Colorado University Athletics
Granstrom, Oedegaard Ready For Final Buff Races
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. GÇô The University of Colorado ski team will have one of the more experienced group of skiers at the NCAA Championships, which kickoff here Wednesday and run through Saturday, as nine of the 12 skiers have collectively notched 18 appearances at the collegiate national championships.
With that much experience, it may come as a surprise that only two of the dozen skiers are seniors entering their final championship. But thatGÇÖs indeed the case. Senior Brooke Wales Granstrom on the womenGÇÖs alpine team and senior Rune Oedegaard on the menGÇÖs Nordic squad are the only two who are likely seeing their final NCAA competition.
GÇ£ItGÇÖs a little surreal, I canGÇÖt believe itGÇÖs March and that weGÇÖre competing for another championship,GÇ¥ Granstrom said. GÇ£And it definitely hasnGÇÖt hit me that IGÇÖm a senior yet; I havenGÇÖt come to terms yet that this is my last season.GÇ¥
While likely not her last season associated with ski racing, she has been doing it for 15 years after all, it is the last few times she will strap on the boots for the Buffaloes, and sheGÇÖs looking to make it one to remember.
On the alpine side, all six Buffs have skied at NCAAs previously, Granstrom along with Thea Grosvold and Jessica Honkonen, have comprised the womenGÇÖs alpine team for each of the past three years, including in 2013 when the Buffs won a championship. Two guys make the same claim, Henrick Gunnarsson and Kasper Hietenanen are both making their third consecutive appearance while Adam Zika is making his second, and first since 2012 when he won the individual NCAA championship in the GS race.
GÇ£The experience we have is an advantage,GÇ¥ Granstrom said. GÇ£We know how the GS day feels, we know how the slalom day feels. ItGÇÖs good to know that everybody is focused on the goal, which is to win a national championship.GÇ¥
Granstrom is a stronger GS skier, not to say she canGÇÖt throw one down in slalom, but overall the slalom is likely the better of the two events for the Buffaloes as a team.
GÇ£I put more pressure on myself personally in GS,GÇ¥ Granstrom said. GÇ£But in the end, it doesnGÇÖt matter how we train today, itGÇÖs a combination of all the years of preparation. IGÇÖve spent 15 years of my life doing this. Whether itGÇÖs GS or slalom, ItGÇÖs just a mental game, I need to be calm and focused and have fun and the results will come.GÇ¥
The schedule could come into play for the Buffs, as the Nordic teams will start things off Wednesday and also race Friday while the alpine teams are slated for Thursday and Saturday, slalom, known as GÇ£the great equalizer,GÇ¥ being the final event. Not everybody can win the slalom, a few Buffs have a shot to do just that, but anybody can lose it.
But that potential negative could very well be turned into a positive for the Buffaloes.
The NCAA Championships are unique in the world of college skiing in that every score from every skier counts. In the regular season most full squads have anywhere from five to seven skiers and still only three are counted. Combining the most unpredictable racing format with closing out a potential national championship run, and pressure is at a maximum.
The Buffs experience and added benefit of skiing strong as a team in the slalom could help this trip to Lake Placid turn into something special, much like the last trip did back in 1982 when the menGÇÖs team won the NCAA championship here before the sport turned coed the following year. With Lake Placid still clutching to the history that happened here during the 1980 Olympics, and rightfully so, itGÇÖs hard to imagine the town looked much different just two years after the Olympics than it does some 35 years later.
GÇ£As a team weGÇÖre more confident in the slalom and we feel like we have better potential to put one in there if we need to get on the podium,GÇ¥ Granstrom said. GÇ£Or if we need a really outstanding day as at team, itGÇÖs more likely to happen in the slalom as opposed to the GS.GÇ¥
And while the alpine teams still have Tuesday and Wednesday to train for the first race on Thursday and the slalom races seem likely theyGÇÖre forever away on Saturday, the Nordic teams on Tuesday spent one last time on the course preparing for the freestyle races on Wednesday, which kick off the competition.
As a team, the Nordic squad has less experience than their alpine counterparts. Each of the six alpine skiers has been to the championships previously, and five of the six are making their third appearance. On the Nordic side, just three of the six have been and only Oedegaard has more than once skied at NCAAs.
He has, in fact, been to NCAAs three times previously and heGÇÖs attempting to close out one of the best collegiate careers imaginable. His 19 wins ranks second at CU and had it not been for his toughest competition, teammate and country mate Mads Stroem, who had four wins this year and six in the past year-and-a-half, the past two years, itGÇÖs very likely he would be much closer to CUGÇÖs record of 24 wins from Maria Grevsgaard.
While that mark is out of reach with just two races remaining, Oedegaard still has the opportunity to do what few have done before him. HeGÇÖs won two NCAA Individual titles, both in the classical race the past two years, becoming the first skier in NCAA history to repeat as menGÇÖs classic champion. Very few skiers in NCAA history have GÇ£threepeatedGÇ¥ in the same event and nobody in CU history has done it in any sport.
GÇ£IGÇÖm excited to get started,GÇ¥ Oedegaard said. GÇ£These are the most important races of the winter. IGÇÖm ready and looking forward to it. I feel more secure than before. IGÇÖve been through it before, IGÇÖve had success.GÇ¥
Rewind four months and Oedegaard never would have guessed he would be in this position. He tweaked his knee during a soccer game during the Buffs dryland training in the fall and required surgery to repair it. His immediate concern was getting back for this moment, being able to peak at the NCAA Championships. But he was in good enough shape in early January that he began the season winning five of the first six races.
GÇ£I didnGÇÖt expect to return as fast as I did and start winning races right off the bat this season,GÇ¥ Oedegaard said. GÇ£ItGÇÖs never and advantage to be injured or sick, but I feel like IGÇÖve done everything right since before Christmas break.GÇ¥
Beyond his own accomplishments, Oedegaard has high hopes for what the team can accomplish the next four days. He and Stroem have finished 1-2 in nine of the 10 races this season, and that remains their goal for the final two races of the season.
GÇ£Mads and I hope to go 1-2, and thatGÇÖs what weGÇÖll be fighting for,GÇ¥ Oedegaard said. GÇ£He has been super strong lately and with Jackson (Hill) getting back from being sick and being good on hard courses like this, the menGÇÖs team is super strong. The girls are also looking as strong as IGÇÖve seen them in training and theyGÇÖre confident.GÇ¥
Oedegaard, Stroem and sophomore Maja Solbakken are the only Nordic skiers with NCAA experience while Hill and freshmen women Petra Hyncivoa and Ane Johnsen will all make their debuts.
GÇ£WeGÇÖve been talking to them,GÇ¥ Oedegaard said. GÇ£But itGÇÖs not talking about how serious this is, itGÇÖs more just to go out and have fun. We know we are strong skiers, itGÇÖs no different here, itGÇÖs a ski race and you go from A to B. ItGÇÖs just about skiing as fast as you can and nobody can expect more from you.GÇ¥
GÇ£This is one race,GÇ¥ he continued. GÇ£With eastern and central regions joining in, a lot more has to go right for you to have a top race. The only thing we can expect is for people do to their best and if they do that weGÇÖll be great.GÇ¥