INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA announced that 10 skiers from the University of the Alaska Anchorage have qualified for the NCAA Skiing National Championships.
The championships will be hosted by the University of Utah March 9-12 from the Park City Mountain Resort & Soldier Hollow in Park City, UT.
"I am excited to take this group into the NCAA Championships," said head coach Sparky Anderson. "We have a great combination of talent and experience this year. We're prepared, focused, and ready to make some noise."
Nordic
JC Schoonmaker will be making his third appearance at the NCAA National Championships. The Tahoe City, Calif., native competed at the Beijing Olympics finishing ninth in the team sprint with teammate Ben Ogden. He finished 13th in the freestyle sprints and 66th in the 15-kilometer classic. Schoonmaker won three medals at the US National Championships, a gold in the freestyle sprint, and bronze medals in the classic sprint and 15-kilometer classic race.
Magnus Noroey will be making his second trip to the NCAA National Championships. The Levanger, Norway, native was a two-time All-American at the 2021 NCAA National Championships finishing seventh in the freestyle and ninth in the classic race. He finished eighth in the 15-kilometer classic race at the US National Championships.
Espen Persen will be making his third trip to the NCAA National Championships. The native of Oslo, Norway, is a three-time All-American with his highest finish of fourth in the classic race at the 2021 championships. His best finish this season was a fourth-place finish in the 15-kilometer classic race at the US National Championships.
Astrid Stav will be making her second trip to the NCAA National Championships. The Meraker, Norway, native was the national runner-up in the freestyle race and finished fourth in the classic race a year ago. She finished sixth in the classic and seventh in the freestyle at the RMISA Championships.
Tuva Bygrave will be making her second trip to the NCAA National Championships. The native of Oslo, Norway, earned a pair of All-American honors in 2021 after finishing fourth in the freestyle and sixth in the classic race. She represented Australia (she holds dual citizenship) at the World U23 Championships finishing 17th in the relay, 55th in the freestyle sprint and 57th in the 10-kilometer classic race.
Pascale Paradis will be making her second appearance at the NCAA National Championships. The Calgary, Alberta, native has finished in the top-10 in six of the eight races she competed in. She represented Canada at the biathlon Junior World Championships finishing 16th in the sprint, 30th in the pursuit and 40th in the individual.
"I am super excited to take this group of skiers to the NCAA's," said associate head coach Trond Flagstad. "Except for JC, it is the exact same group of skiers we brought to the NCAA last year. It has depth and it is a good mix of up and coming and very experienced skiers. Everyone on this team has had championship experience which is a great bonus.
"Solider Hollow is our favorite venue. We ski here a lot and the altitude is the lowest on the circuit which will be good for us. I am excited to have JC with us this year after he missed out last year. He is our only senior and it's going to be a fantastic way for him to "graduate" from college skiing."
Alpine
Didrik Nilsen will be making his third trip to the NCAA National Championships. The native of Oslo, Norway, has a career-best finish of 18th in the giant slalom at the NCAA Championships. He finished second in the dual slalom exhibition race last week.
Ashleigh Alexander, Alyssa Hill and Leon Nikic will all be making their first trip to the NCAA National Championships.
Leon Nikic has twice finished on the podium in slalom, and Alyssa Hill has posted three top-10 finishes this season.
The Seawolves finished fourth at the 2021 NCAA Championships.
