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...
Part 1 of this story details Eliška’s experience coaching through pregnancy and the birth of her son. Keep reading to learn about the challenges she, like many women, experienced during the postpartum recovery process, and what it took to navigate year one of life on the road with baby Viggo. Expectation versus reality. When preparing to interview Eliška Albrigtsen about her experience pairing NCAA coaching with new motherhood, I expected the challenges she faced during...
While skimming through the extensive photo albums shared by Tobias Albrigtsen during the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships in Soldier Hollow this past January, one head coach caught my attention. University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) head coach Eliška Albrigtsen (Tobias’ wife) had an extra member of the team in tow: her then 11-month-old son, Viggo. As most ski coaches know all too well, the demands of the job are multifactorial, and can make it challenging...
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...
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...
As the largest NCAA circuit in the nation prepares for a return to a full schedule, anticipation, anxiety, and lessons from a pandemic year abound in New England. Carnival, as a noun, has perhaps had its moment. We’ve been building towards ennui, not excitement, for nearly two years now. Maybe it’s time to dispel the anticipation, let the moment fade, and let “Carnival” go along with it. But then again, calling a collegiate race circuit...
Deciding how to handle the “college conflict”, as aptly phrased by Alayna Sonnesyn, is a daunting and somewhat mysterious prospect, particularly for athletes and families who are unfamiliar with the process. How does a junior athlete know that they are cut out for a collegiate program? NCAA or USCSA? What about a gap year? In this series, FasterSkier spoke with collegiate and junior coaches and athletes who have chosen different pathways to create a resource...
Last year, 174 athletes in the male and female U18 categories competed at Junior Nationals in Anchorage, AK. This number represents a small fraction of the cross country skiers throughout the country in that age category. As there are only about 30 NCAA programs nationwide that offer Division I or Division II cross country skiing, the opportunity for high-level training and racing narrows significantly after a skier graduates from high school. However, the door to...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Gus Schumacher spent last winter traveling the world for ski racing, including laying down the season’s most dramatic anchor leg, non-Jessie Diggins edition, to bring the U.S. men’s relay team from fourth to a historic second at World Juniors. The then-high school senior also spent the season touring the country to plan his future in ski racing, talking with multiple NCAA coaches to discuss their programs and weigh everything from coaching philosophy...
The Internet is a wonderful time machine. Just a few search words and clicks away, there’s Miles Havlick, arms raised, crossing the line first in the 20-kilometer freestyle mass start at the 2013 NCAA Skiing Championships. It was the second consecutive NCAA championship for the now 28-year-old Havlick — he won the 2012 NCAA title in the 20 k classic. As a standout skier at the University of Utah, Havlick made the jump to Sun...
A World Junior Championships and World U23 Championships skier for Finland who had racked up top-10 finishes in her country’s competitive national-championships field, Krista Niiranen moved to the American Southwest last year. “I had been studying law in the University of Lapland in Finland, but for the last season I transferred to the University of New Mexico and represented the UNM Ski Team,” she explained. Niiranen made a splash on the SuperTour and NCAA circuits,...
Talking about their summer plans, University of New Hampshire (UNH) skiers Annavitte Rand and Silje Wilson suddenly had what they called a crazy idea. Wilson hails from Hamar, Norway, and Rand from Vermont. They both wanted something new out of this summer: Wilson wanted to train with other college skiers (and not just Norwegian club teammates), and Rand wanted to go somewhere new. “Given that this is the summer before my senior year, I knew...
The 2016/2017 school year will be the final season of NCAA-sanctioned college skiing in the state of Alaska, University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen announced at a Thursday afternoon press conference.
The NMU Ski Team is hiring an assistant coach to help the head coach with all assigned duties associated with the Intercollegiate Ski Programs and teach in the Health and Human Performance Department as assigned.
Ben Lustgarten had a modest start in nordic skiing, but his future in the sport is anything but. Despite a senior year at Middlebury College that was fraught with injuries, the emerging star is ready to excel in the world of professional skiing.
UVM's Anja Gruber defended her title in the women's 5 k classic at the NCAA Championships in Soldier Hollow, Utah, today. She was followed by DU's Sylvia Nordskar and UNM's Eva Severrus.
Former Olympian and U.S. Ski Team member Andrew Johnson is heading to the University of Vermont as the new assistant coach of the school’s cross-country ski program. Johnson did not respond to a request for comment, but UVM Head Coach Patrick Weaver confirmed on Monday morning that Johnson had accepted a position with the university. “We’re really excited to have him,” Weaver said. The assistant coaching job is full-time, but Johnson will also be able...
As a freshman at the University of Anchorage, Amy Glen skied to a fourth place finish in the skate sprint at the 2009 U.S. National Championships. She only raced two other sprint races that whole winter: one at the World Junior Championships, and the other at a local race series in Alaska. Her story is a common one at the college level—with most programs focused on the distance races that will qualify their racers for...