Colorado University Athletics
Stroem, Oedegaard and Honkonen Awarded CU AOTW
BOULDER - Skiers Rune Oedegaard, Mads Stroem and Jessica Honkonen claimed CU Athlete of the Week honors (March 3 - 9) on Tuesday after helping Colorado to a fourth-place finish at the 61st annual NCAA Skiing Championship in Park City, Utah.
Oedegaard, a junior nordic skier from Molde, Norway (NTG Lillehammer/Molde Ski Club), won the individual NCAA Championship in the men's 10K classical race on Thursday, giving Colorado its 87th individual title. He became the first skier in NCAA history to repeat as the men's classical champion and just the second skier to win the race twice in a career. He is also just the third CU skier to win the same Nordic event twice, joining Clark Matis (1968-69 Cross Country) and Kristen Petty (1985, '87 Women's Cross Country). The victory also marked his 14th career win at CU.
Stroem, a freshman nordic skier from Oslo, Norway (Bacrums Verk) won the individual NCAA Championship on Saturday in the men's 20K freestyle race. Stroem's win provided Colorado its 88th individual title, which stands as the most in the nation. He became just the fifth CU skier to win the men's freestyle race at the NCAA Championships, the first since Vegard Kjoelhamar in 2009. It was his second first-place finish of the season. He finished fourth in the 10K Classical race on Thursday, earning two first-team All-America honors for the Buffaloes.
Honkonen, a sophomore alpine skier from Espoo, Finland (Makelanrinteen Lukio/Finish Ski Team) earned two All-America honors at the championship, earning a second-team honor in the women's giant slalom race on Wednesday with a ninth-place finish, as well as a first-team honor in the women's slalom race on Saturday with a fourth-place finish. She was the top finisher in the slalom race among RMISA skiers. She was one of just four women's alpine skiers to win two All-America honors at the 2014 NCAA Championships.
Castagnola, a freshman, led the Buffs with nine goals to claim wins over Temple and Fresno State. On Tuesday against Temple, she had a career-high six points. Her five goals topped her previous best of four in her Colorado debut against Stetson. Just under two minutes before the break, Castagnola had completed a hat trick to give the Buffs a 5-2 lead at halftime. Against Fresno State, Castagnola once again led the Buffs, helping CU to its first ever MPSF win. Castagnola scored four goals against the Bulldogs.
Keating, a sophomore, had a strong tournament at the Bruin Wave Invitational. After two 74s on Monday, Keating shot 6-over par 78 in the final round to tie for 18th. The performance was KeatingGÇÖs first top-20 finish. Though she made two double bogeys in the final round, she shot par or better on eight of her holes on the back nine.
Wilson, a senior guard, had 17 points and four steals against UCLA in the opening round of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament in Seattle, Wash. The Buffaloes defeated the Bruins 76-65 to reach the tournament quarterfinals for the third time since beginning Pac-12 competition in 2011. In the 69-54 loss to Stanford, Wilson had 16 points.
Orme+¦o Ruiz, a freshman, won a pair of singles matches (her 17th and 18th of the year) in Colorado's 0-2 week. Orme+¦o Ruiz rallied from a set down to defeat Washington State's Olga Musilovich, 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 in the Buffaloes 4-2 loss. It was her third match rallying from a set down to claim a victory. Two days later, Orme+¦o Ruiz defeated Oregon's Sofia Hager, 7-5, 6-4.
Johnson, a sophomore foward, averaged 19 points and 5.5 rebounds in Colorado's 1-1 week with a win at Stanford and an overtime loss at California. Johnson scored a key 14 points with five rebounds and two assists in the Buffaloes 59-56 win over the Cardinal. Three days later, Johnson netted his five 20-point scoring effort of the season with a game-high 24 points with six rebounds in CU's 66-65 overtime loss to the Golden Bears.