Andrew Potyk

Sondre Bollum, Magnus Boee and Andrew Potyk

Photo by: Tony Harman

Position:
NORDIC
Height:
6-0
Weight:
null
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Spokane, Wash.
High School:
Joel E. Ferris
Prev School:
Spokane Nordic Ski Association

Last updated on March 31, 2020

Top Career Classical Finish: Ninth (2018 Utah Invitational)
Top Career Freestyle Finish: 10th (2019 RMISA Championships)

Honors

Four-Time National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Team (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020; 3.5 GPA and Participation in Regionals)
USSA Cross Country Junior Championships All-American (2017, Freestyle)

Career—Potyk skied in 39 of a possible 41 races in his career, finishing 39 of those races with 25 top 10 and two top 10 performances. He was having his best season as a senior before falling ill prior to the RMISA Championships and having it cut short. He was named to the National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Team for all four years, becoming the 13th skier in CU history to earn that honor four times and he’s the fourth men’s Nordic skier in CU history to win the award all four years and first since Rune Oedegaard in 2012-15.

2020 (Senior)—Potyk had his best overall season as a senior and it was nothing if not consistent. He skied in eight races, finishing between 14th and 19th place in all eight with two 17th place and three 18th place performances. He opened the season taking 17th in the freestyle and 15th in the classic race in Steamboat Springs at the CU Invitational, than then took 18th in both races at Maloit Park as part of the DU Invitational. He kept that momentum going, finishing 18th in the freestyle race in Aspen before earning his season best finish of 14th at the Owl Creek Chase, another qualifier race that started in Aspen and finished in Snowmass. At Soldier Hollow, he took 19th in the freestyle race and 17th in the classic race and that’s where his career abruptly came to an end, as he fell ill and wasn’t able to race at the RMISA Championships in Bozeman. He was named to the National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Team for the fourth straight season.

2019 (Junior)—Potyk skied in all 10 races and finished in the top 20 three times, twice in freestyle and once in classic. His top 10 freestyle finish came with his career best 10th place finish at the RMISA Championships. He finished 20th in the 10K freestyle race to open the season at the CU Invitational and then at the MSU Invitational the following week, he earned a 16th place finish in the classic race, the third best performance of his career behind a ninth and 14th place finish in 2018.

2018 (Sophomore)—On the season he competed in and finished all 12 races through the RMISA Championships/NCAA Western Regional … He scored points for the Buffs in both races at the Montana State Invitational, where he placed 15th in the 10K classic race and 14th in the 10K freestyle skate … He also scored for CU at the Denver Invitational when he placed 19th in the 10K classic race … In all he posted nine top 20 finishes in his 12 races and his best result was a ninth place showing in the 10K classic race at the Utah Invitation, which was the first top 10 finish of his career.

2017 (Freshman)—He had a strong finish to his first season on the collegiate circuit, recording top 20 finishes in three of his final four races ... His top freestyle finish came in the 20K skate at the Alaska Anchorage, when he placed 17th ... He also had his top classic finish at the same meet, finishing 18th in the 10K race at Kincaid Park in Anchorage ... On the season he competed in and finished all 10 races through the RMISA Championships/NCAA Western Regional ... At the Junior Nationals held in March in Lake Placid right after the end of his NCAA season, he finished fourth in the U20 10K freestyle race to earn All-America honors and also finished 11th in the 15K classic race.

Prior to CU—Potyk has been a member of the Pacific Northwest Junior National Team since 2015 and he earned All-America honors in the 15K freestyle race at the 2016 Junior Nationals ... In 2016 at those Junior Nationals held at Telemark, Wisc., he had three top 20 finishes; placing 10th in the 15K freestyle race, 14th in the 3K skate relay and 17th in the 10K classic race ... He was also a member of the Spokane Nordic Ski Association coached by George Bryant, whom he skied with for seven years.

High School—Potyk graduated from Joel E. Ferris High School in Spokane, Wash. in June of 2016 as the Valedictorian of his class … He played soccer (midfielder and goalkeeper) under coach Erik Powell and also ran cross country under coach Mike Hadway ... His top 5K run was 16:31 ... He helped lead his cross country team in 2015 to a fourth place WIAA state meet finish ... Individually, he was named the 2016 Spokane Sports Commission Non-High School Athlete of the Year.

In the Classroom—He is majoring in Chemical and Biological Engineering at Colorado … He was named to the 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 USCSCA National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Teams, which requires a cumulative 3.5 grade point average and competing at the NCAA Regional Championships, becoming just the 13th skier in CU history and fourth men's Nordic skier to win the award all four years.

Personal—Andrew Potyk was born on Aug. 29, 1997 in Spokane, Wash. … Is the son of Carol Guthrie and Darry Potyk, who are both physicians ... He has a twin brother, Joel, who is a junior at Oregon State and member of its polo team, and a younger sister, Lauren, who just graduated high school ... Hobbies include fly fishing, rafting, water skiing, rock climbing, mountain biking and alpine touring (backcountry skiing) ... After college he would like to either become a physician like his parents or work in development in biological/chemical engineering.