Colorado University Athletics
Ketterer Claims NorAm Cup Slalom Title
March 20, 2017 | Skiing
His 275-point margin of victory is the second largest at the NorAm Cup in the past 20 seasons
BOULDER —David Ketterer's outstanding winter just got better, and more dominant.
The University of Colorado freshman skier won slalom races on Sunday and Monday at Mont Ste-Marie Resort in Quebec, Canada during the NorAm Cup Finals. His two victories propel him to the biggest NorAm Cup victory since 2002 when Chip Knight won the slalom standings by 294 points.
Knight in his career competed in three Winter Olympics (1998, 2002, 2006), won national and World Junior Championships titles and was a member of the U.S. Ski Team for over a dozen years.
That is some impressive company Ketterer joined with his slalom victory this year in the NorAm Cup, which he won by 275 points. In eight slalom races on this year's tour, Ketterer won five of them.
"It's the first cup I've ever won," Ketterer said. "It's a great feeling to be consistent over the whole season."
Ketterer won Monday's slalom event by 1.09 seconds over AJ Ginnis of the United States. He took first place in Sunday's slalom with a two-run time of 1:41.28, which was a quarter-second faster than Canada's Trevor Philp in second.
This is no small accomplishment for Ketterer. He already has the grandiose claim of becoming the fifth skier in NCAA history to sweep the slalom and giant slalom titles at the NCAA Championships, doing so on March 8-11 in Cannon Mountain, N.H.
The NorAm Cup is the premier series in the United States and Canada, parallel to the Europa Cup, and is a pathway to the World Cup. It is filled with world-class competitors that frequent both during the season.
To go with his five slalom victories, Ketterer also competed in three of the eight giant slalom races on the NorAm Cup series. This past weekend at Mont Ste-Marie, he placed 17th on Friday and eighth on Saturday in the GS. Even with only three results, he still finished 22nd in the GS standings with 76 points. He becomes the 12th skier in the last 19 seasons who won the slalom tour to also place in the top 25 in the giant slalom standings.
Adding his seven slalom races on the collegiate circuit to his five slalom races in the NorAm Cup, Ketterer this winter won 10 of 15 slalom races he competed in on North American slopes.
With his cup victory he is guaranteed start positions in next seasons FIS World Cup, which is the top international circuit of alpine skiing. He will also earn a permanent spot on the German National Team, whom he has competed with periodically in the past, including one time this winter when he raced in his very first World Cup event in Austria in late January.
"David's rapid acceleration is directly related to his participation with CU," Colorado head coach Richard Rokos said. "He went to school because his overall performance did not guarantee any further progress after the last season (with the German National Team). The fact this all happened on 'our clock' just demonstrates the quality of the program."
Rokos, who has been the head coach at Colorado since 1991, is a firm believer in the collegiate circuit and how it can improve not only the skiing careers of athletes, but their overall lives giving the athletes an opportunity to further their education.
"Personally I believe the fact David had to divert his attention to academics, took off the pressure from his athletic effort greatly exaggerated on all national teams," Rokos said. "The phenomenon is well documented over a period of time.
"With the college concept, they get rid of the daily pressure and perform better because of the diversion created with school. They just universally start skiing better."
Ketterer's sophomore season will no doubt be different from his freshman year. Rokos said there will be a balance for him next winter competing in his World Cup events, racing with the Buffs on the collegiate circuit and with his educational curriculum, where he is studying engineering physics at CU.
This is not all that uncommon in collegiate skiing. Last year's NorAm Cup slalom winner was Erik Read, who just finished his junior season at Denver University. Although DU is on the quarter system and CU is on semesters, Read was able to compete in numerous World Cup events this winter while still racing on the collegiate circuit.
More on Ketterer in the 2016-17 NorAm Cup
- The NorAm Cup has five events (downhill, slalom, giant slalom, Super G and Alpine Combined). Ketterer only competed in slalom and GS races, but still in the overall standings he placed fifth with 696 total points.
The University of Colorado freshman skier won slalom races on Sunday and Monday at Mont Ste-Marie Resort in Quebec, Canada during the NorAm Cup Finals. His two victories propel him to the biggest NorAm Cup victory since 2002 when Chip Knight won the slalom standings by 294 points.
Knight in his career competed in three Winter Olympics (1998, 2002, 2006), won national and World Junior Championships titles and was a member of the U.S. Ski Team for over a dozen years.
That is some impressive company Ketterer joined with his slalom victory this year in the NorAm Cup, which he won by 275 points. In eight slalom races on this year's tour, Ketterer won five of them.
"It's the first cup I've ever won," Ketterer said. "It's a great feeling to be consistent over the whole season."
Ketterer won Monday's slalom event by 1.09 seconds over AJ Ginnis of the United States. He took first place in Sunday's slalom with a two-run time of 1:41.28, which was a quarter-second faster than Canada's Trevor Philp in second.
This is no small accomplishment for Ketterer. He already has the grandiose claim of becoming the fifth skier in NCAA history to sweep the slalom and giant slalom titles at the NCAA Championships, doing so on March 8-11 in Cannon Mountain, N.H.
The NorAm Cup is the premier series in the United States and Canada, parallel to the Europa Cup, and is a pathway to the World Cup. It is filled with world-class competitors that frequent both during the season.
To go with his five slalom victories, Ketterer also competed in three of the eight giant slalom races on the NorAm Cup series. This past weekend at Mont Ste-Marie, he placed 17th on Friday and eighth on Saturday in the GS. Even with only three results, he still finished 22nd in the GS standings with 76 points. He becomes the 12th skier in the last 19 seasons who won the slalom tour to also place in the top 25 in the giant slalom standings.
Adding his seven slalom races on the collegiate circuit to his five slalom races in the NorAm Cup, Ketterer this winter won 10 of 15 slalom races he competed in on North American slopes.
With his cup victory he is guaranteed start positions in next seasons FIS World Cup, which is the top international circuit of alpine skiing. He will also earn a permanent spot on the German National Team, whom he has competed with periodically in the past, including one time this winter when he raced in his very first World Cup event in Austria in late January.
"David's rapid acceleration is directly related to his participation with CU," Colorado head coach Richard Rokos said. "He went to school because his overall performance did not guarantee any further progress after the last season (with the German National Team). The fact this all happened on 'our clock' just demonstrates the quality of the program."
Rokos, who has been the head coach at Colorado since 1991, is a firm believer in the collegiate circuit and how it can improve not only the skiing careers of athletes, but their overall lives giving the athletes an opportunity to further their education.
"Personally I believe the fact David had to divert his attention to academics, took off the pressure from his athletic effort greatly exaggerated on all national teams," Rokos said. "The phenomenon is well documented over a period of time.
"With the college concept, they get rid of the daily pressure and perform better because of the diversion created with school. They just universally start skiing better."
Ketterer's sophomore season will no doubt be different from his freshman year. Rokos said there will be a balance for him next winter competing in his World Cup events, racing with the Buffs on the collegiate circuit and with his educational curriculum, where he is studying engineering physics at CU.
This is not all that uncommon in collegiate skiing. Last year's NorAm Cup slalom winner was Erik Read, who just finished his junior season at Denver University. Although DU is on the quarter system and CU is on semesters, Read was able to compete in numerous World Cup events this winter while still racing on the collegiate circuit.
More on Ketterer in the 2016-17 NorAm Cup
- The NorAm Cup has five events (downhill, slalom, giant slalom, Super G and Alpine Combined). Ketterer only competed in slalom and GS races, but still in the overall standings he placed fifth with 696 total points.
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