The Denver Pioneers ski team participated in the U.S. Cross Country National Championship on Thursday, competing in a Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) Nordic Qualifier held at Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Center in Lake Placid, New York.
Freshman Ruby Serrouya led the Denver women’s team with a sixth-place finish among RMISA athletes in the 20-kilometer freestyle mass start event, recording a time of 1:00:11.1. This marks her first top-10 finish in an RMISA race. Earlier in the week, Serrouya finished ninth overall and was the top junior in the non-college freestyle sprints race, and she placed 11th as Denver’s top women’s finisher during Sunday’s RMISA Invitational 10K classic.
Other notable performances for Denver included freshman Synne Bollingmo placing 11th in her collegiate debut, junior Maja Moland finishing 14th, and freshman Estelle Darbellay taking 18th place.
On the men’s side, senior Micah Steinberg was Denver’s highest finisher at 11th place with a time of 51:50.2. Freshman Yannic Zellweger debuted with a 13th-place result, while senior Krystof Zatloukal finished 18th. Graduate student Sondre Oestervold placed 19th in his first college event, and sophomore Joe Graziadei came in 21st for his season debut.
Elijah Weenig, a recent Denver skiing graduate from the class of 2025, finished 35th overall while representing Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation.
No team scores were recorded for this race as it served as an additional qualifying opportunity for NCAA Championships selection for RMISA athletes. The results from Thursday contributed to determining qualifiers by extracting RMISA athlete finishes from overall standings.
Utah’s Mons Melbye won the men’s RMISA race—his first collegiate victory—with Colorado’s Jakob Moch finishing second and Utah teammate Zach Jayne third. On the women’s side, Colorado’s Tilde Baangman earned her second podium and first win of the season; Alaska Fairbanks’ Rosie Fordham took second place and Utah’s Neve Gerrard was third.
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Denver will conclude its events at Lake Placid on Friday with classic sprints at Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Center, wrapping up their participation in this season-opening Nordic-only RMISA Invitational that began on Sunday.
For more information about Denver Pioneers sports programs or to follow updates throughout the season, visit DenverPioneers.com or follow their official social media channels.
