Published: June 1, 2009

gavriel rivas

Gabriel Rivas, a junior, won the men’s slalom in the NCAA Championships this year.

The skiers won two individual titles but for the second straight year finished second to the University of Denver in the team standings at the NCAA Championships.

Junior Gabriel Rivas earned the win in the men’s slalom and sophomore Vegard Kjoelhamar claimed the men’s 20-kilometer freestyle championship, marking his third victory of the season. Five Buffs gained first-team All-America status: Maria Grevsgaard (classical), Kjoelhamar (freestyle), Jesper Ostensen (classical), Rivas (slalom) and Alexa Turzian (freestyle).

“Second place is not exactly what we came here for; our ambitions are the highest,” CU coach Richard Rokos said.

Although she didn’t win a 2009 NCAA title, Grevsgaard finished her CU career with a record 24 victories.