, a favorite in Thursday’s race who ended his day in 24th.  Originally planning to catch Patterson and work together, the norwegian changed his mind.

    “I soon realized that I had so fast skis that it was better for me to go at it alone after catching up with him,” he said. “Obviously it worked out really well.”

    After passing Patterson, Ødegård picked off the competitors in front of him one-by-one, a difficult feat when racing in the top seed.

    “I saw people ahead of me all the time, and it gives me kick to catch up to people.”

    While racing the twists and turns of the Soldier Hollow 5 k, Ødegård knew the race would be won on the transitions of the course rather than the large climbs.

    “It’s all about being smart and using energy where you can and not killing yourself up Hermod’s. (the largest climb of the course). Everyone skis that hill pretty much the same pace, it’s all about using the rest of the course,” he said.

    Pierre Guedon of the University of Denver finished second in Thursday's 10 k classic at the 2014 NCAA Championships. He was part of an effort that rocketed the pioneers into first place after two races.
    Pierre Guedon of the University of Denver finished second in Thursday’s 10 k classic at the 2014 NCAA Championships. He was part of an effort that rocketed the pioneers into first place after two races. (Photo: http://bertboyer.zenfolio.com) All proceeds from photo sales will be directly donated to NNF.

    For Ødegård, the win represents not only a personal legacy in the NCAA Championships, but also a family tradition. Two of his siblings were both part of the Colorado ski team with his sister, Unni, who was a member of the NCAA Championship teams in 1998 and 1999 and his brother, Gier, who was part of the second place team in 2002.

    Hoping to continue the legacy, Ødegård thinks that both he and his team have what it takes to claim a national title again.

    “It’s a new day,” he said of Saturday’s race. “I know me and Mads [Strøm] are strong skiers so we try to go for the two top spots. That’s going to be the goal.  I know it will be tough. It’s NCAAs. its why we’re here; it’s what we were training for all season.”

    Colorado currently sits in third behind Denver and Utah.

    Second place finisher Pierre Guedon, a sophomore at the University of Denver, stared his first year at the school with a bang. After transferring from five years of school in his native France, the 25-year-old has had a breakout season with the pioneers.

    Initially discouraged with his second place starting position in Thursday’s race, Pierre rocketed out from the gate to catch the first starter and eventual third place finisher Niklas Persson of the University of Utah. The pair skied together for the majority of the race, using each other as motivation throughout the course.

    “I don’t like to have an early bib, because we don’t have good splits,” he said. “But the coaches were all around the track. I knew I was doing a good race.”

    For Guedon, the result was more about his team than his individual result.

    “It was an amazing team performance for the girls and guys. We knew that we had a good team. We crushed it all season long,” he said.

    It was  indeed a good day for Denver. Not only did Guedon finish second, but teammates Moritz Madlener and Trygve Marskat placed fifth and eighth, earning them 89 points.

    Niklas Persson of the University of Utah placed third at the 2014 NCAA Championships 10 k classic. The Utes who are hosting NCAAs are hoping to win the national title after finishing second three years in a row.(Photo: http://bertboyer.zenfolio.com) All proceeds from photo sales will be directly donated to NNF.
    Niklas Persson of the University of Utah placed third at the 2014 NCAA Championships 10 k classic. The Utes who are hosting NCAAs are hoping to win the national title after finishing second three years in a row.(Photo: http://bertboyer.zenfolio.com) All proceeds from photo sales will be directly donated to NNF.

    The men’s success in tandem with the women’s 80 point performance rocketed Denver into first in the rankings, 55 points ahead of the University of Utah.

    Dave Stewart, head coach of the Denver nordic team, was ecstatic with this team’s results.

    “It was one of our strongest days ever at NCAAs. We looked to improve over the season and have some of our best races of the season, so it’s really great to see that,” he said. Stewart sited waxing and the athlete’s patience as a key to today’s success.

    As the team shifts their focus to Saturday’s mass start, there is once main goal.

    “Our goal is always to win this thing,” said Stewart.

    But Denver isn’t going to be able to claim the NCAA title without a fight.

    Coming in third place, Persson, a sophomore of the University of Utah, made his team’s intentions very clear. “We want to win. This is our home course and we are here to win. That’s definitely the goal. So it’s important for the team that we do well,” he said.

    NCAA racing continues Friday with the slalom races held at Park City Mountain Result. Saturday will mark the conclusion of NCAA racing with the much-anticipated 15 k and 20 k freestyle mass starts. It will be then that the 2014 title is decided and the goals that each team has been working towards this year will either be realized or re-shelved for next season.

    Team Standings (after two of four events):

    Denver           299

    Utah                248

    Colorado         240

    New Mexico   232

    Vermont          186

    Men’s 10 k classic results

  • Photo Gallery: NCAA Championships Men’s 10 k Classic

    Photo Gallery: NCAA Championships Men’s 10 k Classic

    RIPTON, Vt. — Cross-country action at the 2013 NCAA Championships kicked off on Thursday at the Rikert Touring Center with the men’s 10 k individual classic. Rune Ødegård (University of Colorado) helped move his team into second overall at the halfway point of the championships by winning the event in 26:00.2, five seconds ahead of University of New Mexico’s Mats Resaland. Our photos from the race:

    (Results)

  • Colorado’s Ødegård Tops Fellow Europeans at NCAA Opener

    Colorado’s Ødegård Tops Fellow Europeans at NCAA Opener

    The men's 10 k classic individual start podium on Thursday at the 2013 NCAA Skiing Championships in Ripton, Vt. Colorado University's Rune Oedegaard in first (c), Mats Resaland of UNM in second (r), and Viktor Brannmark of UAA in third.
    The men’s 10 k classic individual start podium on Thursday at the 2013 NCAA Skiing Championships in Ripton, Vt. University of Colorado sophomore Rune Ødegård in first (c), Mats Resaland of UNM in second (r), and Viktor Brannmark of UAA in third.

    RIPTON, Vt. – For Colorado University sophomore Rune Ødegård, two laps around the Rikert Nordic Center’s five-kilometer course on Thursday didn’t seem too threatening.

    Conditions were tricky for the 10 k classic individual start at the NCAA Skiing Championships with most teams opting for some combination of klister and hard wax. Ødegård reasoned if he started fast and refused to let off, he had as good a chance of anyone at winning.

    Colorado University-Boulder junior Rune Ødegård racing to an NCAA title in Thursday's 10 k classic individual start at Rikert Nordic Center in Ripton, Vt.
    University of Colorado-Boulder sophomore Rune Ødegård racing to an NCAA title in Thursday’s 10 k classic individual start at Rikert Nordic Center in Ripton, Vt.

    Compared to training in Boulder, coming down more than 5,000 feet in elevation would definitely help. The 23-year-old Norwegian had raced at sea level a few months ago in late December, returning back to Europe for some tune-up FIS races in Östersund, Sweden. There, he placed 19th in the 15 k freestyle individual start and 23rd in the 15 k classic.

    Hailing from the small coastal town of Molde, Norway, Ødegård wasn’t exactly familiar with Vermont’s Green Mountains, but he had a sense of what the air would feel like on his lungs. So he decided to go hard from the get-go.

    “I felt like this course is pretty fast,” he said. “You get some rest in the downhills and when you have strong guys behind you, you want to give them a little tough back splits that they’re behind. It makes it tougher for them. That was definitely part of the plan to go out hard and try to get myself a little bit of respect.”

    Fifth in the 10 k freestyle individual start at last year’s NCAA Championships and seventh in the 20 k classic mass start, Ødegård was also out to get a little redemption. He did so winning Thursday’s individual classic race, the first of two at the 2013 nordic championships, with a time of 26:00.2.

    Fellow Norwegian Mats Resaland of the University of New Mexico was second, 5.2 seconds back, and Sweden’s Viktor Brännmark (University of Alaska-Anchorage) placed third (+28.3).

    Mats Resaland of the University of New Mexico en route to placing second in Thursday's 10 k classic individual start at the 2013 NCAA Championships in Ripton, Vt.
    Mats Resaland of the University of New Mexico en route to placing second in Thursday’s 10 k classic individual start at the 2013 NCAA Championships in Ripton, Vt.

    “I had a dream about winning,” Ødegård said. “I felt like podium would be realistic, and that was what I was aiming for. I definitely wanted to get one win on the week so now I have that one and I can relax for Saturday and do my very best in that race.”

    But for now, he’ll soak up the victory. The brother of Unni Ødegård, a six-time All-American who skied for CU (and made the first team five times) from 1998-2000, he said this result was exactly what he was shooting for ever since the 2012 championships in Bozeman, Mont.

    “Last year I really screwed up at NCAAs so this is what I’ve been focusing on, getting back in shape to really peak now,” Ødegård said. “It seems like it it’s working.”

    The 35th of 40 starters, Ødegård knew some of the best skiers were behind him, including the University of Vermont’s Scott Patterson and Miles Havlik of the University of Utah. Havlik ended up crashing on a technical downhill with variable conditions and tied Patterson for sixth (+46.0).

    “When they all fell on the downhills it makes it a little bit easier for me,” Ødegård said.

    Even so, he said he faded late in the race. “I was gaining a little bit on the second lap compared to the first one,” he said. “But I lost a little bit at the end, I was super tired going into the finish.”

    Viktor Brännmark of the University of Alaska-Anchorage racing to third at the 2013 NCAA Championships 10 k classic individual start on Thursday in Ripton, Vt.
    Viktor Brännmark of the University of Alaska-Anchorage racing to third at the 2013 NCAA Championships 10 k classic individual start on Thursday in Ripton, Vt.

    Relying on a similar tactic, Brännmark, a 20-year-old Swede who moved to Alaska to ski for UAA this season, surpassed his goal of a top 10 at NCAAs and made the podium.

    “My coach told me to open relaxed but I just hammered in the start,” he said.

    About 1 ½ kilometers in, Brännmark heard he was leading by 10 seconds. But he had to keep in mind that he started ninth.

    “I caught a lot of guys, but I didn’t know how good I was actually skiing because all the best guys started last,” he said. “We’ve been racing at altitude the whole season, [which] I’d never done before until I came here to the U.S. so I knew that if you get tired here you can keep pushing it, you don’t die. I knew I could do something like this down here.”

    For him, third in that particular race was about all he could ask for, except for getting beat by two Norwegians. Resaland, an UNM sophomore who won the 15 k classic mass start at the Bozeman SuperTour in early December, has consistently made the top 10 on the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) circuit this year.

    Brännmark led three UAA skiers in the top nine (including Lasse Molgaard-Nielsen in eighth and Lukas Ebner in ninth) to help the Seawolves post the highest score of in the event with 108 points.

    “I’ve never really done a good classic individual start before so this is unbelievable,” Brännmark said. “I’m so happy right now. … It’s been a crazy experience.”

    Middlebury College captain Ben Lustgarten, a junior from Burlington, Vt., was the top American in fourth (+32.4). Silas Talbot, a sophomore at Dartmouth College, also made first-team All-American honors in fifth (+36.6).

    “Home-course advantage definitely helped,” Lustgarten said of his NCAA debut. “The cheering was unbelievable. It got me up those climbs.”

    Starting 30th, Lustgarten said he was getting ranging splits, some about being the top 10 and others saying he was in contention for second.

    “I didn’t really know which one to believe, like ninth place, second place, but I was just trying to go as hard as I can,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking out there too much.”

    He learned at the Middlebury Carnival that going out too hard on Rikert’s new 5 k course could backfire. “I went out a little easier to try to save it and just hit the last lap about as hard as I could,” he said. “It worked. … I’m ready for Saturday. I can’t settle; I gotta go for it again.”

    Rounding out the top 10, Erik Soderman of Northern Michigan University – last year’s NCAA champion in the 10 k freestyle individual start – was 10th (+56.3).

    Racing resumes Saturday with the women’s 15 k and men’s 20 k freestyle mass starts.

    ***

    Results

    See also: Women’s 5 k report | Story behind Rikert’s recent upgrades

  • Colorado University Draws First Blood in CU Invite at Howelsen Hill

    Colorado University Draws First Blood in CU Invite at Howelsen Hill

    Rune Oedegaard (CU) 8th place classic
    Rune Oedegaard (Colorado University) in 2011 action in West Yellowstone, Mont. He won the men’s 10 k classic on Sunday in Steamboat Springs to help the Buffs to victory in the first NCAA race of the season.

    The 2013 college ski season kicked off in full this weekend at the Colorado Invitational at Howelsen Hill Rocky in Steamboat Springs, Colo. The CU Buffs prevailed in their home meet, 878 points to Denver University’s 808.5 between both alpine and nordic scores.

    Frigidly cold temperatures made for adverse racing conditions for the 15/20 k freestyle mass start and 5/10 k classic. Joanne Reid (CU) and Rune Oedegaard (CU) each took individual victories in Saturday’s mass start event.

    “It was pretty tough,” CU head coach Bruce Cranmer said of the conditions. “I think some people struggled with the cold; the slow snow and all that.”

    The first women’s race was a close one until about 2 k from the finish, when Reid pulled away from Marine Dusser (University of Alaska, Anchorage) and Maria Nordstroem (CU) to finish 8.6 seconds ahead of Dusser. Reid led Nordstroem and Mary Rose to a 1-3-7 placing for the Buffs in the 15 k.

    Reid did not race at U.S. Nationals in Utah earlier this month and was therefore a slightly unknown quantity going into the first RMISA race of the year. She said the conditions suited her: skating, challenging course, unpleasant conditions.

    “This is my first race of the season so I was really nervous,” Reid told FasterSkier on the phone from Steamboat Springs. “I’m a better skate distance skier so I was hoping to crack the top five.

    “[The cold] makes the snow really slow so the race becomes a little different; it’s more about strength,” Reid said. “I really like the course here, it’s pretty hard but it’s a fun course to ski.”

    The men’s 20 k was a much closer race. Oedegaard bested the University of Utah’s Miles Havlick by only 0.8 seconds. UAA’s Lukas Ebner took third (+1.7).

    “He’s been training well and doing well, so I figured he’d be in there,” Cranmer said of Oedegaard. The Molde, Norway, native raced in Sweden over the holiday break and was recently second in the 15 k classic in Bozeman, Mont.

    Havlick led the Utes to the high men’s score on Saturday; he, Einar Ulsund and Tucker McCrerey went 2-4-8 for the Utes in the 20 k.

    Havlick and Oedegaard traded places in the 10 k classic event the next day. The defending NCAA classic champion bested Oedegaard by 10.9 seconds. Ulsund took third (+21.4).

    “Today, our team really demonstrated the grit and determination that make us so strong,” Havlick said in a Utah Skiing press release. “When it’s -3F at the start of the race and there are smiles all around, you know it is going to be a great day.

    “I want to dedicate my race today to my former teammate Charlie Smith, who finished on the podium at the NCAA Championships in the 15-km classical on this same course in 2010. He passed away over the holidays, but continues to be an inspiration to us all and constantly in our thoughts.”

    In the women’s 5 k, CU once again had a dominant performance. Nordstroem beat Reid by 13.5 seconds; Rose Kemp (UU) took third (+17.4). Eliska Hajkova (CU), despite recent illness, was CU’s third scorer in sixth (+20.4).

    “I can’t wait until Eliska fully recovers so we can really show them some Buff power,” Reid said.

    Results.