BOZEMAN, Mont. — Eva Huckova and Mikaela Grassl both earned first-team All-America honors in the women's slalom to highlight the final day of the NCAA Skiing Championships, as the Utes closed out the championships with a third-place finish.
It was Utah's best finish since 2005, when the team also finished third.
Huckova earned her second All-America honors of the championships with a second-place in the slalom, which scored 38 points. She was also second in the giant slalom, held on Thursday.
Grassl placed fourth in the slalom for the Utes for 36 points. She was also an All-American last season, finishing sixth in the slalom in 2007.
Chirine Njeim was the Utes' third finisher, placing 17th on the day to pick up 23 points.
Utah was served a gut-wrenching blow after the men's slalom. Tague Thorson finished first on the charts, but the judges ruled that he straddled a gate, and his first-place time was nullified.
Thomas Zumbrunn and Scott Veenis also struggled, finishing 27th and 29th, respectively.
"Nothing to blame but bad luck," Utah director of skiing Eli Brown said. "I know that if we ran the championships again now, we would be fighting for the top spot. Our team is so talented and hard-working.
"To place on the team podium is an improvement from last year, and we will use this to motivate us for next year. For the second-straight season, none of our NCAA team is graduating, so they will come back next year hungrier than ever."
Utah scored 550 total points to help the Western school sweep the top three positions. Denver won the NCAA title with 649.5 points while Colorado was second with 619 points.