SALT LAKE CITY - Utah head Nordic ski coach Abi Holt has been named as the 2017 Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association Coach of the Year, announced this week by the conference. The award is selected by the coaches in the league.
 
For Utah's 2017 NCAA championship team, Holt coached Martin Bergström to both the 10-km classic and 20-km freestyle titles at NCAA's while five athletes combined for nine All-America honors. Merete Myrseth earned a silver in the women's 5-km classic and fifth in the 15-km freestyle while Martin Mikkelsen earned bronze in the classic. Guro Jordheim was fifth in the classic and sixth in the freestyle. Kevin Bolger finished 10th in the 20-km freestyle. Utah was the top-scoring Nordic team at the NCAA Championships.
 
Holt recently completed her eighth season as head Nordic coach for the Utah ski team. She has helped coach the Utes to six top-three finishes at the NCAA Championships and her skiers have brought home seven individual national titles and earned 17 podium finishes at NCAA's. Holt has coached 16 athletes to 45 All-America honors during her time at Utah.
 
It is Holt's second RMISA Nordic Coach of the Year award. She was also the recipient in 2011.