UW Nordic Ski Team News
UW Nordic Ski Team Competes in First NCAA-Sanctioned Meet
by University of Wyoming
January 11, 2006
(Laramie) Competing in their first NCAA-sanctioned meet of the season, the University of Wyoming men's and women's Nordic ski teams finished ninth and 10th, respectively, last weekend at the Soldier Hollow, Utah, resort.
The University of Alaska-Anchorage hosted the meet, which also was the United States Olympic Trials, attracting nearly 500 of the nation's top nordic skiers, says UW coach Christi Boggs, technology coordinator for the UW College of Education.
UW's Nordic ski team is now an associate member of the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA), allowing the men's and women's clubs to compete in three NCAA-sanctioned meets this season. The Cowboys and Cowgirls will still compete in the year-end United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) championships in Sugarloaf, Maine. UW has competed in the USCSA since adopting Nordic skiing as a club-level sport.
Competing against fully-funded NCAA Division I schools, the Cowboys placed ninth among the 10 competing men's teams in the 15-kilometer classic and the Cowgirls were 10th in a field of 11 women's squads in the 10km competition.
"Both defeated at least one team and they each were within just a few points of beating another one," Boggs says. "I am extremely proud of both teams because we did not expect to start our first race by beating anyone."
The Cowgirls' top skier, Kari Boroff, a Pinedale sophomore, placed 30th among 49 competitors and Joe Howdyshell, a Lander senior, was 34th among 52 starters in the men's race.
"These are very respectable finishes, better than we expected for the first race," Boggs says.
In Sunday's 5km skate race for the women and a 10km skate race for the men, the Cowboys and Cowgirls again were ninth and 10th, respectively, in their divisions. Howdyshell had the top finish among UW's skiers, placing 27th among 53 starters, while Boroff placed 39th in a field of 51 skiers.
UW will compete this weekend in another NCAA-sanctioned race at the Montana State University Invitational in Bozeman.
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