2011 Skiing Roster
Pletcher, Reid
Reid Pletcher
- Position:
- Nordic
- Height:
- 5-7
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Sun Valley, Idaho (Wood River/Sun Valley Ski Team)
Bio
• Top Career Classical Finish: First (2011 NCAA Championships)
• Top Career Freestyle Finish: Third (2011 RMISA Championships)
Honors
• 2009 First-Team All-RMISA
• 2009 National Division I All-Academic Team (3.5 GPA, participation in Regional’s)
• 2010 Second-Team All-RMISA
• 2011 NCAA Individual Champion (Classical)
• 2011 First-Team All-America (Classical)
• 2011 First-Team All-RMISA
• 2011 First-Team Academic All-Big 12 At-Large (3.2 GPA)
• 2011 RMISA Skier of the Week (Denver Invitational)
• 2011 CU Athlete of the Week (Feb. 7-13; Denver Invitational)
• 2011 CU Athlete of the Week (March 7-13; NCAA Championships)
• 2012 Second-Team All-RMISA
• CU Athlete of the Week (Jan. 9-15)
• Division I National All-Academic Ski Team (3.5 GPA, participation in regionals)
Career at Colorado—Pletcher remarkably was able to finish out a stellar career in 2012 despite recovering from a life-threatening injury he suffered the previous May. He was back to skiing before doctors thought he’d be out of the hospital, and got off to a stellar start to his senior season. He finished his career with 33 races with 21 top 20, 20 top 10 and five podium appearances to his credit with two victories. He was the 2011 Individual NCAA Champion in the classical race, also earning one All-America honor in his only trip to the NCAA Championships despite qualifying each season, and he was a four-time All-RMISA selection.
2012 (Senior)—Pletcher’s biggest accomplishment for his senior season was likely the fact that he was still breathing, much less his amazing comeback to racing. On May 26, 2012, he was involved in a hiking accident in which he fell and fractured his skull. He was amazingly back to racing some six months later, before doctors initially thought he’d be out of the hospital, and by the start of the 2012 season, he was back in familiar position, bringing the Buffs top 10 finishes. He opened the season with a sixth and eighth place finish at the University of Colorado Spencer Nelson Memorial Invitational, and the followed that up with a 12th and sixth place finish at the Denver Invitational. His best finish of the season with the first one in Alaska, when he took fourth place in the classical race, before a 12th in the freestyle race. He then rounded out his career with three 16th places finishes and a 14th in his final four races. That likely kept him out of the NCAA Championships as the fourth best men’s Nordic skier on the deepest team in the nation for the third time in four years. He was named second-team All-RMISA, the CU Athlete of the Week one time and named to the Division I National All-Academic Ski Team, maintaining a 3.5 GPA despite suffering a fractured skull late in the previous semester.
2011 (Junior)—Pletcher capped off an amazing season by winning the individual NCAA championship in the classical race while propelling the Buffaloes to the team national championship, as well. He competed in 10 races, completing nine and coming up with eight top 10 finishes and four top 5 finishes. He won two races, both classical, first at the Denver Invitational and then at NCAAs, earning first-team All-America honors in the process. He had a bit of a roller coaster post season, as it began with a third place freestyle finish at RMISA Championships, his career best freestyle finish. He followed that up with a DNF in the classical race. Flip-flopping those results, he was a disappointing 23rd in the freestyle race at NCAAs before coming back to win the classical race. He won the classical race an hour after teammate Eliska Hajkova won the women’s race on the exact same pair of skis. He earned first-team All-RMISA honors, was the RMISA Skier of the Week for the Denver Invitational and was twice the CU Athlete of the Week.
2010 (Sophomore)—Pletcher missed the first two meets and four races of the season due to illness and competed in the final six races of the season leading up to NCAA Championships. He had four top 10 finishes in those six races, including matching his career best freestyle finish of fourth at the RMISA Championships, helping him qualify for NCAA Championships as an alternate for the Buffaloes. He returned at the New Mexico Invitational and while still not 100 percent, he took ninth in the classical race. By the time the Nevada Invitational came around, he was returning to form and he took home a pair of top 10 performances, finishing eighth in the classical race and seventh in the freestyle. He earned second-team All-RMISA honors.
2009 (Freshman)—Pletcher kicked off his collegiate career with three top 20 finishes in Alaska while preparing for the World Cup Sprint Races in Canada. Once Pletcher returned to the States, he immediately made an impact when he turned his attention solely to collegiate skiing, adding to the nations most-dominant Nordic squad. Pletcher notched a second- and third-place finishes in back-to-back classical events at the Denver Invitational and RMISA Championships. Though Pletcher qualified for the NCAA Championships, he was tabbed Colorado’s first alternate and didn’t see action back east in his first season. For the RMISA NCAA Qualification points, he ranked fourth on CU’s team but also fourth in the entire western region. Pletcher was named first-team All-RMISA and the Division I National All-Academic Team for maintaining a 3.50 or higher GPA and participating in regionals.
Club—Pletcher was a member and team captain of the Sun Valley Ski Team prior to joining the Colorado program. A 2006 scholarship recipient, Pletcher received the coaches award in 2006 and was also named most inspirational in 2006 and 2007. Pletcher also spent six years as a member of the Junior Olympic team where he earned 11 All-American honors and was a national champion in 2008. As a captain of the Junior Olympic team in 2008, Pletcher took first in the freestyle 5K relay at Junior National Championships for his top non-collegiate career finish. He also took 34th in the classic sprint at the Canmore 2008 World Cup. At Senior Nationals in 2008, Pletcher took 11th in the 15K classic, 12th in the freestyle sprint, and 24th in the freestyle 10K.
High School—Pletcher lettered four years in Nordic skiing at Wood River High School in Sun Valley, Idaho.
In the Classroom—A lifetime member of the National Honors Society, Pletcher is plans to pursue a degree in business management, but he is also interested in psychology. In high school, Pletcher won a speech class award as a junior and was the recipient of an architecture and mechanical design award as a sophomore.
Personal—Reid Pletcher was born September 28, 1988 and is the son of Del and Johnna Pletcher of Hailey, Idaho. Pletcher belongs to an athletic family as his father, Del, was a collegiate diver and his grandparents were Olympic archers. After college, Pletcher hopes to participate in the Winter Olympics as a Nordic skier or the Summer Olympics in cycling. He was recruited by Utah, Middlebury and Dartmouth, but chose Colorado because of the ski program and the CU club cycling team, which is one of the best cycling programs in the country.
• Top Career Freestyle Finish: Third (2011 RMISA Championships)
Honors
• 2009 First-Team All-RMISA
• 2009 National Division I All-Academic Team (3.5 GPA, participation in Regional’s)
• 2010 Second-Team All-RMISA
• 2011 NCAA Individual Champion (Classical)
• 2011 First-Team All-America (Classical)
• 2011 First-Team All-RMISA
• 2011 First-Team Academic All-Big 12 At-Large (3.2 GPA)
• 2011 RMISA Skier of the Week (Denver Invitational)
• 2011 CU Athlete of the Week (Feb. 7-13; Denver Invitational)
• 2011 CU Athlete of the Week (March 7-13; NCAA Championships)
• 2012 Second-Team All-RMISA
• CU Athlete of the Week (Jan. 9-15)
• Division I National All-Academic Ski Team (3.5 GPA, participation in regionals)
Career at Colorado—Pletcher remarkably was able to finish out a stellar career in 2012 despite recovering from a life-threatening injury he suffered the previous May. He was back to skiing before doctors thought he’d be out of the hospital, and got off to a stellar start to his senior season. He finished his career with 33 races with 21 top 20, 20 top 10 and five podium appearances to his credit with two victories. He was the 2011 Individual NCAA Champion in the classical race, also earning one All-America honor in his only trip to the NCAA Championships despite qualifying each season, and he was a four-time All-RMISA selection.
2012 (Senior)—Pletcher’s biggest accomplishment for his senior season was likely the fact that he was still breathing, much less his amazing comeback to racing. On May 26, 2012, he was involved in a hiking accident in which he fell and fractured his skull. He was amazingly back to racing some six months later, before doctors initially thought he’d be out of the hospital, and by the start of the 2012 season, he was back in familiar position, bringing the Buffs top 10 finishes. He opened the season with a sixth and eighth place finish at the University of Colorado Spencer Nelson Memorial Invitational, and the followed that up with a 12th and sixth place finish at the Denver Invitational. His best finish of the season with the first one in Alaska, when he took fourth place in the classical race, before a 12th in the freestyle race. He then rounded out his career with three 16th places finishes and a 14th in his final four races. That likely kept him out of the NCAA Championships as the fourth best men’s Nordic skier on the deepest team in the nation for the third time in four years. He was named second-team All-RMISA, the CU Athlete of the Week one time and named to the Division I National All-Academic Ski Team, maintaining a 3.5 GPA despite suffering a fractured skull late in the previous semester.
2011 (Junior)—Pletcher capped off an amazing season by winning the individual NCAA championship in the classical race while propelling the Buffaloes to the team national championship, as well. He competed in 10 races, completing nine and coming up with eight top 10 finishes and four top 5 finishes. He won two races, both classical, first at the Denver Invitational and then at NCAAs, earning first-team All-America honors in the process. He had a bit of a roller coaster post season, as it began with a third place freestyle finish at RMISA Championships, his career best freestyle finish. He followed that up with a DNF in the classical race. Flip-flopping those results, he was a disappointing 23rd in the freestyle race at NCAAs before coming back to win the classical race. He won the classical race an hour after teammate Eliska Hajkova won the women’s race on the exact same pair of skis. He earned first-team All-RMISA honors, was the RMISA Skier of the Week for the Denver Invitational and was twice the CU Athlete of the Week.
2010 (Sophomore)—Pletcher missed the first two meets and four races of the season due to illness and competed in the final six races of the season leading up to NCAA Championships. He had four top 10 finishes in those six races, including matching his career best freestyle finish of fourth at the RMISA Championships, helping him qualify for NCAA Championships as an alternate for the Buffaloes. He returned at the New Mexico Invitational and while still not 100 percent, he took ninth in the classical race. By the time the Nevada Invitational came around, he was returning to form and he took home a pair of top 10 performances, finishing eighth in the classical race and seventh in the freestyle. He earned second-team All-RMISA honors.
2009 (Freshman)—Pletcher kicked off his collegiate career with three top 20 finishes in Alaska while preparing for the World Cup Sprint Races in Canada. Once Pletcher returned to the States, he immediately made an impact when he turned his attention solely to collegiate skiing, adding to the nations most-dominant Nordic squad. Pletcher notched a second- and third-place finishes in back-to-back classical events at the Denver Invitational and RMISA Championships. Though Pletcher qualified for the NCAA Championships, he was tabbed Colorado’s first alternate and didn’t see action back east in his first season. For the RMISA NCAA Qualification points, he ranked fourth on CU’s team but also fourth in the entire western region. Pletcher was named first-team All-RMISA and the Division I National All-Academic Team for maintaining a 3.50 or higher GPA and participating in regionals.
Club—Pletcher was a member and team captain of the Sun Valley Ski Team prior to joining the Colorado program. A 2006 scholarship recipient, Pletcher received the coaches award in 2006 and was also named most inspirational in 2006 and 2007. Pletcher also spent six years as a member of the Junior Olympic team where he earned 11 All-American honors and was a national champion in 2008. As a captain of the Junior Olympic team in 2008, Pletcher took first in the freestyle 5K relay at Junior National Championships for his top non-collegiate career finish. He also took 34th in the classic sprint at the Canmore 2008 World Cup. At Senior Nationals in 2008, Pletcher took 11th in the 15K classic, 12th in the freestyle sprint, and 24th in the freestyle 10K.
High School—Pletcher lettered four years in Nordic skiing at Wood River High School in Sun Valley, Idaho.
In the Classroom—A lifetime member of the National Honors Society, Pletcher is plans to pursue a degree in business management, but he is also interested in psychology. In high school, Pletcher won a speech class award as a junior and was the recipient of an architecture and mechanical design award as a sophomore.
Personal—Reid Pletcher was born September 28, 1988 and is the son of Del and Johnna Pletcher of Hailey, Idaho. Pletcher belongs to an athletic family as his father, Del, was a collegiate diver and his grandparents were Olympic archers. After college, Pletcher hopes to participate in the Winter Olympics as a Nordic skier or the Summer Olympics in cycling. He was recruited by Utah, Middlebury and Dartmouth, but chose Colorado because of the ski program and the CU club cycling team, which is one of the best cycling programs in the country.
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