Collegiate Skiing – FasterSkier

“You Can’t Live Nervous”

Matthew VoisinDecember 22, 2025

Finals week has a way of compressing time. Days shrink into problem sets and exams; nights stretch just long enough to make sleep negotiable. When Jack Lange logged onto Zoom from Hanover in late November, he was finishing his senior fall at Dartmouth, a mechanical engineering major balancing equations while packing for a training block at Silver Star. The snow out west wasn’t cooperating. Races were being reformatted. Nothing felt settled. That uncertainty didn’t seem...

Collegiate Feature News

Ask Them One Question . . .

Luke DykowskiMay 9, 2024

As a snow-starved winter turns to blustery and reticent spring, an ill wind blows across our empty ski trails. What tumbles on that breeze brings relief and celebration to uncounted families; however, the changing season marks a sorrowful loss for the Nordic community. The gusts of April and May whip into mailboxes and under doors, leaving in their breathless wake college decision letters—for so many high school seniors, the start of an exciting next chapter;...

Collegiate Community Interviews Resources

Unraveling the College Athlete Admission Process: A Look Into Post Graduate Gap Year Programs with Paul Smith of SVSEF

Rachel PerkinsOctober 14, 2019

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...

Collegiate Continental Cup General Juniors Lifestyle Racing Resources Training US Ski Team

The College Conflict: Part 2

FasterSkierSeptember 24, 2018

The following was written by Alayna Sonnesyn, a new member of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) T2 Team who graduated from the University of Vermont (UVM) this past spring. Originally from Plymouth, Minnesota, Sonnesyn, 22, raced on the UVM Ski Team for four years and qualified for four NCAA Skiing Championships teams. She placed second and third in two races at 2017 NCAA Championships, and in her senior season, won the first five Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association...

Collegiate Continental Cup General Juniors Lifestyle Racing Resources US Ski Team

The College Conflict: Part 1

FasterSkierSeptember 10, 2018

The following was written by Alayna Sonnesyn, a new member of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) T2 Team who graduated from the University of Vermont (UVM) this past spring. Originally from Plymouth, Minnesota, Sonnesyn, 22, raced on the UVM Ski Team for four years and qualified for four NCAA Skiing Championships teams. She placed second and third in two races at 2017 NCAA Championships, and in her senior season, won the first five Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association...

Collegiate General News Racing

Pletcher Expected To Make Full Recovery From Climbing Accident

Audrey ManganJune 16, 20111

Three weeks after being flown out of Boulder Canyon with serious head trauma, Reid Pletcher is ready to head home to Sun Valley after his expected discharge from Craig Hospital in Denver this Friday. The

Collegiate General News Racing

Minnesota Budget Shortfalls Threaten St. Cloud Ski Team

Nathaniel HerzSeptember 28, 201010

Yet another collegiate ski program is on the chopping block. Due to budget shortfalls in Minnesota, the St. Cloud State University cross-country ski program could be shuttered by the 2011-2012 season. The closure of that program is included in one of three cost-cutting measures being considered by university administrators, who will make a decision by December 6th. “After the last couple of years, when a bunch of schools out west have gone down, it’s not...

Continental Cup General Interviews News Racing US Nationals

Who the Heck is Tyler Kornfield?

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 3, 2010

Who the heck is Tyler Kornfield? That’s what a sizable portion of the U.S. skiing community was left asking yesterday, as the 18-year-old skied his way to a fourth place finish in the freestyle sprint national championship. Though the name may be unfamiliar to many around the country, Kornfield is known around Alaska as the 2009 state champion in the 7.5k classic race. When he signed to ski at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF),...

Collegiate Continental Cup General News Racing Uncategorized US Ski Team World Cup

Performance, not college, was reason for USST cuts

Nathaniel HerzJune 24, 200930

In the middle of May, the U.S. Ski Team (USST) dropped seven of the 18 skiers that were on the team. Three of those seven skiers are currently attending college: Matt Gelso and Alexa Turzian at Colorado University (CU), and Rosie Brennan at Dartmouth. Following those skiers’ dismissals, the USST released a new set of recommendations that called for elite high school skiers to take time off to train before starting college. That announcement spawned...