Rune Oedegaard

Position:
Nordic
Height:
6-1
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Molde, Norway
High School:
NTG Lillehammer/Molde Ski Club

Top Career Classical Finish: First (Nine Times, last 2014 NCAA Championships)
Top Career Freestyle Finish: First (Five Times, last 2014 RMISA Championships)

Honors

2012 First-Team All-American (Freestyle)
2012 Second-Team All-American (Classical)
2012 First-Team All-RMISA
2012 RMISA Skier of the Week (Denver Invitational)
2012 CU Athlete of the Week (Three times; Jan. 16-22; Feb. 6-12; Feb. 20-26)
2012 Finalist for CUSPY Male Athlete of the Year
2012 Division I National All-Academic Ski Team (3.5 GPA, participation in regionals)
2012 CU 4.0 Club
2013 Individual National Champion (Classical)
2013 First-Team All-American (Classical)
2013 First-Team All-American (Freestyle)
2013 First-Team All-RMISA
2013 CU Male Athlete of the Year
2013 CU Buddy Werner Memorial Scholarship
2013 Colorado Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame Male Collegiate Skier of the Year
2013 RMISA Skier of the Week (Denver Invitational)
2013 CU Athlete of the Week (Twice, Jan. 14-20; Mar. 4-10)
2013 Division I National All-Academic Ski Team (3.5 GPA, participation in regionals)
2014 NCAA Individual Champion (Classical)
2014 First-Team All-American (Classical)
2014 First-Team All-RMISA
2014 CUSPY CU Male Athlete of the Year
2014 Dick Schoenberger Memorial Award
2014 CU Athlete of the Week (Jan. 27-Feb. 2; Colorado Invitational)
2014 CU Athlete of the Week (March 3-9; NCAA Championships)
2014 RMISA Skier of the Week (Colorado Invitational)
2014 National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Team (3.5 GPA, participation in regionals)

Career at Colorado—Oedegaard has already cemented himself as one of the best skiers in CU history and has an opportunity in 2015 to take that national and complete one of the most dominate careers in NCAA history. He became the first skier in NCAA history to repeat as the Individual National Champion in the classical discipline and became just the third men’s skier to win that race twice in a career. His win and second place finish in 2013 was a huge reason the Buffs claimed the national championship that season. At the RMISA Championships, he again swept the races in 2014 and now has won five of six races there, believed to be the most in RMISA history as a five time RMISA Individual Champion. Despite missing the first two meets of the 2014 season due to participation in the 2014 Norwegian National Championships, he won four of the eight races he competed in and finished second and fifth in two of the other three. He is a five-time All-American, including four first-team honors and has been on the first-team All-RMISA squad each of his three years. He finished second on the RMISA Men’s Nordic MVP list as a freshman and third as a junior and has twice been the top men’s Nordic seed for NCAA Championships, the other season coming it at No. 2 on that list. In all, he has 14 race victories, the most by any men’s skier in CU history and third most all-time behind 17 from Lucie Zikova and 24 from Maria Grevsgaard. In 32 career races, he has 14 wins and 25 podium appearances. He has swept the races at three times in his career, including twice at the RMISA Championships.

2014 (Junior)—Oedegaard missed the first two meets of the year while still competing in Norway at his home country’s National Championships in his hometown of Molde. There he finished 36th in the 15K classic race and 45th in the 15/15K skiathlon. He returned to the U.S. and immediately made a mark, winning the classic race at the CU Invitational and taking second in the freestyle race to teammate Mads Stroem. After a fifth place finish at high altitude in New Mexico’s Classic race at Red River, he rattled off four consecutive victories, including both individual RMISA Championships and the NCAA Championship in the classic race. He swept the races at RMISA Championships for the second straight season and has now won five individual RMISA Championships. At the NCAA Championships, he became the first skier in NCAA history to repeat as the men’s classic champion and just the third men’s skier in history to win the race twice. He earned his second Individual NCAA Championship and his fifth All-America honor, including his fourth first-team All-America citation. He was named the CU Men’s Athlete of the Year and was given the team’s Dick Schoenberger Memorial Award. He twice earned CU Athlete of the Week honors and was the RMISA skier of the week for the CU Invitational. He was also named to the 2014 Collegiate All-Academic Ski team for maintaining a 3.5 grade point average. Hurt by missing the first two meets on the RMISA MVP list for men’s Nordic skiers, he still finished as the top skier who had missed more than three races on that list. On the NCAA Qualification list, he was the top seed out of the RMISA for the Championships and the only skier to earn a perfect 200 points on the list.

2013 (Sophomore)—Oedegaard improved upon one of the top freshman seasons in CU history by capturing the 2013 Individual NCAA Championship in the 10K Classical race on the second day of the 2013 NCAA Championships. His performance that day helped keep the Buffs in the competition, but his second place finish in the 20K Freestyle race put the nail in coffin to secure CU’s 2013 NCAA Championship and cement the largest final day comeback in NCAA Championship history. In all, he won four races on the season, finished second five times and third once for 10 total podium appearances in 12 races. He started off the season in style by winning the 20K freestyle race at the CU/Spencer Nelson Memorial Invitational and then taking second in the classical race. He reversed the results the following week at the Denver Invitational, winning the Classical race and taking second in the Freestyle. Upset by his NCAA Championship appearance from the previous season, he was motivated to be at his best at the end of the season, and didn’t disappoint by taking two wins and two runner-up performances in the post season, winning the Classical race and taking second in the Freestyle race at both the RMISA Championships and NCAA Championships. He earned first-team All-America honors in both disciplines at the NCAA Championships and was a first-team All-RMISA member, finishing second in the Men’s Nordic MVP race for the RMISA. He earned CU’s Male Athlete of the Year award at the school’s annual CUSPY’s (CU Sports Performers of the Year) and was the RMISA Skier of the Week for the Denver Invitational and twice a CU Athlete of the Week. An honors student, he was also named to the Division I National All-Academic Ski Team.

2012 (Freshman)—Oedegaard had one of the most dominant seasons in CU history, in 12 races he won five, had nine podium appearances, 10 total top fives and finished in the top nine in every race. He opened the season with a ninth place finish in the freestyle race as part of the University of Colorado Spencer Nelson Memorial Invitational, less than 24 hours after having returned to altitude from the semester break. He then rebounded and finished third despite breaking five poles in the classical race the next day. He then won both races at the Denver Invitational the following week. In four races in Alaska as part of the UAA and Seawolf Invitationals with one win and a second place in classical races and a second and third place finish in the freestyle races. In Montana first at the RMISA Championships, he again swept the action, winning both the classical and freestyle races. Then to close the season he finished fifth in the freestyle and seventh in the classical races, perhaps disappointing only to his standards. He did finish with one first-team and one second-team All-America honor, was first-team All-RMISA and the RMISA Skier of the Week for the DU Invitational. He was three times the CU Athlete of the Week, was one of three finalists for CU’s Male Athlete of the Year CUSPY award, and compiled a perfect 4.0 GPA to earn mention on both CU’s 4.0 Club and on the Division I National All-Academic Ski Team.

Club—Oedegaard skied for the National Norwegian Junior Team from 2008-09 and Team Synnfjell in 2010-11. He also skied for Molde Og Omegn IF since 1990. Some of his top performances include a second place finish in the 20-K classical race at the Norwegian Junior Championships in 2008. In the 2011 Scandinavian Cup, he had two top 20 finishes with a 16th place finish in the 15K freestyle relay and a 19th place in the 15K classical race. From 2007-09, he had multiple podium appearances in Norwegian Junior Cup races and last season (2011) in the Norwegian Cup races, he had multiple top 15 performances in the elite division in the country. He had three top 10 finishes in the U.S. Super Tour races in West Yellowstone, Mont., just prior to the 2012 season, including a seven place in the 15K freestyle race and an eighth place in the 10K classical race.

High School—Oedegaard graduated from the Norwegian Gymnasium of Elite Sports in Lillehammer in 2008.

In the Classroom—Oedegaard is interested in majoring in Economics at Colorado and is also interested in Business.

Personal—Rune Malo Oedegaard was born April 19, 1989, in Molde, Norway to Roy Oedegaard and Kari Anne Malo Oedegaard. Both his sister, Unni, and brother, Geir, skied for the Buffaloes. Unni skied for CU from 1998-2000 and was a six-time All-Ameircan, including five times on the first team. Gier skied for one season for CU in 2002 and helped the Buffs to the RMISA Championship with two top 10 finishes throughout the season.