2009 Utah Skiing Preview

12/19/2008 12:00 AM | Skiing

Dec. 19, 2008

After finishing the 2008 season as one of the strongest teams in the country and one of three squads to qualify a full team for the NCAA Championships before finishing third, the Utah ski team is anxious to get back on the snow and compete for its 12th national title.

Utah returns all but four of the 16 skiers that qualified for NCAA's. The top returning athlete is All-American sophomore Eva Huckova, who finished second in both the women's giant slalom and slalom events.

Joining the veterans is a solid group of newcomers who look to make an impact immediately, including a transfer student who qualified for the NCAA Championships at her former school, Devon Spika.

"Our team has the most returning athletes in the country," Director of Skiing Eli Brown said. "This is the biggest team we have ever had and we have a lot of depth. Everyone is training hard and getting along well, and we are having a hard time waiting for the race season.

"Our first and main goal of the season is to qualify a whole team again, then prepare for the championships. The veterans know what to expect and they want that championship. They want that ring on their finger. They're passionate enough about it that it's rubbing off onto the new kids, and they want to do it for the older kids. The older ones want it bad. I don't know if any other program can match our desire and passion. That will be our strength this year."

Women's Alpine
Utah has a solid group of competitors in All-Americans Chirine Njeim, Mikaela Grassl and Huckova.

Huckova, a first-team All-Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association selection, was the top overall NCAA Championships giant slalom qualifier. She qualified fourth in the slalom standings before finishing second in both events at the Championships. Huckova had two wins on the year, placing first in the GS at the Utah Invitational and winning the slalom at Western State.

Grassl, a three-time All-American and a team captain, had her best slalom finish of the year at the NCAA Championships last season, placing fourth. The senior was also 14th in the giant slalom at NCAA's, while her best finish of the year in the giant slalom was a sixth-place run at the Utah Invitational.

Njeim, who overcame a difficult personal tragedy to qualify for nationals for the second-straight season, was the ninth overall qualifier in the slalom last year. She earned All-America honors in the giant slalom in 2007 with a sixth-place finish.

Senior Chelsea Laswell and sophomore Sofia Smith round out the women's alpine team.

Men's Alpine
The Utes return three of four NCAA qualifiers from the 2008 campaign in seniors Scott Veenis, Thomas Zumbrunn and Kyle Kung. The fourth qualifier from last year, Tague Thorson, accepted an invitation to join the U.S. Ski Team. Utah was the only team in the country to have four men's alpine qualifiers.

Veenis is a three-time NCAA qualifier and three-time All-American. He was the only Utah qualifier to place in the top-10 in both the final slalom and giant slalom standings. Veenis is aiming to go out on top with his second national title after winning the NCAA giant slalom in 2006. He spent the fall semester training and studying in New Zealand.

Zumbrunn, a second-team All-RMISA selection, was the fifth overall slalom qualifier in his first season last year. He had four top-six finishes in the slalom last year.

Kung is a two-time NCAA qualifier, although he did not race in the championships last year because of team limits. The team captain finished in the top-10 in four giant slalom races last season.

Adding depth to the team will be sophomore Hermann Lager, who had two top-10 finishes in the giant slalom last year. He had joined the team just before the season started and will benefit from a year of experience under his belt at the college level. Newcomers Nick Cohee and Torjus Krogdahl will also provide depth. Cohee was among the top juniors in the country and Krogdahl was on the Norway junior national team.

Men's Nordic
Utah took one of its biggest hits in men's cross country with the loss of Snorri Einarsson, who was the top men's Nordic NCAA qualifier in 2008 and won a national title in the 20-km classic in 2007.

The Utes have two NCAA qualifiers returning, led by Even Sletten. Sletten was first-team All-RMISA selection and an All-American in both the 20-km classic and 10-km freestyle last year. Ben Fick is also a returning qualifier, he finished 12th in the 20-km classic at NCAA's while placing 24th in the 10-km freestyle.

Sophomore Ian Havlick returns for his second season. His top finish was a 17th-place run at the 15-km freestyle at the Utah Invitational. Senior Fabian Figi continues to feel the effects of an injury suffered last year and will likely redshirt.

Three newcomers will look to make an impact - Rolf Figi, Didrik Smith and Tom Smith.

Women's Nordic
With nine women's cross country racers, including four returning NCAA qualifiers and a transfer who is a two-time qualifier, Utah has immense talent and depth among its team.

Sarah Schweiger is a returning two-time All-American and three-time NCAA qualifier. She had six top-10 finishes in 2008 before finishing 15th in the 15-km classic at NCAA's. Schweiger is a two-year team captain.

Annelies Cook is a two-time NCAA qualifier and a second-team All-RMISA selection last season. Her best finish last season was a fourth-place run in the 15-km classic at the Western Regional. Cook, who is also a member of the national biathlon team, is also preparing for the Olympics in that event.

Zoe Roy started her career at Utah as a walk-on and qualified for NCAA's. She never finished out of the top-15 during the regular season, including four top-10 finishes. Roy also prepared with the Utah cross country (running) team during the fall.

Devon Spika is a transfer from Whitman College who has qualified for the NCAA Championships the past two seasons. She placed 33rd at NCAA's in both the freestyle and classic races and placed ninth in the freestyle at the West Region Championships.

Parker Tyler is an Olympic hopeful in sprint racing and is working towards building endurance, but will be in the mix to contend for an NCAA spot.

Ingvild Flatland had struggled with injury throughout her career, but is motivated to have a strong senior campaign. Three athletes plan to redshirt - two-time NCAA qualifier Sarah MacCarthy, Madeleine Talkington and newcomer Rose Kemp.