Just this season the men’s team ranked No. 2 overall in a majority of their races. This places the team just behind St. Olaf College, which is a fully funded Division III program and also ranked No. 2 in the country for the USCSA. The women this year typically place No. 3 or 4 overall, finishing close behind UW-Madison and the Gopher women. However, the biggest endeavor this season was their trip to nationals in Bend, Oregon.
The team competed March 1-7 at the US Collegiate Ski & Snowboard National Championships in Mt. Bachelor, Oregon. They sent seven athletes, and one non-competing member who was hired by the USCSA to produce a highlight video for the entire event. The men’s team is one of three teams that qualified out of 20 colleges in the Midwest. There were 178 colleges and universities competing nationwide.
This is the 11th season in a row that UMD Alpine has qualified for the USCSA Championships.
In all, there were over 500 athletes that competed this past week in Alpine, freestyle skiing, freestyle snowboard and cross-country skiing (Nordic). UMD sent Trevor Pinewski, junior team captain; Tyler Regenscheid, senior; Rian Hutchison, senior co-captain; and freshman Matt Borash and Nate Bartley. They also sent two additional freshmen, Joey Marolt and Liz Drusch, who competed in freestyle.
Fourth-year head coach Jason Grimm said, “Overall, the nationals experience for the team is incredible. The courses were tough this weekend, but that is always the case when we compete in the Midwest at a couple hundred feet of elevation. Now, at USCSA Nationals, we are at several thousand.”
Despite the elevation difference, UMD proved their strength. The Bulldog skiers placed No. 12 in giant slalom and No. 18 in slalom for an overall combined placement of No. 16 out of 19 teams.
Grimm said his hope for the team was “to give a good representation out here for UMD and the Midwest region. If the team can demonstrate that Midwest skiers can stand well against mountain and eastern teams, that is a huge testament to these Bulldog skiers.”
With hard work comes success, and the UMD Alpine Ski team has shown that time and time again. “The best thing about being a part of such a successful program is really seeing the skill and ability of these amazing racers in action,” Grimm said. “All of the racers have a great attitude which makes it awesome to coach. I wouldn’t keep coming back as an alumni coach if it weren’t for these amazing student athletes.”
BY LAUREN KOTAJARVI
Statesman Correspondent