DENVER—The Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association Thursday announced its winners of both the Coaches and Athletes of the Year for the 2015 season.
Voted on by the Association’s membership, awards are for the Alpine and Nordic Coach of the Year and Athletes of the Year for both alpine and Nordic, men and women.
Winners for 2015 were Montana State’s Kevin Francis for Alpine Coach of the Year and Colorado’s Bruce Cranmer for Nordic Coach of the Year. The Alpine Athletes of the Year were Sebastian Brigovic and Monica Huebner, both from Denver. The Nordic athletes of the year were Rune Oedegaard from Colorado and Emilie Cedervarn from New Mexico.
Francis led a much-improved Bobcat alpine squad in 2015 that saw its best results at the end of the season. Several of his skiers had breakout campaigns. Garret Driller was the RMISA Individual Champion in the giant slalom, winning the race at the RMISA Championships, was named second-team All-RMISA and was a top 10 qualifier for the NCAA Championships in both slalom and GS. David Neuhauser finished sixth in the slalom at the NCAA Championships, earning second-team All-America honors, was a first-team All-RMISA selection and the No. 2 ranked GS skier in terms of NCAA Qualifying out of the RMISA, and was fifth in the men’s alpine MVP race. On the women’s side, Benedicte Lyche earned second-team All-America honors by finishing seventh in the women’s GS race at the NCAA Championships.
Cranmer completed yet another stellar season at the help of the Buffaloes Nordic squads. Five of the six skiers that competed at the NCAA Championships for the Buffaloes earned two All-America honors, including two first-team honors each for the men’s duo of Rune Oedegaard and Mads Stroem, who finished 1-2 in nine of the 10 races leading up to the championships and both had top five finishes in both races at NCAA Championships. Cranmer’s squad compiled the most point in the RMISA regular season, the most Nordic points at the RMISA Championships and the most Nordic points at the NCAA Championships, enabling the Buffaloes to capture the program’s 20th National Championship.
Brigovic was nothing short of outstanding for the Pioneers on the season, finishing 13 of 14 races and taking a top 8 position in each of those 13 races. He finished with three wins, two in GS and one in slalom, and eight podium appearances. He was a two-time first-team All-American, taking runner-up honors in the GS and fourth in the slalom at the NCAA Championships. The RMISA Men’s Alpine MVP, he first-team All-RMISA and the top ranked GS qualifier out of the RMISA and No. 3 on the slalom list.
Huebner finished her rookie year on the RMISA circuit putting together an outstanding season that saw her finish outside the top 10 just once in her 13 finishes of the 14 races on the season. She finished the year with four wins, all in slalom, including the individual NCAA Champion in the event, and had nine podium finishes. In slalom, she did not finish off the podium with four wins, two runner-ups and a third place in seven races. She had two podium appearances in GS action, including a second place finish at the NCAA Championships to earn two first-team All-America honors. She was the RMISA Women’s Alpine MVP, as first-team All-RMISA and ranked first on the slalom list and sixth on the GS list for NCAA qualifying.
Oedegaard capped one of a stellar career with another outstanding season that saw him claim five race victories and 11 podium appearances in 12 races. He won three classic races and two slalom races, and took second to his teammate, Mads Stroem, in four of the other five races prior to the NCAA Championships. He finished third in both the freestyle and classic races at the NCAA Championships to earn two first-team All-America honors and help the Buffs to the program’s 20th National Championship. He was the RMISA Men’s Nordic MVP, first-team All-RMISA and the top qualifier and top seeded skier in both freestyle and classic for the RMISA for the NCAA Championships.
Cedervarn, another rookie in the RMISA, capped a brilliant first season by winning the individual NCAA Championship in the women’s 15K classic race at the NCAA Championships. She won five races, five of the last six on the season, also earning two individual RMISA Championships, sweeping the races at the RMISA Championships in Alaska. She had three race wins in classic and two in freestyle. She missed the first two races of the year and then in the second meet took third in the classic and seventh in the freestyle. She then took second in both races at New Mexico before going on her run of five wins in the final six races. She also took third in the freestyle race at the NCAA Championships to earn two first-team All-America honors. The RMISA Women's Nordic MVP, she was first-team All-RMISA and the top seeded Nordic skier out of the RMISA for the NCAA Championships was tied for the top seed in both classical and freestyle.
The RMISA capped off yet another dominant season in collegiate skiing with all six RMISA squads finishing in the top nine at the NCAA Championships, including the top three teams and four of the top five. Behind Colorado in second place was Denver while Utah took third. New Mexico was fifth, Montana State seventh and Alaska Anchorage ninth.
The 2016 season will get underway in January and conclude in March in Steamboat Springs with the 2016 NCAA Championships, hosted by the Buffaloes.