Anke Friedrich didn't follow the established line but went her own way. It was, she knew, better. It turned out she was right.
Friedrich won the women's giant slalom title on opening day of the NCAA Skiing Championships on Wednesday and, in doing so became the first woman to ever win back-to-back ski titles. Friedrich, a senior, won this same event last year in Jackson Hole, Wyo.This time, though, it meant more to Friedrich. Last year she and her female colleagues were healthy, skiing well and were expected to do well. This year Friedrich was one of four taking some time off for sick leave. She suffered a sprained neck mid-season. A few weeks ago she was still a questionable start.
Then, too, Kjersti Nilsen is missing. She was the fourth overall qualifier this year. Nilsen was hurt early in the season and did not come to Vermont.
And, Gillian Frost, who was eighth last year, came but is still recovering from a bout with bronchitis. She was 15th in this race.
No, Utah's ladies were not supposed to do really well.
Last year the three top Lady Utes brought 104 points out of the women's GS, which was said by Utah Coach Pat Miller to be "unbelievable to get that many against this level of competition."
This year, with Friedrich, Katja Lesjak (second) and Heidi Dahlgren (eighth), Utah garnered 109 points.
This year Miller reiterated that any time a school can get "three in the top 10 against this competition is unbelievable."
This was, said Utah women's Coach Thor Kallerud, "The best results for each and every one of them. That was our goal . . . to ski their best and they did."
Not so good were the men. They did, in fact, miss completely. This was one of their worst finishes, and that stuck Utah back in with the rest of the schools in the title chase. The women picked up 27 points over Colorado, while the men lost 37 to CU.
After the GS, Colorado leads with 193 points, Utah follows with 183, then the University of Vermont with 181, Dartmouth with 180 and Wyoming with 165. Had the men done as well as expected, Utah could have had a 40-point lead on the field.
The event continued Thursday with a classical cross country race. On Friday, teams will ski in a slalom, then wrap up the event Saturday with a freestyle cross country.
Conditions for the GS were ideal for racers - rock-hard snow, sunny and cold (7 degrees Fahrenheit) at race time. The course was fast and firm.
"You can," said Friedrich after the race, "feel your skis better (on hard snow). You can feel them respond. You know more what you are doing."
The skis responded enough to give her a three-quarters of a second lead over a pack of five skiers only .4 of a second apart. On the second run she had only the fourth-fastest run, but it was enough to win. Her two-run time was one minute, 54.36 seconds. Lesjak's was 1:54.96. Dartmouth's Anouk Patty was third in 1:55.18.
Friedrich said that both her runs Wednesday were "perfect."
"Because," she explained, "I didn't follow the same line as the other skiers."
Kallerud said it was something the whole team has been practicing . . . "The concept of a better line is something we've been working on. With a rounder turn on this hard snow, they are able to hold their speed."
Obviously, the men didn't follow the same lines. This was to be an event they skied well - but they didn't. Three Utes started in the first seed, considered to be the best skiers, in places 3, 7 and 8. After the first run they were 9, 20 and 23, with Utah's best GS skier, Oeivind Ragnhildstveit, in 23rd. They finished in 10, 17, 19.
Brent Nixon, Utah's best finisher, said he was just too conservative.
"It's the kind of course you've got to ski smart and attack. I didn't. None of us did. I don't know why. I made two mistakes. On this course you couldn't afford to make one."
Vermont's Einar Doehmer didn't and won the race. His two-run total was 1:52.24, to a 1:54.63 for Nixon. Colorado skiers finished 2-3-4. Chris Pederson was second, Ian Witter third and Eric Archer fourth. In almost every race this season, Ragnhildstgveit has beaten all three. He finished 17th. At this point, CU has the edge, Utah has a chance and Vermont is a concern to both Utah and Colorado.
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Ute wins men's classic 10K
STOWE, Vt. - The University of Utah's Luke Bodensteine won the men's 10 kilometer classic cross country ski race Thursday in the second day of competition in the NCAA Ski Championships. Bodensteine beat out favored Joe Galanes of Vermont by eight seconds. Bodensteine's time was 29 minutes, 31.20 seconds. In the women's five kilometer, Utah's Anne Kari Aas finished in second. In the overall standings, Vermont moved into first, followed by Utah and then Colorado.