Kesselheim’s Top Five Finish Sparks Montana State Skiers at New Mexico

Friday, January 30

Albuquerque, NM

Montana State University

New Mexico - Slalom

The Bobcat women's Nordic squad makes its way through heavy snow at the New Mexico Invite on Friday morning.

Photo by: courtesy UNM Sports Information

Kesselheim’s Top Five Finish Sparks Montana State Skiers at New Mexico

1/30/2015 5:57:00 PM | Men's Skiing, Women's Skiing, Skiing

“Sawyer Kesselheim impressed the field,” MSU Nordic Coach Kristina Trygstad-Saari said. “He skied tactically very well, starting off conservatively and picking up the pace on each lap. He made up about 12 spots on his final lap, finishing just off the podium.”

By: Tom Schulz

Montana State Nordic standout Sawyer Kesselheim made his way through heavy snow and a challenging course to notch his best collegiate finish ever, placing fourth overall in the men's 10-kilometer classic race, Friday afternoon at the University of New Mexico Invitational.

The Bozeman product covered the course in 34:15.7 to garner 31 points for the Bobcats, who sit in sixth place after the opening day.

"Sawyer Kesselheim impressed the field," MSU Nordic Coach Kristina Trygstad-Saari said. "He skied tactically very well, starting off conservatively and picking up the pace on each lap. He made up about 12 spots on his final lap, finishing just off the podium."

Also scoring points for MSU were Forrest Mahlen and Erik Axelsson, who placed 12^th and 16^th overall in 35:07.1 and 35:49.6.

"Forrest and Erik also made up time on the final lap," Trygstad-Saari said. "They both skied aggressively today, but they weren't quite able to stay with Sawyer when he picked up the pace. Team strategy played an important role in the race, and Forrest experienced fatigue after leading some big sections.

"The high altitude makes racing here very challenging for the athletes, especially those coming from sea level," Trygstad-Saari said. "Pacing is very important in a race like this, and Sawyer skied it perfectly."

Also contributing for Montana State were Martin Muan, 23^rd, and Noah Anderson, 24^th.

Colorado All-American Rune Oedegaard won the men's individual title in 33:11.3.

The Bobcat women's Nordic contingent was led by Lina Hultin, placing 14^th overall, covering the 10K event in 42:25.9. She was followed by Gretchen Buckholder, 15^th, 42:27.7, Julia Hayes, 16^th, 42:34.0, Isabella Smith, 17^th, 43:16.6, and Annie Liotta, 19^th, 44:07.2.

Utah's Veronika Mayerhoffer took the women's crown in 38:10.7.

Newcomer Benedicte Lyche guided the MSU alpine squad, finishing the women's slalom with a two-run total of 1:36.84, placing ninth overall. Rounding out Montana State's top three were Kari Hole, 15^th, 1:39.12, and Tenaya Driller, 21^st, 1:41.56.

The MSU men had just two skiers completing the event with Garret Driller and David Neuhauser finishing 18^th and 19^th, respectively.

Colorado sits atop the team standings with 286 points, followed by New Mexico 276, Utah 257, Denver 252, Alaska Anchorage 223, MSU 205, Westminster 177, and Colorado Mountain 31.

The UNM Invitational will finish on Saturday with the Nordic freestyle and alpine slalom events.