The University of Denver ski team completed the Nordic portion of the 2026 Utah Invitational on Sunday at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in Midway, Utah. The event featured 15-kilometer classical mass start races for both men and women.
Denver achieved three top-10 finishes on the second day of competition, with all six scoring athletes placing inside the top 15. On Saturday, three Denver skiers also finished in the top 10 during the 7.5K freestyle interval start.
Junior Maja Moland led Denver’s women by finishing eighth with a time of 44:54.8. Sophomore Anna Stewart secured ninth place, marking her first top-10 finish this season and fifth in her career, clocking in at 44:59.5. Freshman Estelle Darbellay scored for the first time at the collegiate level by taking 14th place.
For the men’s team, sophomore Eemil Juntunen was Denver’s highest finisher in seventh place with a time of 37:21.5, his second top-10 result this season and first outside sprint events. Senior Micah Steinberg finished 11th and freshman Yannick Zellweger placed 12th.
Other results included senior Krystof Zatloukal in 23rd, graduate student Sondre Oestervold in 24th, and sophomore Joe Graziadei finishing 31st.
Senior Eve-Ondine Duchaufour and freshman Synne Bollingmo did not finish their race for the women’s team, while rookie Ruby Serrouya did not start.
In overall team standings after four out of eight events, Colorado leads with 369 points, followed by Utah with 343 points. Denver is currently fourth with 253 points, trailing Montana State by five points (258).
Utah’s Mons Melbye won his third race of the season in the men’s division and Erica Laven continued her winning streak for Utah’s women’s team, securing her fourth victory this season and twelfth career win at Salt Lake City.
Colorado placed three skiers on Sunday’s podiums: Astri Lunde (second) and Nina Schamberger (third) for women; Jakob Moch (second) for men. Alaska Anchorage’s Corbin Carpenter earned third place in the men’s race.
The Utah Invitational will conclude next month with alpine giant slalom and slalom races scheduled at Olympic Park in Park City from February 22 to February 24.
The Denver Nordic team will return to Colorado for its next events during the Denver Invitational on February 7-8. Upcoming RMISA circuit races include four days of alpine competition at Mount-Rose Ski Tahoe as part of the Nevada Invitational and two individual qualifiers from January 31 to February 3.
“Fans interested in making a donation to the Pioneers Athletic Fund can do so by clicking here. Your gift will transform the lives of our student-athletes by giving them the first-class resources needed to excel in the classroom and beyond. Thank you for Building Pioneers for Life!”
“Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 18 of DU’s NCAA Division I sports
Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Skiing on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_Skiing on X
Follow @DenverPioneers and @DU_Skiing on Instagram”
