Last year, Kevin Sweeney, head coach of the University of Utah, had perhaps the greatest recruiting coup of the year, when he brought in Estonian Katrin Smigun for second semester. The former world cup skier and Olympian dominated the entire season, going undefeated and leading Utah to an NCAA team championship. This year there are not any teams that can report recruiting foreign Olympians, but there are some exciting new additions to the NCAA skiing scene.
Again, Utah has claimed one of the top recruits for 2004 in Park City native Casey Simons. Casey, a double gold medalist at the 2003 Junior Olympics, followed older brother Zack (a points scorer for Utah at the 2003 Championships) to Utah.
When they were runner-up for the team title in 2003, the University of Vermont was limited by a relatively weak women’s Nordic squad, but they may well have remedied that problem with this year’s recruiting class. In line with UVM’s tradition of providing collegiate skiing opportunities for top Vermonters, Head Coach Allan Serrano reports the addition of three females with connections to the state: Carina Hamel, Amelia DeMarchis, and Liz Parke. Hamel, a 2003 graduate of Burke Mountain Academy, was the bronze medalist in the OJ skate at Junior Olympics. DeMarchis is a top Vermont biathlete who spent the last year in Duluth training with the Junior National Biathlon Team. Liz Parke is a Mt. Mansfield, Vermont native who spent the last four years in Minnesota attending Carleton College. Unfortunately, Carleton disbanded its team in spring 2002, so Parke had no team as a senior. Now in graduate school at UVM, she has one year of eligibility remaining.
Third place in the team standings at last years NCAAs, University of Colorado reports just one new recruit: freshman Tim Damrow. Damrow, of Roseville, Minnesota and Saukko Ski Club had three top-15 results at Junior Olympics, including a sixth place finish in the JI sprint. Head Coach Bruce Cranmer says that CU is still recruiting for second semester. Even so, the team is in a good position having lost just one scoring athlete from last year’s team.
The University of Nevada-Reno has a new coach for 2003: Tav Streit, formerly coach at Montana State University, and before that assistant at Nevada. UNR can also boast of several talented new athletes. On the women’s side of things, the team adds Finnish skier Sari Tuovinen who earned a start in last year’s Lahti World Cup. The Alaskan pair of Paige Brady (siver medalist in Junior Olympics sprint) and Sally Johnson (7th in Junior Olympics classic) add depth to the talented squad. For men, Streit reports the addition of Donavan Walsh, bronze medalist in Junior Olympics sprint.
The talented University of New Mexico squad adds a whole contingent of newcomers to their squad. For the men, Norwegian transfer Geir Rogn boasts top-30 results in Norwegian Senior Cup races, and was 15th in the 2003 Norwegian Birkie. Joining him is German Dirk Grimm, a top rollerskier, who finished second in the 2002 Rollerskiing World Cup standings. Jakub Hamr, a member of the Czech Junior National Team will also join the team as a transfer. For the women, Norwegian Trine Lundamo has finished as high as 15th at Norwegian Senior Nationals.
Perennial powerhouse Denver University has only one new recruit for 2004: Courtney Dauwalter. This Minnesota State Champion and JI Scandinavian Trip participant won the JI skate at Junior Olympics. Head Coach Knut Nystad is still recruiting for second semester, even though the team retains all of its strongest skiers from 2003.
, should immediately contribute to the squad. </p>
<p> 9th place finishers in 2003, University of Alaska Anchorage has two new male athletes and one new female athlete for 2004. Paul Schauer of Fairbanks, 11th in the JI skate race at Junior Olympics, and Aaron Roessler of Grand Rapids, 12th in the OJ sprint, both join the team as freshmen. For women, Anchorage brings a Finnish skier Susanne Kumpulainen of Suomi, Finland.</p>
<p> The University of New Hampshire adds the talented Maine duo of Joanna Kinsman and Megan Dumais to their women’s team. Kinsman, from Fryeburg, Maine is a State Champion, who won the sprint and classic at 2003 New England High School Championships. Dumais was second in the classic and fourth in the skate at the same championships. The team also adds Alaska Winter Stars skier Mandy Vincent-Lang, who was 21st in the JI sprint at Junior Olympics. Its top male recruit is Rody Lagenson, a Junior Olympic Participant from St. Paul, Minnesota.</p>
<p> Northern Michigan University, known for its strong Nordic Team, continues to build its program with talented newcomers. Foremost among them is 2002 Olympian and U.S. Development Team member Lindsey Weier. Although she’s a sophomore, this will be her first year of NCAA competition, since she redshirted last year. Two other fast recruits, Morgan Smyth of Stratton Mountain School, bronze medalist in JI sprints at 2003 Junior Olympics, and Canadian Victoria Koskenoja with top-20 Continental Cup results to her credit, will come in as freshmen. </p>
<p> University of Alaska-Fairbanks, an emerging team with 2003 individual silver medalist Sigrid Aas, has added athletes who seem sure to push the team higher. For women, Sigrid Lagerfelt of Ostersund, Sweden brings an impressive resume including a 7th place finish in last year’s Swedish National Championships. Top American junior Kasandra Rice finished top-10 in two events at Junior Olympics, and 11th in the third. UAF’s strongest male recruit is Tyson Flaherty of Fairbanks, who was a multiple medalist at 2003 Junior Olympics and a member of the JI Scandinavian Trip team. </p>
<p>The best of the rest:<br />
Bates College: Kyle Rogers (14th Sprint 2003 JOs), John Reuter (20th Sprint 2003 JOs),<br />
Kaitlyn McElroy (20th Sprint 2003 JOs)<br />
Bowdoin: Leah Ricci (7th JI Sprint 2003 JOs, 2nd NY State Meet)<br />
Gustavus Adolphus College: Nicole Olson (4th JI Skate 2003 JOs, MN State Skate<br />
Champion), Erin McCarty (18th JI Skate 2003 JOs)<br />
Montana State University: Travis Hansen (4th JI Skate, 10th JI Sprint, 11 JI Classic 2003<br />
JOs), Christian Coe (12th OJ Skate, 12th OJ Classic, 17th OJ Sprint 2003 JOs),<br />
Ryan Holtan (17th JI Sprint)<br />
St. Lawrence University: Kalie Douglas (Maine Class A State Champion)<br />
Western State College: Josh Dayton (6th Classic 2002 Junior Olympics)<br />
Williams College: Steve Hunter (19th OJ Sprint 2003 JOs), Melissa Bota (7th Canadian<br />
Junior Nationals)<br />
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay: Rosy Walsh (2003 Wisconsin State Champion),<br />
Tanya Cook (2nd 2003 WI State Meet)</p>
<p><I>Corey Coogan recently issued the second edition of her book on collegiate skiing called <B>One Week in March</B>, a Peterson's-like guidebook on all the collegiate teams and clubs in the U.S. This guide book is especially helpful for high school skiers and parents who are looking at college ski programs. <<a href=http://www.pressenter.com/~bstepchu/Rockmine_Press.html target=results>More info available here</a>.</I></p>
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