Colorado University Athletics
CU Sends Eight Skiers To WUG
December 13, 2002 | Skiing
Boulder - Six Colorado skiers, and Buffs' head coach Richard Rokos, have been selected by U.S. Ski Team and Olympic Committee members to represent the United States while two other Buffs will compete for Canada at the 21st Winter World University Games Jan. 13-27, 2003 in Tarvisio, Italy.
Returning letterwinners Mia Cullman (Vail), Tyler Shepherd (Cottage Grove, Minn.), Jed Schuetze (Longmont, Colo.) and newcomers Amy Beresford (Dillon, Colo.) and Erika and Brad Hogan (Holmes, N.Y.) will join eight other collegians from the Universities of Utah, Denver, New Mexico and Nevada for the 2003 games to represent the United States while Erin McEachren (Edmonton, Alberta) and Mike Read (Calgary, Alberta) will ski for Canada.
Rokos is being handed the reins of his fourth WWUG team and will be assisted by George Brooks (New Mexico) and Tom Arnstein (Nevada). Rokos has previously taken the 1995 team to Jaca, Spain, the 1997 team to Mugu, Korea, and the 1999 squad to Zakopane, Poland. Combined, his athletes have brought home three gold medals, four silver and several bronze.
Colorado's representation of eight athletes in a global event ties the mark of eight former Buffs represented at the 1968 Winter Games in Grenoble.
Athletes had to be academically certified by their University Registrar, be ranked among the top 50 in the United States in at least one discipline and be registered for the Federation International de Ski points list to apply for selection to the team. The selections were based on world rank in each of the disciplines as of the November FIS list.
The U.S. team is comprised mostly of Rocky Mountain and Western athletes due to the fact that many of the top Eastern collegiate racers have academic and athletic conflicts with the schedule for the WWUG. Most of the athletes will compete in all four disciplines and will therefore be competing for the coveted combined titles.
The 2003 games will have a new look as skiing, previously awarded just individual medals, will spotlight a team competition.
