SALT LAKE CITY – Utah's
Oliver Parazette has been selected as one of 17 athletes to represent the United States at the 2023 FIS Alpine Junior World Championships, announced this week by the U.S. Ski Team. Junior Worlds will take place in St. Anton, Austria, from January 19-25.
Parazette will race in giant slalom and slalom events while at the championships. A complete schedule of events is available
on the FIS website, and live timing for each event will be provided by FIS as well.
"Junior Worlds has been a goal for Oliver since he started at the U," said head alpine coach
JJ Johnson. "He has the speed of his peer group and the results are starting to show. His dedication to this team and to his personal plan this year has been incredible. Fundamentally, he is one the best skiers I've seen. We've been focusing on little details and his 'top end' speed to get him there. He has put in all the work, doesn't cut corners and deserves this opportunity!"
A sophomore from Jackson, Wyoming, Parazette raced in 11 RMISA events with the Utes during his freshman campaign in 2022. His first collegiate podium came in giant slalom at the RMISA Championships, where Parazette had a second-place finish.
Previewing the World University Games
Across both alpine and Nordic disciplines, the Utes will have athletes competing at the World University Games in Lake Placid, New York, running from January 12-22.
Alpine's
Madison Hoffman (Australia),
Jeremy Mathers (United States),
Katie Parker (Australia),
Claire Timmermann (Canada) and
Gustav Vøllo (Norway) will all be traveling to Lake Placid. From the Nordic team,
Karianne Dengerud (Norway),
Tom Mancini (France) and
Celine Mayer (Germany) are all expected to compete.
MSU Invitational Begins This Weekend
The Utes are also continuing the RMISA schedule this weekend, beginning the Montana State Invitational with Nordic races in Bozeman at Crosscut Mountain Sports Center. Men's and women's 15K classic races will take place on Friday, Jan. 13 and are followed by women's 5K and men's 10K freestyle on Saturday, Jan. 14. The overlap of the World University Games brings an interesting coincidence, as for the first time in recent memory, the Utes will compete in RMISA Nordic races with a lineup entirely from North America.
The alpine portion of the MSU Invitational is scheduled for Jan. 30-31 at Bridger Bowl. It'll include two days of giant slalom, coming off the two-day Westminster Invitational which will host slalom races on Jan. 26-27.
Follow the Utah Ski Team on social media @utahskiteam.