College roundup: Utes clinch Spencer Nelson title

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — Behind junior Miles Havlick's second consecutive second-place finish, the University of Utah ski team clinched the Spencer Nelson Memorial Invitational title Saturday at the Howelsen Hill Ski Resort. Meanwhile during Day 1 of the Denver Invitational, seniors Nick Cohee and Tii-Maria Romar got the Utes off to a quick start with giant slalom victories at Winter Park.

"I'm very pleased with the consistency that both the Alpine and Nordic teams have demonstrated," Director of Skiing Kevin Sweeney said. "We still have quite a bit to work on, but these early results qualifying for NCAA's is extremely motivating for us."

Utah finished first in the team standings with 896 points and finished 24 points ahead of runner-up Colorado (872). The team win was the first for the Utes since taking the Utah Invitational crown on Jan. 12, 2008. The Utes finished in second place in all seven events last season.

The Ute Nordic squad had three competitors finish in the top 10 of today's race. Utah totaled 105 points in the men's race, which earned third place, while 89 points by the Ute women gave them fifth.

Wrestling

UVU SWEPT IN TEXAS: At Grand Prairie, Texas, just two days removed from defeating Boise State at home, Utah Valley (4-3) dropped two duals to No. 12 Oklahoma (43-0) and Chattanooga (27-7) Saturday at the annual Lone Star Duals.

"Our guys wrestled hard here. We just need to do a better job of attacking and finishing," Wolverine head coach Greg Williams said. "Chattanooga has a good team this year and Oklahoma is always tough, but we have high expectations for ourselves. We'll go back and work on things and I'm confident that we'll keep progressing."