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By: Francesca Kitch
The Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) holds a very high standard for racing; although teams are small and the field is not more than 40 per gender, international athletes and some of the nation’s fastest skiers flock to the west to race on the collegiate circuit. The region itself is quite large, including schools from Colorado up to Alaska. The 6 teams in the division gather for 6 invites each year that are hosted by each school. These began at US Nationals with the University of Alaska Anchorage invite, and they are now halfway through the season having attended the University of Utah invite and Montana State University invite these past two weekends.
The top 17 skiers of each gender will qualify for NCAA’s through these invites and teams will be ranked based on their performances, scoring overall with their alpine teams. With 17 spots available, each school will be able to send a full team of 3 athletes to the national championships aside from one school, which will send 2. RMISA will follow the same distances and techniques as the EISA and CCSA, with distance skate qualifying races and shorter distance classic qualifying races, including a classic sprint.
With four athletes named to the US Ski Team, 11 others named to international trips for the US, and many more competing for other countries internationally, RMISA is quite a competitive field.
“On paper, there are more international athletes in the West than, say, the East,” Rogan Brown, head coach of Denver University, said. “Historically the recruiting culture tries to bring the hardest working, fastest, and best student athletes to our institutions to really help us with our program goals,” which for many schools, he goes on to say, include winning NCAA championships and individual success there. DU finished 3rd in the championships last year, behind University of Utah and University of Colorado Boulder. Brown is excited about his entire women’s team, who have shown depth in their results and worked together to do well as a team. Freshman Eve-Ondine Duchaufour had a strong start to her collegiate career after finishing 3rd in the 15km freestyle at the Utah invite and snagging several more top 10’s at UAA and MSU. Sophomore Maja Moland has been a consistent skier for DU as well, finishing in the top 5 in classic and top 10 in skate so far this season. On the men’s side, the older athletes have been leading the team in the results. Senior Andreas Kirkeng has four RMISA wins so far this season, sweeping the UAA invitational, and finishing first in the 15km skate race at UU and 7.5km classic at MSU. Graduate student Florian Knopf won the 7.5km classic in Utah, and has podiumed in two other classic events, along with top 10’s in skate races.
Montana State University’s Kate Oldham has made her mark on the national stage this year, winning the national championship in the 10km skate in Anchorage. “Her strong racing at US nationals has opened a lot of doors for her for the rest of the season and we will try to take advantage of those open doors to get some international racing experience,” said her coach Adam St. Pierre. Currently in Switzerland for her first World Cup Start, where she finished 19th in the Freestyle Sprint. She will then head to Italy for the World Cup followed by the U23 Championships. Senior Anna Pryce has regained her footing this year after focusing on her Nursing degree last year, notching a few top 10’s in RMISA races. Junior Katey Houser has been having her best season yet, finishing in the top 10 for her first time at the Utah invite. St. Pierre laments that their men’s team has been struck by illness, and after a fall of on and off sickness, returning NCAA qualifier Fredrik Nilsen has opted to redshirt. Even so, others have stepped up in his absence. Freshman Grey Barbier has started the season off strong and will be participating in the World Junior championships, Gavin Galyardt notched a top 15 in the 15k skate at Utah, and Redshirt junior Jack Conde is expected to improve throughout the season after focusing on his mechanical engineering degree last year. “I am happy with how the season has started,” St. Pierre said. “We raced in Soldier Hollow last weekend and every athlete saw an improvement in their RMISA placing over their placing in Anchorage.”
Senior Kendall Kramer–member of the US Development Team–(University of Alaska Fairbanks) is another strong competitor to watch out for. With her national title in the 20km classic and as national runner-up in the 10km skate in Alaska earlier this year, she traveled to Switzerland to race in the World Cup–finishing 36th in the 20km skate mass start–and will head to World U23 Championships next week. Her teammate Tabatha Williams (Sophomore) will also be competing in U23 Championships for Great Britain. Rosie Fordham, another standout skier, is redshirting this season and racing in the World Cup for Australia in preparation for the Olympics next winter. Coach Eliska Albrigtsen is excited for her return, and also thankful that her two best skiers–Kramer and Fordham–will not both be leaving her after this season. Due to the international success of her athletes, this left Albrigtsen with only two women racing at the MSU invite. She has had a very consistent and young men’s team, however. Sophomore Ben Dohlby, Philipp Moosmayer, and Cole Flowers have been top 3 finishers so far this season. Flowers will be representing the US in Italy for World Junior Championships. Sophomore Aidan Hay also notched his first top 20 this season, and while Freshman Gabriele Rigaudo missed the first two RMISA invites this season due to sickness, he raced to 10th place at World University Games representing Italy. Sickness has been a theme for the UAF team, with colds and norovirus affecting both the coaching staff and athletes so far. However, Albrigtsen says after 7 years of coaching at UAF, “I’ve never seen a stronger and mentally healthier and happier group of athletes. I love coaching them, they are just a really great group of really smart humans that push each other and have fun with it.”
University of Colorado Boulder, the reigning national champions, have had a strong start to the season as well. Junior Tilde Baangman led Colorado’s team with 3 podium finishes in the RMISA so far, and Freshman Astri Lunde has had a promising start to her collegiate career with two podiums and multiple top 5 and 10 performances. On the men’s side, Graduate student Will Koch and Junior Hugo Hinkfuss have led the team with top 5 and podium finishes, while Trey Jones has come into the season with a US Ski Development Team nomination and qualification for U23’s in Italy alongside his teammate Will Koch.
From University of Alaska Anchorage, numerous skiers have cycled through leading the team over the course of the season, including top 10 performances from Derek Deuling, Matt Seline, Erling Bjoernstad, Peter Hinds, and Beth Granstrom on the women’s side. Freshman Murphy Kimball secured a spot on the US Ski Development Team for this season as well as a ticket to World Juniors.
University of Utah brings in top competitors as well as a new head coach starting this season, Pierre Niess. Niess speaks of the Director of skiing at Utah, Fredrik Landstedt, as vital in his integration into the team, saying that Landstedt’s “experience in the college skiing world is second to none.” Niess also adds about the team that, “the Utah Ski Team is an obvious landmark in the national landscape. I have been amazed by the level of professionalism and support from the university. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to work with such high-caliber athletes. The team’s culture of performance and development is something that aligns with my coaching philosophy.” And high-caliber athletes are true. Freshman Erica Laven has led the women’s team in each race, stepping onto the podium in each RMISA race she has entered, including 4 individual wins. Another freshman, Selma Nevin, has been recording top 5 and 10 finishes so far this year. Sophomore Nina Schamberger, along with Neve Girard and Lucas Wilmot, will be participating in the World Junior Championships. Senior Joe Davies has his own individual podium finishes and wins and 3 top 16 finishes on the World Cup this year. Seniors Walker Hall and Brian Bushey are also top finishers, Hall having skied the World Cup and both men heading to U23 championships. Zach Jayne has also been posting consistent results for UU and has earned a spot on the US Ski Development Team.
From UAA, numerous skiers have cycled through leading the team over the course of the season, including top 10 performances from Derek Deuling, Matt Seline, Erling Bjoernstad, Peter Hinds, and Beth Granstrom on the women’s side. Freshman Murphy Kimball secured a spot on the US Ski Development Team for this season as well as a ticket to World Juniors.
As the season progresses, it will be interesting to see who steps up while international racers are out and who secures the NCAA qualifying spots.
Full RMISA Schedule
January 2nd and 5th: Alaska Anchorage Invitational
Women’s 10K Freestyle (Kincaid Park) – Results
Men’s 10K Freestyle (Kincaid Park) – Results
Women’s 20K Classic (Kincaid Park) – Results
Men’s 20K Classic (Kincaid Park) – Results
January 18th and 19th: Utah Invitational
Women’s 7.5K Classic (Soldier Hollow) – Results
Men’s 7.5K Classic (Soldier Hollow) – Results
Women’s 15K Freestyle (Soldier Hollow) – Results
Men’s 15K Freestyle (Soldier Hollow)- Results
January 24th and 26th: Montana State Invitational
Women’s 20K Freestyle (Crosscut Mountain) – Results
Men’s 20K Freestyle (Crosscut Mountain)- Results
Women’s 7.5K Classic (Crosscut Mountain) – Results
Men’s 7.5K Classic (Crosscut Mountain) – Results
February 8th and 9th: Denver Invitational
Women’s 7.5K Classic (Maloit Park)
Men’s 7.5K Classic (Maloit Park)
Women’s 10K Freestyle (Maloit Park)
Men’s 10K Freestyle (Maloit Park)
February 16th and 17th: Alaska Fairbanks Invitational
Women’s Classic Sprints (Birch Hill)
Men’s Classic Sprints (Birch Hill)
Women’s 10K Freestyle (Birch Hill)
Men’s 10K Freestyle (Birch Hill)
February 21st and 22nd: RMISA Championships (Alaska Anchorage)
Women’s 7.5K Classic (Kincaid Park)
Men’s 7.5K Classic (Kincaid Park)
Women’s 20K Freestyle (Kincaid Park)
Men’s 20K Freestyle (Kincaid Park)
March 6th and 8th: NCAA Championships (Dartmouth)
Women’s 7.5K Freestyle (Oak Hill)
Men’s 7.5K Freestyle (Oak Hill)
Women’s 20K Freestyle (Oak Hill)
Men’s 20K Freestyle (Oak Hill)