Utah Ski Team Dominates 2022 RMISA Awards

Palmer-Leger and Normannseth - RMISA MVPs

3/4/2022 3:25 PM | Skiing

Normannseth, Palmer-Leger collect RMISA Most Valuable Skier honors

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah ski team dominated in the 2022 RMISA awards, unveiled this week ahead of the NCAA Ski Championships which run from March 9-12 at Park City Mountain and Solider Hollow.

Utah, the RMISA overall regular season champion, was headlined by RMISA Most Valuable Skiers Sydney Palmer-Leger and Wilhelm Normannseth. Palmer-Leger took home both the women's classic and freestyle accolades, while Normannseth tabbed the men's slalom honor.

In addition, 19 different Utes landed All-RMISA First Team, Second Team and Honorable Mention across the alpine and Nordic squads.

Quick hits follow for each of the Utes recognized with RMISA awards.

Follow the Utah ski team on social media (@utahskiteam).

Sydney Palmer-Leger – Nordic – So. – Park City, Utah
RMISA Most Valuable Skier (Women's CL/FS) • All-RMISA First Team – Skier of the Meet (Utah Invitational)

2022 NCAA Championships participant
Six wins in eight college races during the 2022 season, including in three straight starts
Seeded No. 1 on women's side in both Nordic disciplines for the 2022 NCAA Championships
2021 National Nordic Skier of the Year and two-time All-America First Team.
Won individual NCAA championships in 5km classical and 15km freestyle during 2021
Represented United States in February 2022 at the FIS World Junior Championships
Opened the championships with a sixth-place finish in 15km freestyle and was part of a top-five 4x3.3km relay team

Wilhelm Normannseth – Alpine – So. – Oslo, Norway
RMISA Most Valuable Skier (Men's SL) • All-RMISA First Team • Skier of the Meet (RMISA Invitational)

2022 NCAA Championships participant
Has finished no lower than fifth in his six collegiate slalom races of 2022
Won the slalom at the 2022 Denver Invitational, as well as in the extra RMISA Alpine Qualifier
Added a slalom silver medal performance at the Montana State Invitational

Sophia Laukli – Nordic – Jr. – Yarmouth, Maine
All-RMISA First Team • Skier of the Meet (RMISA Championships)

2022 NCAA Championships participant
Represented the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics, where Laukli skied to a 15^th place finish in the women's 30km freestyle at the Olympics
Won the 5km freestyle at the Montana State Invitational and tabbed second both in 5km classic and 10km freestyle at the RMISA Championships
Also skied to the podium (third) in the 10km classic at the MSU Invitational
Skied for Middlebury College prior to Utah and was an NCAA qualifier while with the Panthers

Novie McCabe – Nordic – So. – Winthrop, Wash.
NCAA West Regional Individual Champion (CL/FS) • All-RMISA First Team • Skier of the Meet (MSU Invitational)

2022 NCAA Championships participant
Represented the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics
Part of the U.S. cross-country 4x5km relay team that took sixth the Olympics
Took 24th in the Olympics women's 10K classic
Eight career college wins in 14 finishes, and 12 podiums in those 14 races

Luke Jager – Nordic – Jr. – Anchorage, Alaska
NCAA West Regional Individual Champion (FS) • All-RMISA First Team • Skier of the Meet (RMISA Championships)

2022 NCAA Championships participant
Represented Team USA at the 2022 Winter Olympics, including as part of the ninth-place USA 4x10km relay team
Picked up his first collegiate win in the 20km freestyle at the RMISA Championships/NCAA West Regionals
Also tabbed bronze in the 10km classical at the RMISA Championships, Jager's top classical finish this season

Madison Hoffman – Alpine – So. – Sydney, Australia
All-RMISA Second Team

Five starts during the 2022 college season with two podiums
Named an Olympian by her home nation of Australia
Opened the season with a third-place giant slalom finish at the Montana State Invitational
Also added top-five efforts at the RMISA Invitational both in slalom and GS
Was unable to compete at the 2022 Winter Olympics due to a race-related injury prior to the Games

Kaja Norbye – Alpine – Fr. – Oslo, Norway
All-RMISA Second Team • Skier of the Meet (RMISA Championships)

2022 NCAA Championships participant
Four podiums during her collegiate freshman season in 2022 (all in giant slalom)
Top GS performance to date was a second-place effort at the RMISA Invitational
Added a seventh-place slalom finish at the Montana State Invitational

Katie Parker – Alpine – Sr. - Melbourne, Australia
All-RMISA Second Team • Skier of the Meet (MSU Invitational)

2022 NCAA Championships participant
Won the slalom at the MSU Invitational
Top GS finishes in 2022 were a pair of fourth-place efforts at the MSU Invitational and Utah Invitational
Represented Australia at the Olympic Games in Beijing
Started in slalom during the Olympics but DNF on a challenging course

Joachim Lien – Alpine - Sr. - Rælingen, Norway
All-RMISA Second Team • Skier of the Meet (RMISA Alpine Qualifiers)

2022 NCAA Championships participant
Won the RMISA Qualifier giant slalom race in February 2022
Added a second-place GS performance at the RMISA Invitational
Had three other top-five performances (two GS, one SL)

Abby Jarzin – Nordic – Jr. – Green Bay, Wisconsin
All-RMISA Second Team • RMISA Skier of the Meet (RMISA Invitational)

Seventeen college races as a Ute, with five top-five performances.
Hit her first college podium with a bronze showing in the Utah Invitational freestyle sprints (Jan. 2022), within the U.S. National Championships.
Three other top-five performances, including fourth place at the Utah Invitational (10K classic) and RMISA Invitational (5K classic)
Competed in Lygna, Norway in February 2022 at the FIS U23 World Championships, where Jarzin was part of a 12^th place U.S. team in the 4x5km relay

Julia Richter – Nordic – Sr. – Sayda, Germany
All-RMISA Second Team

Nine starts on the college circuit during the 2022 season, with five finishes in the top-five
Twice has skied to the podium with a silver medal in the 5km classic at the UAF Invitational
Also took bronze in the 5km classic at the RMISA Championships, part of a podium sweep for Utah
Has finished no lower than ninth in each of her races during 2022

Walker Hall – Nordic – Fr. – Winthrop, Wash.
All-RMISA Second Team

Six collegiate starts with Utah, all in 2022.
Two top-five college finishes, including a silver medal in the 10km freestyle at the Montana State Invitational (Jan. 2022).
Represented the United States in February 2022 at the FIS Junior World Championships in Lygna, Norway
Hall was part of a bronze-medal-winning 4x5km relay team in Lygna

Samuel Hendry – Nordic – Jr. – Canmore, Alberta
All-RMISA Second Team

2022 NCAA Championships participant
Twenty collegiate starts with 15 podiums and four wins (two CL, two FS)
Hit the podium in both the 10km freestyle and 15km classical at the Montana State Invitational (Jan. 2022)
Skied with Canada at the 2022 FIS U23 World Championships in Lygna, Norway
Raced to 18^th in the 15km classic while in Lygna, also part of a 14^th place 4x5km relay team with Canada

Bjørn Riksaasen – Nordic – Gr. – Vaga, Norway
All-RMISA Second Team

2022 NCAA Championships participant
Top classic finish this season was in fourth at the RMISA Championships
First podium of 2022 came in the men's 20km freestyle at RMISA Championships

Sona Moravcikova – Alpine – Sr. – Bratislava, Slovakia
All-RMISA Honorable Mention • Skier of the Meet (DU Invitational)

2022 NCAA Championships participant
Top 2022 finishes: fourth at Denver Invitational (SL); fifth at Utah Invitational Denver Invitational (GS)
Five top-10 finishes this season (three GS, two SL), 25 top-10 college finishes in her career

Katie Vesterstein – Alpine – Sr. – Duluth, Minn.
All-RMISA Honorable Mention

Represented Estonia at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing
Skied to her first college podium of 2022 during the RMISA Championships, finishing third in slalom
Added college top-fives in slalom at the Utah Invitational and Denver Invitational
Made two Olympics starts, with a 35^th place finish in giant slalom
Also competed in slalom, but DNF on a challenging course

Jeremy Mathers – Alpine – Fr. – Cottonwood Heights, Utah
All-RMISA Honorable Mention

Twelve college starts during his first season with the Utes, including a pair of top-five finishes
Best finish of the season was fourth in slalom at the Denver Invitational
Also took fifth in slalom at the Montana State Invitational

Gustav Vøllo – Alpine – Jr. – Hemsedal, Norway
All-RMISA Honorable Mention

2022 NCAA Championships participant
Top giant slalom finish this season was fourth at the Utah Invitational
Won bronze in slalom at the 2022 RMISA Championships

Karianne Dengerud – Nordic – Fr. – Oslo, Norway
All-RMISA Honorable Mention

Seven collegiate starts during her first season with the Utes
Finished top-10 in her final six races of the season
Skied to her first college podium with a third-place effort at the UAF Invitational, with the Utes sweeping the 5km classic podium