Soldier Hollow hosts 850 athletes for RMISA Ute Invitational and Super Q races

Park City Ski & Snowboard - Nordic athlete Augie Roepke, a senior at Park City High School, skiing across the finish line at Olympic Venue Soldier Hollow at this weekend's Super Q/University level race. Photo: TownLift // Michele Roepke

MIDWAY, Utah — Soldier Hollow (SoHo) hosted a joint venture cross country skiing event Jan. 23-25, bringing 850 athletes to the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) Ute Invitational and the Super Q (qualifying) youth races.

The University of Utah, the International Ski Federation (FIS), U.S. Ski & Snowboard, and Soldier Hollow Nordic Center all teamed up to put on the annual event.

That roster included coaches like Park City Ski and Snowboard’s (PCSS) Olympians Billy Demong and Liz Stephen, and Program Director Emma Garrard. 

The three-day event featured sprint races on day one, individual starts on day two, and mass starts on day three.

Two-time Olympian and Soldier Hollow Director Luke Bodensteiner credited the success of the event to the many volunteers and good ski track. “We have extremely good skiing right now, which is, frankly, something we’re very proud of after getting less than two inches of snow this year and more than two inches of rain,” she said. “The fact that we have a race course right now, and the skiing actually is perfect, is something the crew has been working extra hard towards achieving.”

The race is the biggest Junior race at SoHo every year, according to Bodensteiner. “We love, hosting this competition, and it’s great to have all the local kids competing.” 

PCSS sent 50 athletes and coaches, while former PCSS athlete and coach Sydney Palmer Leger competed as a team of one, representing Vermont’s Mansfield Nordic Club. Her father and brother, both instrumental supporters of PCSS, were cheering her on.

Also cheering skiers on were parents like Amy Tirone, who drove from Steamboat Springs, Colorado to watch her daughter. The family is no stranger to Soldier Hollow as Amy’s son joins Nordic Combined athletes all around the world.

One big winner was Jacob Moch from the Univesrity of Colorado Boulder, who had multiple podiums at SoHo securing his spot for the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympics, where he’ll be representing his home country of Germany.

Standout performances for the University of Utah, shown in the video below, came from women Erica Laven and Sofia Pedersen, both from Sweden, along with Mons Melbye from Norway in the men’s race.

Travel teams and clubs came from the following locations, though this is not an exhaustive list: Aspen, Big Sky, Bogus Basin, Boulder, Bridger, Colorado Univ, Crested Butte, Durango, Eastern Sierra, Glacier, High Plains, Jackson Hole, Mammoth Mountain, McCall, Missoula, Montana Endurance Academy, Montana State Univ., Mt. Bachelor, Vail, Southwest, Spokane, Sun Valley, Tahoe, Mt. Hood, Summit Colo., Telluride, The Utah Nordic Alliance, Univ Alaska Fairbanks, Univ Alaska Anchorage, Univ. of Denver, West Yellowstone, and Winter Park.

Bodensteiner, a member of the Utah 2034 Olympics/Paralympics Steering Committee is headed to the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympics/Paralympics as an observer, specifically at the Paralympic Biathlon events, to an idea of what and perhaps what not to do to apply in Midway in eight years as SoHo is the headquarters of the U.S. Biathlon Association.

Below, see Spencer Eccles proudly tout Utah skiing saying, at the very end, “Go Utah.”

PCSS U14 girls athlete, Mira Smeyak, got a first place in age class/gender. For the men, Donovan Toly got a fourth place. In the U8/10, Hannah Rupert of PCSS got second place.

In the U16 boys, Team Soldier Hollow’s Rhylan Schaffer came in first place. For the U16 girls, first and a second place were scored by Team Soldier Hollow’s Ruby Polloczek and Alta Miller, respectively.

Kyle Clarke of PCSS, a senior at Park City High School, made it all the way to the quarter finals.