Completed Event: Skiing versus 20K Freestyle (M) on March 8, 2025 , , 1st
Final Score
Skiing
1st
vs 20K Freestyle (M)
Monday, January 2
Houghton, Mich.
All Day
University of Utah
vs
10K Freestyle
Photo by: Steve Fuller/flyingpointroad.com
Utah Ski Team Opens RMISA Slate at U.S. National Cross Country Championships
12/31/2022 8:00 AM | Skiing
10K freestyle and classic sprints begin the year for the Nordic Utes
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The RMISA season has arrived for the three-time defending NCAA Champion Utah Ski Team, kicking off for the Utes with two days of Nordic racing at the U.S. National Cross Country Championships at Michigan Tech Nordic Center. Utah will begin its title defense on Monday, Jan. 2 with both men's and women's 10K freestyle, followed up by classic sprint races on Wednesday, Jan. 4. Racing on both days is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. MT.
Alpine teams will begin the RMISA slate on Jan. 26-27, competing at the Westminster Invitational with two days of slalom racing.
While these races are not part of an RMISA meet—thus no RMISA team scores will be kept—they do serve as two extra individual qualifiers for the 2023 NCAA Championships. The College Cup is also up for grabs, presented to the top collegiate programs at the U.S. National Championships and won by Utah in 2022.
The Utes anticipate nearly the entire team will race in Houghton, though Samuel Hendry and Sophia Laukli will be absent while competing in Europe during the Tour de Ski.
Heading into the new campaign, head Nordic coach Miles Havlick expressed optimism about his group.
"We are on the eve of another collegiate season and I am feeling great about this team," said Havlick. "Unavoidably, we have dealt with our fair share of sickness throughout the fall but aside from that, fall training has gone very smoothly and everyone is in a really good spot heading into 2023. As a whole, we have a veteran group who have all been around the circuit for several years now with all but one returning from our NCAA team last year."
On both the Nordic and alpine sides of the house, the Utes boast one of the deepest and most talented group of returners in the country, headlined in part by 2022 NCAA individual champions Sophia Laukli and Novie McCabe, the latter of whom was named USCSCA National Women's Nordic Skier of the Year. On the men's side, Samuel Hendry is back coming off All-America honors while Luke Jager, the '22 NCAA West Regional Individual Champion in 20K freestyle, took home All-RMISA honors a year ago.
Jager, Laukli and McCabe also made up a trio of Utes to represent the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Havlick also likes what he sees from newcomers Tom Mancini and Celine Mayer.
"Tom and Celine have been great additions to the program, coming in with many years of high-level racing in France and Germany respectively," he added. "Despite joint the team in August, they have both demonstrated exceptional leadership, maturity and confidence on the skis and off. In early season races, the Nordic squad has posted some very strong results while maintaining a relatively high training volume…All in all, the team is healthy and hungry to get the collegiate season underway. We have worked harder than ever and I'm eager to show off what this team can do!"
After this week's action, the Utes will be off until Friday, Jan. 13, opening up the Montana State Invitational.
Follow the Utah Ski Team on social media @utahskiteam.
Alpine teams will begin the RMISA slate on Jan. 26-27, competing at the Westminster Invitational with two days of slalom racing.
While these races are not part of an RMISA meet—thus no RMISA team scores will be kept—they do serve as two extra individual qualifiers for the 2023 NCAA Championships. The College Cup is also up for grabs, presented to the top collegiate programs at the U.S. National Championships and won by Utah in 2022.
The Utes anticipate nearly the entire team will race in Houghton, though Samuel Hendry and Sophia Laukli will be absent while competing in Europe during the Tour de Ski.
Heading into the new campaign, head Nordic coach Miles Havlick expressed optimism about his group.
"We are on the eve of another collegiate season and I am feeling great about this team," said Havlick. "Unavoidably, we have dealt with our fair share of sickness throughout the fall but aside from that, fall training has gone very smoothly and everyone is in a really good spot heading into 2023. As a whole, we have a veteran group who have all been around the circuit for several years now with all but one returning from our NCAA team last year."
On both the Nordic and alpine sides of the house, the Utes boast one of the deepest and most talented group of returners in the country, headlined in part by 2022 NCAA individual champions Sophia Laukli and Novie McCabe, the latter of whom was named USCSCA National Women's Nordic Skier of the Year. On the men's side, Samuel Hendry is back coming off All-America honors while Luke Jager, the '22 NCAA West Regional Individual Champion in 20K freestyle, took home All-RMISA honors a year ago.
Jager, Laukli and McCabe also made up a trio of Utes to represent the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Havlick also likes what he sees from newcomers Tom Mancini and Celine Mayer.
"Tom and Celine have been great additions to the program, coming in with many years of high-level racing in France and Germany respectively," he added. "Despite joint the team in August, they have both demonstrated exceptional leadership, maturity and confidence on the skis and off. In early season races, the Nordic squad has posted some very strong results while maintaining a relatively high training volume…All in all, the team is healthy and hungry to get the collegiate season underway. We have worked harder than ever and I'm eager to show off what this team can do!"
After this week's action, the Utes will be off until Friday, Jan. 13, opening up the Montana State Invitational.
Follow the Utah Ski Team on social media @utahskiteam.
Players Mentioned
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