A two-time NCAA Champion representing the University of Utah, Maria Grafnings earned World Cup starts in Gallivare as part of Sweden's Nations Group. There, she ran with the honors, finishing as the sixth Swede in the 10 k skate.
This past March, Maria Graefnings capped off a hugely successful college career in winning her second NCAA title in the 5-kilometer freestyle at Bohart Ranch in Bozeman, Mont. In her two years at the University of Utah, the Swede dominated the Rocky Mountain region with eleven total RMISA wins. She once gave Kikkan Randall a run for her money in Idaho at SuperTour Finals. But instead of riding off into the sunset after graduation, as many...
Maybe it was the transition to full-time racing or the fact that Zoe Roy was competing in her home nation last season. It could’ve been the back-and-fourth flights across the U.S/Canadian border, or one team’s hospitality that helped Roy reach new heights on the NorAm circuit. Whatever it was, she wasn’t fighting it. After spending some 20 years in Bend, Ore., Roy, who turned 25 on Sunday, is moving to Canmore, Alberta. Starting Aug. 1,...
Note: This is the last piece in a three-part series following several groups of biathletes as they negotiate the college question. part two looked at USBA’s 2007-2010 Development Team. In November, 2011, Casey Smith was named Junior Biathlete of the Year for 2011 by the United States Biathlon Association (USBA). In a European country, that might mean a pat on the back from a coach at practice, perhaps an honorary celebration thrown by an athlete’s...
Once the country’s best juniors, a handful of biathletes – including Lowell Bailey, ranked 14th in the 2012 World Cup standings – detoured through college programs before representing the U.S. at World Championships and the Olympics.
Many European skiers arrive in the U.S for college and are exhausted from year of trying to “make it” at the international level. While they find success in NCAA skiing, for some it is the last hurrah of a career that’s already lasted twenty years. Snorri Einarsson was not one of those skiers. For one thing, when the Norwegian arrived at the University of Utah, he was just 20 years old. For another, he...
Kevin Sweeney was at the helm the last time that the University of Utah won an NCAA skiing championship, in 2003. So it’s only logical that the Utes would turn to Sweeney to help them win their next one. Sweeney’s appointment as Utah’s new director of skiing was announced yesterday by Associate Athletic Director Mary Bowman. Sweeney makes his return to the University after five years as the nordic race director for Swix Sport USA....
University of Utah Director of Skiing Eli Brown has resigned, leaving his job at the helm of one of the country’s most storied programs. In an interview, Brown cited a desire to spend more time with his family combined with changes to the direction of the Utah program as the reasons for his decision. When the University finds a replacement, Brown will be heading to join his wife and two children on the family farm...