Despite the apparent vitality of the alpine disciplines,
however, the number of women racing alpine seems to
be on a decline, at least this season. The female alpine
rosters of at least five Division 1 schools remain incom-
plete because of injuries and a challenging recruiting
year, with some teams such as Denver and New Mexico
competing with as few as three alpine women heading
into 2012. If DNFs factor into Carnival scoring, results
could look funkier than ever before.
Here, the coaches from last season’s top five NCAA
programs weigh in on their goals as well as their chanc-
es for victory in 2012. They are joined by the Univer-
sity of Vermont, a team whose absence from the short
list due to a series of unfortunate events in last year’s
championships does not preclude them from a come-
from-behind surprise this year; and Middlebury College,
the only team with a Division 3 athletic department to
crack the top 10 in last year’s championships. Look for
results from opening competitions of the RMISA on Jan.
6 and the EISA on Jan. 20 to see if the Buffaloes are
destined for a repeat win and if the Catamounts can
maintain their dominant grip on the East.
University of Colorado
1st in 2011
Nickname: Buffaloes
NCAA championships: 17 (1959-60, 1972-79, 1982,
1991, 1995, 1998-99, 2006, 2011)
Coaches: Richard Rokos, Bruce Cranmer, Drew Rob-
erts, Jana Weinberger
Alpine: “It’s tough for me to label [my strongest] ath-
letes because we have a great group of skiers, and I
expect all of them to compete,” says Rokos. The Buffs
lost Sara Hjertman and Gabriel Rivas, but Katie Hart-
man, Carolina Nordh, and all of their men have re-
turned, including Eric Davis, Andreas Haug, and Max
Lamb. Rokos says, “Just getting Katie back on snow
is a success; I don’t have any reason to believe she
won’t be back at full strength.” Hartman’s full strength
in the past has brought 23 top- 10 finishes, six podi-
um results, and two race victories. Newcomer Shane
McLean rounds out the five-woman roster, and there
is hope of adding one additional woman and one ad-
ditional man in the spring semester.
Nordic: With the loss of Alexa Turzian and Jesper Os-
tensen to graduation, Colorado will look to leadership
from Eliska Hajkova, Vegard Kjolhamar, and Joanne
Reid. National champion Reid Pletcher returns after a
miraculous recovery from injuries sustained in a climb-
ing accident in May. Cranmer assesses Pletcher’s
status at “close to 98 percent. He missed significant
training in the summer, but he will continue to improve
in longer distance races as the season progresses.”
Norwegian skier Rune Oedegaard joins the men, and
Colorado expects to sign one more woman to the ros-
ter, who will, it is hoped, fill the shoes of Alexa Turzian
as one of the school’s top skiers.
University of Utah
2nd in 2011
Nickname: Utes
NCAA championships: 10 (1981, 1983-84, 1986-
88, 1993, 1996-97, 2003)
Coaches: Kevin Sweeney, Jaka Korencan, Abi Holt,
Will McDonald
Alpine: Ryan Wilson, who podiumed at last year’s
NCAAs, Torjus Krogdahl, and Jeremy Elliot will provide
leadership on the men’s side while Tii-Maria Romar and
Anna Kocken aim to build on their top- 10 finishes for
the women. Slovenian slalom ace Tim Hribar rounds
out the men’s roster; barring any spring term additions,
the Utes will compete with four women.
Nordic: Miles Havlick and Maria Graefnings (both
named Ski Racing’s Collegiate Skier of the Year in
