NCAA Skiing Power Rankings
The Top 10 of 2012
Aside from the curse of the top ranking that plunged Utah deep into second place and allowed Vermont
to finally rise to its seemingly destined championship status, the top schools at this year’s NCAAs finished
roughly in the same order as the final week of Ski Racing’s Power Rankings (SRPR) for the regular season.
A few notes on this year’s top 10:
1
Vermont (832.0 points; SRPR: 3)
We were willing to wait a year as well to see this blowout performance.
Despite the third-place ranking heading into NCAAs, the Catamounts were
praised for their potential and docked only for last year’s choke. “On a good
day, they are unquestionably the strongest team in the nation,” we wrote,
“but they’ll need to string together four of those in order to have a run at the
title.” In retrospect, they probably could have done it with just three. No individual gets singled out on this full team showing.
5
Alaska Anchorage (519 points)
The Seawolves fell off our radar after Week 1 when they seemed to go cold,
but the heat came back on for Montana.
6
Denver (505.5 points)
Espen Lysdahl’s individual slalom title kept the Pioneers alive. We hope they
bring back a full roster next year for another run at the team championship.
2
Utah (671.0 points; SRPR: 1)
Bad luck is bound to catch up with every team eventually, and Utah got taken
down by food poisoning and a tough bout in the slalom races. We commend
them on a memorable season and suspect the Utes will be back next year
with a bitter taste in their mouths and an eye for revenge.
7
Montana State (502.5 points)
Lots of support for the home team, which held strongly onto fifth heading into
the final day. Nordic athlete David Norris was a worthy contender.
8
New Mexico (487.5 points; SRPR: 5)
The Lobos just could not carry their positive momentum from RMISA Championships into the big show.
3
Colorado (670.0 points; SRPR 2)
Some days the Buffs showed promise, while other days, as the coach quipped
earlier this year, they should have just gone fishing. Kudos for keeping the
slalom races entertaining as CU made a valiant effort to chase down Utah.
9
Middlebury (359.0 points)
Still the only Division 3 school to crack the top 10 this year, and they return
home as the top men’s slalom team in the country. Big props to men’s nordic
as well.
4
Dartmouth (590.0 points; SRPR 4)
The Big Green emerged from the championships as the No. 1 nordic team
in the nation, and their women contributed to the historic top-six sweep of
the classic race. Senior Trevor Leafe turned out a second fastest run of giant slalom with a torn MCL, so we are gracefully eating our words (as promised).
New Hampshire (296.0 points)
Alpine held down the fort, but more nordic qualifiers next year would be a
huge help for the Wildcats.
10
