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Collegiate

Collegiate racing is significant part of the competitive cross-country ski world in the USA. Here you will find coverage of major college races and news from around the country.
NCAA—Magnus Boee Leads Colorado to Come-from-Behind Victory

Winning a fifth NCAA championship in a row would represent a program milestone for the University of Utah, though going into the final day of NCAA competition, Utah’s path to victory was less than a foregone conclusion. Nonetheless, Utah has shown itself to be the dominant collegiate program—both Alpine and Nordic—of the last few years, entering the final day of NCAA competition as the favorite to take the crown. All that history would be decided...

2024 NCAA Preview: New Talent and Stubborn Traditions in Steamboat Springs

When the best collegiate athletes in the United States gather for the 2024 NCAA Ski Championships, they will head to the nation’s oldest ski area, Howelsen Hill, for one of the longest continuously run championship events in the country. The NCAA is the most staid competitive circuit in US Skiing history, and continues to serve as an incubator of North American ski-talent. The best young skiers in the country will be racing in Steamboat Springs...

D1 Skiing returns to the University of Nevada, just alpine for now

In a press conference on Wednesday, the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) announced that it will once again support a Division I ski team, starting this season. For the time being however, the program will only have alpine skiing.  Both the president of the university and the university’s athletic director were present for the announcement, marking the moment. “It has been truly amazing to see how much the program’s return has energized our community,” said...

After Three Straight NCAA Championship Victories, What’s Next for the University of Utah?

With a cohort of some of the best U23 skiers in the country, the program is setting a trend for young American skiers pursuing international-level and college skiing simultaneously.   After the first day of this year’s NCAA Championships, held at Soldier Hollow, Utah, the team scoring was close. The familiar schools were all there, the University of Utah (UU) at the front, with the University of Colorado (CU), Denver University (DU), and the University...

From the Archives: Performance, not college, was reason for USST cuts (June 2009)

The following article was first published on FasterSkier in June 2009. It is reprinted now in advance of the upcoming announcement of athlete nominations for the 2022/2023 U.S. Ski Team, a subject of perennial interest for American ski fans. Based on the published objective criteria for team naming and athletes’ current world ranking, it appears that multiple athletes who are current or recent NCAA skiers will be named to next year’s national team. Like many...

Training with APU this Summer

APUNSC is now accepting applications for the University & Elite Team for the 2022-23 training year, as well as for the summer U23 training program. Applications are due by end of day April 22nd and decisions will be made by April 29th. APU is one of the preeminent cross country ski clubs. APU athletes consistently make up a sizable portion of US Olympic and World Championship Teams. Our accolades include an Olympic Gold medal as...

Ben Ogden: Balancing Olympic and NCAA Skiing Ambitions Alongside a New Wave of Top US Skiers

“So after the World Cup, Olympics, and NCAAs, is that it for you this season?” “Well…I think I’m going to race the Rikert Grand Prix this weekend.” (He won). I couldn’t have stumbled upon a more apt soundbite to describe Ben Ogden, and he offered it up ten seconds into our interview. Skiing for the US Ski Team and University of Vermont (UVM), Ogden is primed to write the next chapter in American men’s skiing...

Team Birkie 2022/2023 Season Application

Team Birkie is now accepting applications for the 2022-23 training year as well as for their summer collegiate training programs. Applications will be due by end of day April 10 and decisions will be made by April 15. Based in the Twin Cities, Team Birkie trains and lives throughout the Midwest. We are excited to be hosting multiple World Cup races in our region in 2024, with events at both Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis...

GRPSki, Biathlon and U23 Training programs all accepting applications for the ’22-23 training year

GRPSki & Biathlon are now accepting applications for the 2022-23 training year as well as for their summer U23 training programs. Applications will be due by end of day April 10 and decisions will be made by April 17. In exchange for coaching, use of training facilities and travel support, GRP year-round and summer U23 athletes are asked to do work that contributes to the mission and operation of the Center. Projects include: coaching youth and...

(Press Release) Utah captures its third consecutive NCAA Championship, Ben Ogden and Sophia Laukli win individual Nordic titles

MIDWAY, Utah – The University of Utah won going away Saturday at the 69th Annual NCAA Skiing Championships, using an impressive performance in the freestyle Nordic events to win its third straight national title. The championships concluded with the men’s 20K and women’s 15K mass start freestyle events at Soldier Hollow, a world class venue constructed for the 2002 Winter Olympics. After three days of competition, Utah led Vermont by 27.5 points. With Utah outscoring...

(Press Release) 2022 NCAA Skiing Championships – 5/10 k Classic Recap

PARK CITY, Utah – The 2022 NCAA Skiing Championships got underway on Thursday at Park City Mountain Resort and Soldier Hollow in Midway. Cool temperatures in the mid-20’s and sunny skies welcomed the competitors on the first official day of competition. Utah’s Novie McCabe claimed her first NCAA title by winning the women’s 5K classic at Soldier Hollow. Ben Ogden of Vermont was crowned a national champion for the second time in his career by winning the...

Fresh Snow and World Class Grooming Set the Stage for a Weekend SuperTour Distance Pursuit in Craftsbury

By Ian Tovell and Rachel Bachman Perkins Find FasterSkier’s coverage of Friday’s freestyle sprints here.  Saturday: 10 k Interval Start Classic After another 4+ inches of snow fell throughout the day on Friday, NENSA described the conditions for today’s 10-kilometer interval start race as a “banner day for classic skiing” on the two-lap course at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. The weekend of racing, titled the Henchey Memorial Carnival, included athletes of all levels, was described...

It’s Ogden and Ketterson Again in the Craftsbury SuperTour Freestyle Sprint

SuperTour racing continued on Friday in Craftsbury, Vermont, as part of the Henchey Memorial Carnival, which also included Eastern Cup and collegiate racing. The three-day event is presented by the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, NENSA, U.S. Ski & Snowboard, and the University of Vermont (UVM), the EISA carnival host school. Racers were faced with snowy conditions for the opening 1.4-kilometer freestyle sprint as a winter storm made its way across the Northeast. Friday morning’s grooming report...

Constant Nordic Motion : Sten Fjeldheim Retires

  Sten Fjeldheim, the cross-country ski coach at Northern Michigan University announced his retirement on March 30th. He coached and mentored at the school for 35 years. This piece from The Mining Journal speaks to Fjeldheim’s legacy and the many accolades NMU skiers achieved under his tutelage. Below are thoughts about Fjeldheim from former NMU skier, U.S. Ski Team athlete and Head Coach, Peter Vordenberg. According to a NMU press release, Fjeldheim had this to say...

Soldier Hollow Collegiate/PG Biathlon and XC Summer Training Group

  Team Soldier Hollow is looking for ambitious skiers and biathletes who want to train and race at a high level collegiately or professionally and who will contribute to our growing club and vision of “Developing Champions in Sport and Life.” We invite you to spend your summer training at Soldier Hollow, the 2002 Olympic venue for XC skiing and Biathlon and more recently, host of the 2017 XC World Junior Championships and 2019 BMW...

Matching Grant Announced for UAA Ski Team Supporters

ANCHORAGE — The beleaguered ski team at the University of Alaska Anchorage, or UAA, once more finds itself fighting for its continued survival as a competitive program, following last month’s decision by the University of Alaska Board of Regents to tentatively eliminate the alpine portion of the men’s and women’s ski team. As previously reported, the decision facially saves the UAA nordic team: USST national team member JC Schoonmaker and his nordic teammates will not...

BREAKING: Nordic Skiing Saved at UAA

ANCHORAGE — For the second time in four years, nordic skiing has been saved at the University of Alaska Anchorage, following a serious proposal to eliminate the ski team entirely. This time around, the victory is somewhat more of a pyrrhic one, as the University of Alaska Board of Regents voted Thursday to eliminate the alpine portion of the men’s and women’s ski team, unless supporters can raise over a half million dollars in advance...

Several RMISA Schools Currently Without an Active Nordic Coach

Multiple schools in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association are experiencing flux with their nordic coaching staff going into the 2020/2021 ski season, according to representatives from each school. The schools in question are the University of Alaska Anchorage, University of Utah, and Montana State University, all of which have well-established nordic programs that placed highly at last year’s NCAA Championships. Neither Anchorage nor Montana State currently has anyone filling this position. Utah has two...

Longtime USST Teammates Reunite in Support of UAA Skiing

ANCHORAGE — The U.S. women’s epochal third-place relay finish at the World Cup stop in Gällivare, Sweden, in November 2012 is justly hailed as an inflection point for American skiing: For the first time in American nordic history, this country had four athletes who were all strong enough on the same day to challenge the traditional Scandinavian powers at their own game. The race begins Peggy Shinn’s historical treatment, World Class: The Making of the...

UAA Skiers, Past and Present, On What the Team Means to Them

ANCHORAGE — It’s déjà vu all over again for alumni and supporters of the University of Alaska Anchorage ski team, following the recent announcement that, for the second time in four years, university administration wishes to cut the team for budgetary reasons. A common theme in their current responses is their concern that this time, the cut may stick. To start with, consider what Adam Verrier wrote on his blog four years ago, in November...