Completed Event: Skiing versus 20K Freestyle (M) on March 8, 2025 , , 1st
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McCabe, Havlick and Johnson Earn National Postseason Accolades
4/15/2022 3:00 PM | Skiing
McCabe named National Women’s Nordic Skier of the Year; Havlick and Johnson collect National Coach of the Year honors
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah ski team landed a trio of national postseason awards on Friday afternoon, as sophomore Novie McCabe was named National Women's Nordic Skier of the Year, head Nordic coach Miles Havlick earned National Nordic Coach of the Year and head alpine coach JJ Johnson was tabbed National Alpine Coach of the Year. All were unveiled by the United States Collegiate Ski Coaches Association.
For Havlick, it's the second straight season he has been honored as National Nordic Coach of the Year.
Utah won its third straight NCAA Championship in 2022, as well as the program's fourth in the last five completed championship meets. All-time, the Utes have won 15 national titles and 14 NCAA crowns.
National Women's Nordic Skier of the Year
Novie McCabe – Sophomore – Winthrop, Wash.
A United States Olympian, as well as NCAA individual national champion in the women's 5K classic, McCabe hit the podium in all six of her collegiate races with four wins. She never finished below second place on the college circuit in 2022, en route to two NCAA All-America honors.
McCabe won the classic race at NCAAs with a time of 13:22.8, earning a cushion of more than 13 seconds. Utah finished 1-2-6 in that race, with Sophia Laukli sharing second place and Sydney Palmer-Leger taking sixth.
Two days later in the 15K freestyle, McCabe again turned in an outstanding performance with a second-place effort (37:09.5) behind only Laukli. Palmer-Leger raced to eighth that day at Soldier Hollow.
McCabe, an All-RMISA First Team pick, was victorious in both classic and freestyle at the NCAA West Regionals/RMISA Championships, and also took first in the 10K classic at the Montana State Invitational.
She briefly paused her collegiate season to represent the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics. McCabe had the third leg of the U.S. women's 4x5km relay team that finished sixth, raced to 18th place in the women's 30km freestyle and 24th in the women's 10km classic.
National Nordic Coach of the Year
Miles Havlick
Havlick, who was also named RMISA Nordic Coach of the Year this week, completed his fourth season with the Utes in 2022. The Utes took first place in all but one RMISA regular season meet, before finishing atop the pack at the RMISA and NCAA Championships.
Highlighted by individual titles for McCabe (5K classic) and Laukli (15K freestyle), Utah had nearly a 50-point pad for most Nordic points (321.5) as a team at NCAAs. The squad turned in seven Nordic All-America performances, more than any other team at the championships. Both McCabe and Laukli earned a pair of First Team All-America nods, and Sydney Palmer-Leger was twice tabbed Second Team All-America. In men's competition, Samuel Hendry was a national runner-up in the men's 20K freestyle, taking First Team All-America honors.
Utah won both the overall Nordic and women's Nordic RMISA regular season championships, tallying a near-200-point cushion in both standings. In the RMISA men's Nordic standings, Utah was second.
The Utes had an RMISA-leading 13 individual Nordic wins throughout the 2022 season, including in all 12 women's races. Palmer-Leger, the RMISA Most Valuable Skier (both women's classic and freestyle) tallied six victories, McCabe four and Laukli earned a pair of wins. On the men's side, Luke Jager scored his first collegiate win in the men's 20K freestyle at the NCAA West Regional.
The team's 33 Nordic podiums were the most in the RMISA and 20 more than the next-closest program. It includes four women's sweeps.
Beyond the college circuit, three current Nordic Utes represented the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Jager, Laukli and McCabe.
National Alpine Coach of the Year
JJ Johnson
Serving his fourth season at Utah in 2022, Johnson's leadership helped the Utes win every meet with an alpine component, culminating with the national title alongside the Nordic squad.
At the NCAA Championships, Utah had the most alpine points in the team standings (256.5) as well as seven alpine All-America accolades. It included a pair of First Team laurels on the men's side for Gustav Vøllo, the individual runner-up in both men's giant slalom and slalom.
Joachim Lien earned two Second Team honors, and Kaja Norbye capped a remarkable freshman season taking home both a First Team (GS) and Second Team (SL) All-America award. In addition Katie Parker received a First Team nod with a third-place finish in women's giant slalom.
The Utes' 1,320 points gave the program the RMISA alpine regular season championship, encompassing the top conference marks in both the men's alpine (653) and women's alpine (667) standings. Utah was particularly strong on the men's alpine side with an RMISA-leading four individual wins, while the team's total of five individual victories shared third-best in the conference.
Johnson coached Wilhelm Normannseth, who was named RMISA Most Valuable Skier in men's slalom. Normannseth tallied three podiums on the year, all in slalom, with two victories. Utah's 10 men's alpine podiums led the RMISA and the team was tied for second-most with nine women's alpine podiums.
All told, Utah tallied 19 podium performances in alpine skiing, second-most in the RMISA. Ten of those were in giant slalom, the best mark in the conference.
Four current Utah alpine skiers were Olympic qualifiers for the 2022 Winter Games, including Tomas Birkner (Argentina), Madison Hoffman (Australia), Parker (Australia) and Katie Vesterstein (Estonia).
Follow the Utah ski team on social media (@utahskiteam).
For Havlick, it's the second straight season he has been honored as National Nordic Coach of the Year.
Utah won its third straight NCAA Championship in 2022, as well as the program's fourth in the last five completed championship meets. All-time, the Utes have won 15 national titles and 14 NCAA crowns.
National Women's Nordic Skier of the Year
Novie McCabe – Sophomore – Winthrop, Wash.
A United States Olympian, as well as NCAA individual national champion in the women's 5K classic, McCabe hit the podium in all six of her collegiate races with four wins. She never finished below second place on the college circuit in 2022, en route to two NCAA All-America honors.
McCabe won the classic race at NCAAs with a time of 13:22.8, earning a cushion of more than 13 seconds. Utah finished 1-2-6 in that race, with Sophia Laukli sharing second place and Sydney Palmer-Leger taking sixth.
Two days later in the 15K freestyle, McCabe again turned in an outstanding performance with a second-place effort (37:09.5) behind only Laukli. Palmer-Leger raced to eighth that day at Soldier Hollow.
McCabe, an All-RMISA First Team pick, was victorious in both classic and freestyle at the NCAA West Regionals/RMISA Championships, and also took first in the 10K classic at the Montana State Invitational.
She briefly paused her collegiate season to represent the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics. McCabe had the third leg of the U.S. women's 4x5km relay team that finished sixth, raced to 18th place in the women's 30km freestyle and 24th in the women's 10km classic.
National Nordic Coach of the Year
Miles Havlick
Havlick, who was also named RMISA Nordic Coach of the Year this week, completed his fourth season with the Utes in 2022. The Utes took first place in all but one RMISA regular season meet, before finishing atop the pack at the RMISA and NCAA Championships.
Highlighted by individual titles for McCabe (5K classic) and Laukli (15K freestyle), Utah had nearly a 50-point pad for most Nordic points (321.5) as a team at NCAAs. The squad turned in seven Nordic All-America performances, more than any other team at the championships. Both McCabe and Laukli earned a pair of First Team All-America nods, and Sydney Palmer-Leger was twice tabbed Second Team All-America. In men's competition, Samuel Hendry was a national runner-up in the men's 20K freestyle, taking First Team All-America honors.
Utah won both the overall Nordic and women's Nordic RMISA regular season championships, tallying a near-200-point cushion in both standings. In the RMISA men's Nordic standings, Utah was second.
The Utes had an RMISA-leading 13 individual Nordic wins throughout the 2022 season, including in all 12 women's races. Palmer-Leger, the RMISA Most Valuable Skier (both women's classic and freestyle) tallied six victories, McCabe four and Laukli earned a pair of wins. On the men's side, Luke Jager scored his first collegiate win in the men's 20K freestyle at the NCAA West Regional.
The team's 33 Nordic podiums were the most in the RMISA and 20 more than the next-closest program. It includes four women's sweeps.
Beyond the college circuit, three current Nordic Utes represented the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Jager, Laukli and McCabe.
National Alpine Coach of the Year
JJ Johnson
Serving his fourth season at Utah in 2022, Johnson's leadership helped the Utes win every meet with an alpine component, culminating with the national title alongside the Nordic squad.
At the NCAA Championships, Utah had the most alpine points in the team standings (256.5) as well as seven alpine All-America accolades. It included a pair of First Team laurels on the men's side for Gustav Vøllo, the individual runner-up in both men's giant slalom and slalom.
Joachim Lien earned two Second Team honors, and Kaja Norbye capped a remarkable freshman season taking home both a First Team (GS) and Second Team (SL) All-America award. In addition Katie Parker received a First Team nod with a third-place finish in women's giant slalom.
The Utes' 1,320 points gave the program the RMISA alpine regular season championship, encompassing the top conference marks in both the men's alpine (653) and women's alpine (667) standings. Utah was particularly strong on the men's alpine side with an RMISA-leading four individual wins, while the team's total of five individual victories shared third-best in the conference.
Johnson coached Wilhelm Normannseth, who was named RMISA Most Valuable Skier in men's slalom. Normannseth tallied three podiums on the year, all in slalom, with two victories. Utah's 10 men's alpine podiums led the RMISA and the team was tied for second-most with nine women's alpine podiums.
All told, Utah tallied 19 podium performances in alpine skiing, second-most in the RMISA. Ten of those were in giant slalom, the best mark in the conference.
Four current Utah alpine skiers were Olympic qualifiers for the 2022 Winter Games, including Tomas Birkner (Argentina), Madison Hoffman (Australia), Parker (Australia) and Katie Vesterstein (Estonia).
Follow the Utah ski team on social media (@utahskiteam).
Players Mentioned
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Alpine
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