Montana State University
New Mexico Invite - Slalom
Tarbath Reaches Podium to Pace Cats at New Mexico Invitational
2/3/2018 6:57:00 PM | Men's Skiing, Women's Skiing, Skiing
Montana State sophomore Emma Tarbath finished second in the women’s 21-km freestyle to guide the Bobcats in the opening day of the University of New Mexico Invitational on Saturday.
Montana State sophomore Emma Tarbath finished second in the women's 21-km freestyle to guide the Bobcats in the opening day of the University of New Mexico Invitational on Saturday.
The Nordic events are being held at Crested Butte in Colorado due to lack of snow. The alpine races are being run at Red River in New Mexico.
Tarbath, a native of Anchorage, Alaska, completed the course in 1:06:57, just missing the top spot won by Denver's Linn Eriksen in 1:06:51.
"Emma really stepped-up again and finished just behind the leader," said MSU Nordic coach Matthew Johnson. "Her form has been impressive all season and she's been learning how to compete with confidence against the other top skiers in the region.
"With Johanna Taliharm and Kathleen O'Connell both competing internationally right now it was an important day for Emma to step up and cover for the lack of depth we are racing with this weekend," Johnson stated.
Also competing for the Bobcat women were Anna Fake, 12th, 1:14:21, and Jordi Floyd, 20th, 1:20:48.
The men's Nordic contingent was led by freshman Eli Jensen. The product of Boise, Idaho completed the 21-km course in ninth-place in a clocking of 1:02:44. He was followed closely by Karsten Hokanson, tenth, 1:02:53, Erik Axelsson, 13th, 1:02:59, Noah Andersen, 21st, 1:05:27, and Martin Muan, 25th, 1:06:20.
"The guys were able to hang in a tight pack at the front," Johnson said. "We had three in the top 15 over the high altitude course without much rest. I thought we had a total team effort on both sides."
The Bobcat alpine squad's highest slalom finish came from junior Jocelyn McCarthy. The product of Edmonton, Alberta posted a two-run total of 1:33.86 to place fourth-overall. Also recording points for MSU were Stephanie Gartner, 11th, 1:35.07, and Benni Lyche, 21st, 1:47.44.
In addition, Mia Henry finished 22nd in 1:49.90, while Kari Hole did not finish her second run.
The Montana State men had two top 10 showings. Morton Bakke, a junior from Oslo, Norway placed seventh with the two-run clocking of 1:34.82. Bakke recorded the second fastest second run. Also in the top 10 was Garret Driller, who finished eighth in a time of 1:34.83. Pat Carry completed MSU's scoring placing 20th-overall in 1:36.18.
Colorado sits atop the team standings with 328.8 points. The Buffaloes are followed by DU 322.3, Utah 292.5, UNM 271.8, MSU 257, Alaska Anchorage 175.5, Westminster 78, Wyoming 69, and Colorado Mountain College 24.
The UNM Invite finishes on Sunday with another slalom event and the 5-km classical.
