Colorado University Athletics
Kjoelhamar Earns Collegiate Skier Of The Year Honors
May 15, 2009 | General, Skiing
BOULDER -- University of Colorado individual national freestyle champion Vegard Kjoelhamar was named the 2008-09 male Collegiate Skier of the Year by FasterSkier.com, the website announced this week.
Kjoelhamar dominated the western circuit and led the RMISA overall rankings in his first year at Colorado, with three wins and three runner-up finishes. He won his first collegiate race, the 10K freestyle in Alaska, and closed the year as the NCAA Champion in the 20K freestyle. The 2009 RMISA Most Valuable Nordic Skier also earned first team All-American honors in the freestyle and was a second team All-American after a sixth place finish in the 10K classic at nationals.
"I think it's great to have someone like Vegard in his first year do so well," head Nordic coach Bruce Cranmer said. "He's a good team leader and he lifts the level of the program and helps everybody else. We are fortunate to have a very competitive men's team, and it's nice to have a rookie that is a national champion right off the bat. You can never be sure how a newcomer is going to adapt to college life and the U.S. so it always feels good to have someone jump right on it and do well."
Fellow CU Nordic skier, senior Maria Grevsgaard, earned Collegiate Skier of the Year honors last season after winning 11 of 12 races, including the coveted NCAA sweep.
Nine of the 11 student-athletes who competed for Colorado at NCAA's are scheduled to return for the 2009-10 school year, as CU graduates seven seniors.
FasterSkier.com is the top source of English language cross country ski news and information in North America. The Collegiate Skier of the Year Award is given to the top male and female cross-country skiers in North America.
