Colorado University Athletics
Skiing
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- mari_storeng@hotmail.com
- Phone:
- 303-492-3793
The 2002 NCAA Classical Champion, the cornerstone of that season’s CU women’s cross country team, returns to the Colorado roster as she christens her coaching career as the Buffs’ nordic assistant coach.
In three semesters and two seasons at Colorado, she had 17 top-10 finishes, three top-15 efforts, was a four-time All-American, the 2001 NCAA classical runner up and third in freestyle before becoming CU’s third women’s classical national champion in ’02.
In that famed 2002 senior season, Storeng was CU’s No. 1 women’s nordic skier and had four straight victories, claiming bragging rights not only as the top women’s collegiate cross country skier in the state of Colorado, but in the West Region and the nation. She would open, what would eventually be her final collegiate season, with a 14th-place effort in the 5k classical at Montana State, her only non top-10 finish of the season. Her string of four wins started when she won the classical sprint relay at New Mexico, then the became the first CU woman to ever sweep both regional races?alpine or nordic, when she did so in Anchorage and first to win both events in a single meet since Line Selnes in ’99. Her sweep would propel the Buffs to their 20th West Regional team title, first since the ’99 season. She kept her string alive for just one more race when she won the NCAA 5k classical national crown, again in Anchorage, in 15:27.0, almost four seconds ahead of the race’s runner-up and defending national champion Katerina Hanusova of Nevada. In her final collegiate race two days later she skied to her second All-American finish of the meet, finishing ninth in the 15k freestyle pacing the Buffs to runner-up honors in the Championships, a mere 60 points behind nemesis Denver.
Born April 13, 1975 in Tynset, Norway, the 28-year-old Storeng grew up on a milk and meat production farm and graduated in May with a communications degree. Her hobbies include orienteering (where she once finished eighth at nationals in Norway) and photography (nature and portraits). She skied for the Norwegian National Team for three seasons and attended pharmacy school in Norway before arriving in Boulder in 2001.
She skied for the Norwegian National Team for three seasons and attended pharmacy school in Norway before arriving in Boulder in 2001.
