Skiers Celebrate 2018 Season With Awards Banquet

BOULDER — The University of Colorado ski team, the national runner-up at the 2018 NCAA Championships, issued out its annual team awards at its end-of-season banquet that was held Tuesday evening in the Touchdown Club of the Dal Ward Athletic Center.

The evening was a celebration of the season that saw the Buffaloes win the RMISA regular season title and record many individual accomplishments.

CU won the 2018 RMISA regular season crown by a 156½-point margin to capture its sixth title since the league started crowing a regular season champion 13 years ago. That is the most regular season championships won by any school in the conference. With CU finishing as runner-up at the NCAA Championships, which Colorado hosted in Steamboat Springs the second weekend in March, the Buffaloes have now finished first or second in 10 out of the last 13 NCAA Championships (won it in 2006, 2011, 2013, 2015; runner up in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2017 and 2018).

Individually, 17 Buffaloes earned All-America honors this winter to tie with Denver for the most by any individual school. CU boosted 10 All-RMISA selections, including eight-first team honorees and that ranked as the most first-team selections by any program in the league.

One of the highlights from Tuesday's banquet was the presentation of the Dick Schoenberger Memorial Award that has been issued out annually since 1963 to CU's most outstanding skier. The 2018 winner was men's Nordic skier Petter Reistad, who in his final year skiing for the Buffaloes was the national runner-up at the NCAA Championships in the classical race and posted six podium finishes in his 14 races this winter.

Past winners of the Dick Schoenberger Memorial Award include Buddy Werner, Bill Marolt, Spider Sabich, current assistant Nordic coach Jana Weinberger, Maria Grevsgaard and Rune Oedegaard. Since 2001 the award has been presented to CU's top Nordic skier.

Men's alpine skier Ola Johansen won the 2018 Buddy Werner Memorial Award. This award was named after the man synonymous with competitive skiing in America. He was the United States' first international skiing star who set a fine example and a scholarship commemorating him was established in 1973 for a deserving team member.

Johansen, in his last year of eligibility with the Buffaloes, was the 2018 RMISA MVP for men's alpine, the league's skier of the year in a vote by conference membership, a first-team All-American in the giant slalom and second-team All-American in the slalom.

The Outstanding Career Award went to senior Petra Hyncicova. She closed out a highly decorated career by not only earning two more All-America honors, but was also an Olympian for the Czech Republic in PyeongChang. Hyncicova was a two-time NCAA Champion, earned a total of seven All-America honors in her career (just one off the CU record), was the 2017 USCSCA and FasterSkier.com women's Nordic Skier of the Year and two-time member of the National All-Academic Ski Team.

CU's Outstanding Nordic Woman Award was given to a sophomore for a third consecutive season. Anne Siri Lervik took home the award after her breakout campaign that saw her finish second at the NCAA Championships in the classical race and she finished fifth or better in 10 of her 14 races, the most of any Buff on the women's Nordic team.

The Outstanding Alpine award was presented to junior Tonje Trulsrud. Trulsrud was the 2018 RMISA Most Valuable Skier and won three races over the course of the winter with seven total podium finishes (the most on the women's alpine team).

There were two recipients of the Laura Sharpe Flood Award, which has been given each year since 1991 to a skier who best exemplifies the spirit, enthusiasm and dedication, both on the mountain and in the classroom. The 2018 winners were Christina Rolandsen and Joey Young.

Rolandsen was a second-team All-American in 2018 and a very consistent performer for the Buffaloes, as she finished in the top 10 in 12 of her 13 races on the season. Young, in his first season of collegiate skiing, recorded five top 10 finishes. Both Rolandsen and Young were members of the 2018 National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Team that requires a 3.5 GPA or higher and participation at regionals.

Alvar Alev was presented with the Lucie Hanusova Award for having the ability to overcome adversity and challenges with a smile and enthusiasm. Hedda Baangman won the Spencer Nelson Award given in honor of the former CU skier to a Buff who overcame adversity and demonstrated a strong work ethic.

2018 Letterwinners (16)
Petra Hyncicova – 4
Nora Christensen – 3
Ola Johansen – 3
Ane Johnsen - 3
Max Luukko – 3
Petter Reistad – 3
Christina Rolandsen – 3
Tonje Trulsrud – 3
Isabella Fidjeland – 2
David Ketterer – 2
Anne Siri Lervik – 2
Andrew Potyk – 2
Alvar Alev – 1
Hedda Baangman - 1
Sondre Bollum – 1
Joey Young - 1
Number indicates the letters earned in their careers

NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ALL-ACADEMIC SKI TEAM MEMBERS (11; minimum 3.50 GPA & regional participation unless injured):
Hedda Baangman
Sondre Bollum,
Nora Christiansen
Quinn Lehmkuhl
Max Luukko
Megan McGrew
Andrew Potyk
Petter Reistad
Christina Rolandsen
Tonje Trulsrud
Joey Young

Players Mentioned

Alvar Alev

Hedda Baangman

Sondre Bollum

Nora Christensen

Isabelle Fidjeland

Petra Hyncicova

Ola Johansen

Ane Johnsen

David Ketterer

Quinn Lehmkuhl

Anne Siri Lervik

Max Luukko

Megan McGrew

Andrew Potyk

Petter Reistad

Christina Rolandsen

Tonje Trulsrud

Joey Young