WOMEN Lindsay Cone
COLLEGIATE ALPINE SKIER OF THE YEAR
University of Denver sophomore sensation Lindsay Cone easily claimed 2010 RMISA MVP honors with remarkable consistency, including seven regular-season podiums. Though
several skiers had strewn together impressive victories while
Cone had none, she saved her best for last and finished second
in both slalom and GS at NCAAs. New Mexico’s Malin Hemmingsson, the 2010 NCAA and NorAm slalom champion, was
a very close runner-up.
MEN Leif Kristian Haugen
COLLEGIATE ALPINE SKIER OF THE YEAR
From impressive Continental Cups last summer to World Cup and
Olympic breakthroughs this winter, Haugen had a season unlike any
other NCAA racer in the modern era. He scored World Cup points in
his first four starts — the most impressive of which was a 16th-place
finish on Italy’s challenging Alta Badia GS track. Early World Cup success landed him a spot on Norway’s Olympic tech team, an honor which
forced him to miss several RMISA regular-season invites. But he still
managed to scoop up a few college victories, including the NCAA GS
crown at Steamboat Springs.
MEN Will Gregorak
U.S. JUNIOR ALPINE SKIER OF THE YEAR
Will Gregorak and Colby Granstrom were neck-and-neck all
season for this award, and we thought it might come down to
the Spring Series races, but those events just confirmed that
these guys were the best two candidates: they finished 1-2 in
Lutsen (twice) and 1-2 at Beaver Creek (twice).
At World Juniors Granstrom collected a gold in combined and
Gregorak topped out with a sixth in GS. But Gregorak, 19, tallied
the best single junior result of the two at U.S. Nationals, despite
recording DNFs in three of the four races. It was NorAms that
made the biggest difference as Gregorak was fifth-best overall
compared to Granstrom in 12th, and led his compatriot in three
discipline categories as well.
Both young men had outstanding seasons, but Will Gregorak
was just a touch better and earns Ski Racing’s nod for Men’s Ju-
nior Alpine Skier of the Year.
