The NCAA skiing championships began on Wednesday morning with women’s and men’s giant slalom races.
The Utah Olympic Park played host after the event was moved away from Bozeman, Montana, Feb. 17 due to a lack of snow.
The University of Colorado won the day, leaving with 137 team points to the University of Utah’s 133. Teams were able to race three men and women.
The Utes are the defending NCAA champs and raced defending giant slalom champ Johs Herland.
Herland defended his title, winning the men’s race with a combined time of 1:55.41. On the women’s side, Montana State’s Justine Lamontagne won the title with a combined time of 2:03.98.
Fans, largely with ties to the racers, flooded the base of the Utah Olympic Park giant slalom run. They cheered on their racers and listened to music, with some even bringing out their dogs.
“It’s a great experience and beautiful day,” said Deb Zimmerman, out supporting her daughter, Zoe Zimmerman, who skis for Dartmouth. “This is a great venue. … They’ve done a good job.”
Zimmerman and her husband and Zoe’s father Christian Zimmerman have a place in Park City, so they welcomed the venue change. They had never been out to the Utah Olympic Park before.
Zoe Zimmerman finished in 25th place Wednesday with a combined time of 2:10.96.
The Zimmermans will be back on Friday supporting Zoe in her slalom race. They lauded the atmosphere and level of competition.
“The top echelon of skiers here in each discipline could score in a World Cup on any given day,” Christian Zimmerman said. “It’s very high-level competition. … It’s nice to be able to see the whole thing (course), and what better place to be than Utah?”
Jennifer and Gary Derose came from Riverton to support their son and grandson, respectively, Roman Elvidge, who competes for the University of New Hampshire.
Elvidge finished in 11th place Wednesday with a combined time of 1:56.72.
“When there’s people at ski races, it’s really exciting,” Jennifer Derose said. “College racing is the best. It’s, like, world level. These guys are so good.”
Derose said her family was over the moon upon learning the championships had been moved to Park City.
Elvidge skied at the Utah Olympic Park with the Park City Ski and Snowboard Club, before moving to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, around age 11.
NCAAs continued on Thursday morning with the 7.5K classic individual start cross country races at Soldier Hollow.
NCAAs are back at the Utah Olympic Park Friday with the slalom races and conclude at Soldier Hollow Saturday with the 20K freestyle cross country races.
The Utes and the rest of the field will be looking to gain ground on leading Colorado’s team score.
All NCAAs competitions this week are free for fans to attend.
