Cleo Braun

Position:
Alpine
Height:
5-8
Class:
Sophomore
Hometown:
Eagle, Colo.
High School:
Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy
Prev School:
Ski Club Vail

Two-Time National All-Academic Ski Team (2022, ‘23, 3.5 GPA, Participation In Regionals)
Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll (2023)
Spencer Nelson Buffalo Heart Award (Winner 2023, Finalist 2022, CUPSYs)
CU Academic Student-Athlete of the Month (July 2022)
Two-Time Letterwinner (2022, ‘23)

AT COLORADO: CAREER—Braun has started 19 races in her two seasons at CU and finished 12 of them with four top 20 performances.

2023 (Soph.)—Braun started 11 races her sophomore season and finished nine of them with one top 20 performance, which came in her final finished race of the season in a slalom race as part of the UAA Invitational to close out the regular season. Consistent, she finished between 22nd and 28th in each of her first eight races of the season across both disciplines and ended up scoring for the team six times totaling 88 points. Solid in the classroom, she was again named to the National All-Academic Ski Team as well as the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll and won the Spencer Nelson Buffalo Heart Award at the CUSPYs. She was named the CU Academic Student-Athlete of the Month in July 2022 and earned her second letter.

2022 (Fr.)—Braun competed in eight of a possible 12 races in her rookie season, finishing three of those races, two in giant slalom and one in slalom. Her one slalom finish was the best finish of her season, taking 14th place at the Utah Invitational at Park City. She finished 22nd in a GS race that was an extra qualifier at Park City and also finished 29th in her first collegiate race, a GS at the Montana State Invitational. She was a finalist for the Spencer Nelson Buffalo Heart Award at the annual CUSPY celebration, earned a letter, and was on the National All-Academic Ski Team for maintaining above a 3.5 GPA.

Prior To CU—Braun skied for Ski Club Vail where she was tutored in part by former CU All-American Erika Ghent. She has 27 Nor-Am Cup starts to her credit with a best finish of 13th in a slalom race at Whiteface Mountain in 2018. She competed at the U.S. National Championships in both 2019 and 2021, picking up 21st place finishes in both slalom at GS in Aspen in 2021. Also competed at the National Junior Championships from 2018-20 and took second in the slalom race at Snowbasin in 2020. She also competed in 24 FIS-U races against collegiate competition the last three years and in 2021, she compiled three top 10 finishes, including a ninth and 10th place showing in two slalom races at CU’s Spencer James Nelson Memorial Invitational at Eldora. Her first FIS start came in Nov. 2017 at Loveland and entering CU, she has 114 starts in FIS races with 68 total top 30 finishes including 27 top 10 and nine podium appearances. Her nine podium appearances include three third place, two runner-up and three race wins. All three of her race wins are in GS races, two in 2018 (at Winter Park and Mount Sunapee) and one in 2021 (at Vail). She also represented the United States at the Longines Future Ski Championships and the Seven Nations Cup in 2017.

High School—Braun graduated from Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy in 2020. She was given the Thomas Pitcher Award at VSSA as the athlete who demonstrated the highest level of commitment to the sport of ski racing and academic excellence.

In The Classroom—Braun is majoring in Integrative Physiology at Colorado. She earned mention on the National All-Academic Ski Team in 2022 for maintaining above a 3.5 grade point average.

Personal—Cleo Braun was born Oct. 29, 2001, in Vail, Colo. Her parents are Jeff and Christine Bruan. She has an older sister, Zoe, who graduated from CU in 2021. Her hobbies include jewelry making, running, hiking, biking and playing sports while also hanging out with friends and family. She has spent time at various senior living and care centers in and around the Vail valley volunteering. She was the volunteer coordinator and event planner for the 2019 Bindu Memorial fundraiser and also helped plan the 2021 Curefest Walk to raise money for pediatric cancer in honor of Campbell Sullivan.

Why Colorado?—”I am a native Colorado skier and have always dreamt of representing Colorado at the collegiate level. CU has such incredible resources for their athletes and I am honored to be a part of it and continue to pursue my dream while earning a valuable education.”