UAA Ski Team finishes fourth at NCAA National Championships
by Ian Marks, Assistant Athletic Director, Media Relations |
Astrid Stav capped off a great week of skiing by the University of Alaska Anchorage
with a runner-up finish in the freestyle to lead the Seawolves to a fourth-place finish
at the NCAA National Championships in New Hampshire.
The fourth-place finish by the Seawolves ties the best finish ever in program history
when it placed fourth in 2009. UAA has also placed fifth on four different occasions.
"I'm so proud of all of our athletes and coaches," said head coach Sparky Anderson. "This group has fought through a lot this year, and we never gave up. We never broke
in the face of adversity. These kids stepped up and proved not only to themselves,
but to the world that they belong. Our team, ONE TEAM, battled together and climbed
into podium position. To be in the Final Four at the conclusion of the NCAA Championship
is so huge. Of all the years to demonstrate why it's so important to field a full
team, four events, this trophy means a lot. I really want to thank all the people
who helped us this year. The skiing community in Anchorage, in Alaska, and around
the world can celebrate today."
Astrid Stav earned her second All-American honor of the season when she finished second in the 15-kilometer freestyle in 38:55, 24 seconds behind national champion Sydney Palmer-Ledger of Utah.
Tuva Bygrave held the lead of the interval start race for much of the day before placing fourth in 39:28 to claim her second All-American honor of the day.
Pascale Paradise finished 23rd in 41:38.
The men's race concluded the day in much warmer temperatures.
Sigurd Roenning paced the UAA men with a fifth-place finish in 48:56 to claim All-American honors.
Magnus Noroey collected his second All-American honor of the week with a seventh-place showing in 49:02.
Espen Persen added some valuable team points with a 15th-place finish in 50:26.
"It was a fantastic day for us, and I am really proud of the team for coming through
when it counted the most," said associate head coach Trond Flagstad. "We knew it was tight for fourth overall, and we also wanted to take second in the
Nordic standings, which we did, beating CU by half of a point. What really impressed
me the most was that they skied strong under pressure, and when we needed them to
come through and score points. Last night we talked about how it would be really fun
to get at least four more All-Americans today, and then they go out there and do it. That
was great and fun to watch."
"Astrid set the standard for the day by getting on the podium and the rest followed her
que and skied their heart out for the Green and Gold."
"I wasn't surprised that we did so well, they have trained hard all year and raced
solid all winter. The trick is to get it out when it counts, and I think we succeeded in
that. It's been a tough year for everyone on the team, not only because of COVID-19
but also because of the looming threat of having the team being cut at the end of
the season. They are a resilient group of skiers that didn't lose sight of the goal
despite all the obstacles this year has brought."
Overall UAA hauled in nine All-American honors over the four-day competition.
Magnus Boee of Colorado won the men's race in 48:02.
Utah won the team title with 554 points. Colorado placed second with 522.5 points, Denver was third with 442 points and Alaska Anchorage was fourth with 411 points.
This story originally appeared on GoSeawolves.com.
"UAA Ski Team finishes fourth at NCAA National Championships" is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.