NCAA Qualifiers And All-RMISA Teams Announced

BOULDERGÇöThe NCAA formally announced the participants who will compete in two weeks at the 2012 NCAA Championships, and the University of Colorado ski team qualified a full 12-member team. Also announced Monday was the 2012 All-RMISA teams on which the Buffaloes placed a league-best 13 skiers.

The traveling team that will attempt to defend CUGÇÖs national championship will be: Andreas Haug, Max Lamb and Adam Zika from menGÇÖs alpine; Erika Ghent, Katie Hartman and Carolina Nordh from menGÇÖs alpine; Eliska Hajkvoa, Joanne Reid and Mary Rose from womenGÇÖs Nordic and Andres Hoye, Vegard Kjoelhamar and Rune Oedegaard from menGÇÖs Nordic.

Also qualifying for the NCAA championships from the Buffaloes were: Shane McLean and Jenny Allen from womenGÇÖs alpine; Fletcher McDonald from menGÇÖs alpine and Reid Pletcher and Ian Mallams from menGÇÖs Nordic. Per NCAA rules, only three skiers from each discipline can qualify from each school.

Both Oedegaard and Hajkova qualify as the top seed on the Nordic side with Oedegaard securing the top seed in both freestyle and classic and Hajkova in classic.

The Buffs are joined by Alaska Anchorage and Utah from the Western Region in qualifying a full 12-skier team, and from the East Region both Middlebury and Vermont qualified a full team. The Central Region participates only in Nordic skiing and Northern Michigan was the only school to qualify a full six-member team. Montana State and New Mexico will be one skier short from the Western Region while Alaska Fairbanks will be skiing with five Nordic skiers out of the central region. Denver from the west and New Hampshire from the east will send 10 skiers while Middlebury will have nine skiers participating.

The NCAA Championships get underway March 7 in Bozeman, Mont., with the running of the 5K womenGÇÖs and 10K menGÇÖs freestyle races with an interval start at Bohart Ranch. Alpine skiers get underway Thursday with the giant slalom races at Bridger Bowl. The womenGÇÖs 15K and menGÇÖs 20K classical mass start race will take place Friday and Saturday the action will close out with the slalom races.

Also announced Monday was the 2012 All-RMISA teams by the league office and the Buffaloes led the way with 13 selections to the two teams, including five first-team members.

In menGÇÖs Nordic, Oedegaard earned first-team mention while Hoye, Kjoelhamar and Pletcher all earned second team honors. On the womenGÇÖs side both Hajkova and Reid earned first-team honors.

On the alpine side, Zika earned first team honors on the menGÇÖs side with Lamb and Haug both earning second team honors. McLean earned first team honors on the womenGÇÖs alpine side while Ghent, Hartman and Nordh all earned mention on the second team.

Along with having the most overall selections with 13, topping Utah by one, the Buffs also had the most Nordic skiers with six, tied with the most alpine skiers with seven, had the most menGÇÖs selections with seven and tied for the most womenGÇÖs selections with six.

Colorado University Athletics