Utah Utes' ski team leads as Cohee wins giant slalom

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Freshman skier Nick Cohee won the men's giant slalom to lead Utah on the first day of the Seawolf Invitational as the alpine contingent boosted the Utes into the team lead.

Cohee won the giant slalom with a time of 1:43.69. It was his first collegiate alpine race. Five Utah men finished in the top 10. Cohee was followed by second-place finisher Kyle King (1:43.72). Thomas Zumbrunn and Scott Veenis were fifth and sixth, respectively, with Zumbrunn finishing in 1:44.05 and Veenis crossing the line in 1:44.11. Hermann Lager placed 10th.

Chrine Njeim led the Utah women in the slalom with a ninth-place finish in 1:43.44. Sofia Smith had the first top-10 finish of her career, coming in 10th in 1:43.52. Chelsea Laswell also had a solid day with a 12th-place run (1:43.74).

Away from collegiate competition, the Nordic team raced in the U.S. National Sprint Race. Parker Tyler crossed the line fourth in the women's race to lead all Utah skiers with a time of 3:53.41. Annelies Cook also had a strong finish with a 10th-place run (4:03.35). Even Sletten paced the men, finishing 12th (3:43.57). Tom Smith was 29th (3:49.91) while Rolf Figi placed 32nd (3:50.20).

Action continues in Alaska on Saturday with the 5- and 10-kilometer classic races as well as the women's giant slalom and men's slalom. The Seawolf Invitational and University of Alaska-Anchorage Invitational are running concurrently.