Elena Exenberger

Position:
Alpine
Height:
5-6
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Mittersill, Austria
High School:
Bundesgymnasium und Sportrealgymnasium Saalfelden
Prev School:
Austrian National Team

World University Games Participant (2023 Lake Placid)
Three-Time National All-Academic Ski Team (2023, '24, '25, 3.5 Cumulative GPA)
Two-Time CSC Academic All-District (2023, '24, At-Large Team)
Two-Time Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll (2023, '24)
Two-Time CU 4.0 Club (2024, '25)
CU Athlete of the Week (2/26/23)
Four-Time NCAA Championship Qualifier (2022, ‘23, '24, '25)
Four-Time Letterwinner (2022, ‘23, '24, '25)

At Colorado: Career—Exenberger skied for four years on the CU ski team and in 46 career races, she finished 32 of them and placed in the top 20 almost 90 percent of the time, or 28 times in those 32 finishes. She finished 15 of 18 GS races in the top 20 and 13 of 14 slalom races. She brought home six top 10 finishes in her career, four in GS and two in slalom.

2025 (Senior)—Exenberger struggled a bit her senior season, finishing just three of nine races battling injuries throughout the season, although the finishes she did put through were among the best of her career in Boulder. She opened the season with an 11th place slalom finish in an RMSIA Qualifier race ahead of the Denver Invitational, the third best slalom performance of her career behind two ninth place finishes her sophomore season. In the next meet in Montana, she took home eighth place in the GS race there, her second-highest finish in that discipline behind a sixth place finish two years earlier. Her honors included CU 4.0 Club and National All-Academic Ski Team.

2024 (Junior)—Exenberger finished 10 of 12 races in 2024 and had six top 20 finishes on the season with one top 10, which came in the women’s GS race at the RMISA Championships. She finished 14-13-21-16 in the four slalom races she finished and finished all GS races, taking home 25-17-25-24-11-9, saving her best for the last two races of the season. She took home 11th the day before her ninth place and only finished in the top 10 on consecutive days at the RMISA Championship venue, the first one as a qualifier. Her honors included CSC Academic All-District, CU 4.0 Club, National All-Academic Ski Team and Pac-12 Winter Honor Roll.

2023 (Sophomore)—Exenberger finished 10 of 13 races through the NCAA Championships for the Buffaloes and had a solid season with three top 10 performances and she was in the top 20 in each of her 10 finished races. She had one of the more clutch performances in Alaska as the final regular season meet and the RMISA Championships took place there. She finished sixth in one GS and ninth in two slalom races to improve enough to secure herself a spot at the NCAA Championships, ensuring the Buffs could field a full 12-skier team and eventually finish in second place, holding the lead at the midpoint of the championship. She had just one top 10 finish in her career prior to Alaska, and there finished three of four races, all in the top 10, picking up CU Athelte of the Week honors for her efforts. On top of qualifying and competing at NCAAs, she earned her second letter and took care of business in the classroom earning mention on the National All-Academic Ski Team, the CSC Academic All-District team and the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll. She also took part in World University Games in Lake Placid in January.

2022 (Freshman)—Exenberger joined the Buffs for the spring semester ahead of her true freshman season. She skied in all 12 races for the Buffs and finished nine, all in the top 20 with on top 10 performance, which came in GS. After not finishing two of her first four races, she went on to finish seven straight before the final race of the season. Her top GS performance was eighth place at the Utah Invitational at Park City and her top slalom finish was 14th at the Denver Invitational at Loveland. She didn’t finish lower than 17th and eight of her nine finishes came between 12th and 17th place. She scored for the team seven times picking up 136 points on the season. She qualified but did not participate at the NCAA Championships but did earn her first letter.

Prior To CU—Exenberger came to CU from the Austrian National Team. She has 13 continental cup starts under her belt, all on the European Cup Tour, with two top 10 and a top five finish, both coming at Hippach, Austria, in 2020, where she took fifth and seventh in two GS races. She has 20 starts at National Championships in Austria, Germany, Italy and Liechtenstein with three top 10 and one top five, taking fourth in a GS in Maria Alm, Austria, in Feb. 2020. She was also 10th in the slalom at St. Michel im Langau, Austria, in Dec. 2020. Her first top 10 at a National Championship was an eighth place finish in 2018 at Sankt Johann-Alpendorf, Austria. In all, she has 140 starts in FIS races in her career dating back to 2016 with 61 finishes in the top 30, 21 top 10 performances and six podiums, including two wins, three runner-up finishes and a third place. Her wins came in a GS race at Chamrousse, France, in 2018 and in a slalom at Oberperfuss, Austria, in 2020.

High School—Exenberger attended Bundesgymnasium und Sportrealgymnasium Saalfelden in Saalfelden, Austria, graduating in 2020.

In The Classroom—Exenberger graduated from Colorado in 2025 with degrees in Psychology and Media Studies.

Personal—Her birthday is December 13 and she was born in Mittersill, Austria. Her parents are Monika and Helmut Exenberger. She has an older sister, Celine. Her hobbies include skiing, tennis, golf and hanging out with friends.

Why Colorado?—”I heard it’s the best!”