Grats to the Pioneers/Graduation Data

Many congratulations to the Pioneers of the University of Denver on taking their 19th NCAA Skiing Championship last week. Denver placed amongst the top five schools in all events, but the outcome was in doubt until its skiers finished an impressive first, second, and eighth in the Men's Slalom on the final day. This allowed them to outdistance second-place University of Colorado by a final margin of 649.5 to 619 points, with the University of Utah finishing a distant third at 550. No specific graduation data is listed for Skiing, but these schools post graduation rates of 83%, 64%, and 58% in sports 'Other' than Football, Basketball, Baseball, and Cross-Country/Track. Cheers to Denver. Jeers to Colorado and Utah.

Special kudos must go to the Panthers of Middlebury College, who, despite being a non-scholarship Division III school, placed fifth overall with 529 points.

The outstanding individual skiiers in the championship were Marie Moe Grevsgaard and Lucie Sikova of Colorado, who were victorious in both races in Women's Nordic and Alpine, and John Buchar of Denver, who won both Men's Alpine races. The following skiers finished on the podium:

Women's Freestyle (Nordic)
1. Marie Moe Grevsgaard, Colorado
2. Lenka Palanova, Colorado
3. Annelise Bailly, Denver

Men's Freestyle (Nordic)
1. Glenn Randall, Dartmouth
2. Marius Korthauer, Alaska-Fairbanks
3. Jesper Ostensen, Colorado

Women's Giant Slalom (Alpine)
1. Lucie Zikova, Colorado
2. Eva Huckova, Utah
3. Lyndee Janowiak, Vermont

Men's Giant Slalom (Alpine)
1. John Buchar, Denver
2. Greg Hardy, Vermont
3. Erik Gilbert, Vermont

Women's Classical (Nordic)
1. Marie Moe Grevsgaard, Colorado
2. Polina Ermoshina, New Mexico
3. Antje Maempel, Denver

Men's Classical (Nordic)
1. Marius Korthauer, Alaska-Fairbanks
2. Kit Richmond, Colorado
3. Juergen Uhl, Vermont

Women's Slalom (Alpine)
1. Lucie Zikova, Colorado
2. Eva Huckova, Utah
3. Jenni Lathrop, Denver

Men's Slalom (Alpine)
1. John Buchar, Denver
2. Seppi Stiegler, Denver
3. David Chodounsky, Dartmouth

Additionally, seven skiers from non-scholarship Division III schools posted top ten finishes and earned All-American Status: Alexa Turzian, Middlebury (2 events); Alec Tarberrry, Middlebury (2 events); Sylvan Ellefson, Bates; Charles Christianson, Williams; Andrew Wagner, Middlebury; Eric Mann, Williams; Megan Hughes, Middlebury. They represent the true ideal of what it means to be a STUDENT-athlete. Congratulations!