LAKE PLACID, NY – Eight current members of the Utah Ski Team return to the Beehive State after a week of competition at the FISU World University Games, a 12-sport event featuring the world’s best college and university athletes.
Utes, for the Alps Madison Hoffman (Australia), Jeremy Mathers (United States of America), Katie Parker (Australia), Claire Timmermann (Canada) and Gustav Vollo (Norway) all traveled to Lake Placid. From the Nordic team, Karianne Dengerud (Norway), Tom Mancini (France) and Celine Mayer (Germany) each was on the move. In addition to the current Utes, the alpine graduate Sona Moravcikova represented his homeland Slovakia.
Four podium finishes went to athletes with Utah ties – Dengerud and Mancini had two each; Mancini also competed on the anchor leg for Team France, which won the gold medal in the 7.5K relay. It highlighted 13 different top-10 finishes for the Utah contingent in alpine and cross-country races.
Traditionally, the World University Games are held every two years. However, this was the first Winter edition of the Games since 2019; The 2021 event in Switzerland has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2023 Games in Lake Placid were the first World University Games held on American soil since 1993 and the first Winter Games held in the United States since 1972.
Below is a complete list of World University Games results for each member of the Utah Ski Team.
Karianne Dengerud – Cross country – Norway
| History | Event | place |
| January 13 | Mixed Team Sprint | 3 rd |
| January 15 | Free Sprints | 39 |
| January 17 | 5K Classic | 7th |
| January 18 | 5K Freestyle Pursuit | 8th |
| 20th January | 5K Relay (anchor leg) | 2nd |
Madison Hoffman – Alpine – Australia
| History | Event | place |
| January 17 | Giant Slalom | 6 |
| 20th January | Slalom | 6th |
Tom Mancini – Cross country – France
| History | Event | place |
| January 13 | Mixed Team Sprint | 9c |
| January 15 | Free Sprints | 3rd |
| January 17 | 10K Classic | 28 |
| 20th January | 7.5K Relay (anchor leg) | 1st |
Jeremy Mathers – Alpine – United States of America
| History | Event | place |
| January 14 | Super G | 17 |
| January 16 | Alpine combined | DNF |
| January 18 | Giant Slalom | 22 |
| January 21 | Slalom | 23 |
Celine Mayer – Cross country – Germany
| History | Event | place |
| January 13 | Mixed Team Sprint | 15c |
| January 15 | Free Sprints | 37c |
| January 17 | 5K Classic | 9c |
| January 18 | 5K Freestyle Pursuit | 15 |
| 20th January | 5K Relay (first leg) | 6 |
Sona Moravcikova – Alpine – Slovakia
| History | Event | place |
| January 17 | Giant Slalom | 25 |
| 20th January | Slalom | DNF (first run) |
Katie Parker – Alpine – Australia
| History | Event | place |
| January 17 | Giant Slalom | 10c |
| 20th January | Slalom | DNF (first run) |
Claire Timmermann – Alpine – Canada
| History | Event | place |
| January 14 | Super G | 13 |
| January 16 | Alpine combined | 16 |
| January 17 | Giant Slalom | DNF (first run) |
| 20th January | Slalom | DNF (first run) |
Gustav Vollo – Alps – Norway
| History | Event | place |
| January 18 | Giant Slalom | DNF (second run) |
| January 21 | Slalom | 5th |
Junior Worlds Update
Swallow Oliver Parazette After Parazette was named to the 17-man roster for Team USA at the FIS Alpine Junior World Championships in St., Austria. He is in the last days of his visit to the city of Anton. Parazette made her first Junior Worlds start in the giant slalom on January 22, but failed to finish in the first run.
The Jackson, Wyoming, native is expected to compete in today’s team parallel before the Jan. 25 Junior Worlds in slalom.
The RMISA Schedule continues this week
Back home, the RMISA regular season schedule continues as the first alpine meet of the season begins Thursday. Utah will compete in the slalom-only Westminster Invitational Jan. 26 and 27 at Snowbird. The first races of both days are scheduled for 8:30 a.m., with the women’s competition on Thursday and the men’s on Friday.
It’s a quick turnaround for the Utes after the Westminster Invitational as the teams head north to complete the Montana State Invitational Jan. 30-31. Bridger Bowl will host giant slalom races both days. Utah leads the alpine half of the MSU Invitational after two strong days of Nordic competition earlier this month.
Follow the Utah Ski Team on social media @utahskiteam.
