INDIANAPOLIS - The NCAA Men's and Women's Skiing Committee announced the 74 men and 74 women selected to participate in the 2010 National Collegiate Men's and Women's Skiing Championships, to be held March 10-13 at the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club and Howelsen Hill Ski Area in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The championships will be hosted by the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Representing the Alaska Nanooks in this year's national championship Nordic events are senior
Aurelia Korthauer (Bonndorf, Germany), junior
John Parry (Whitehorse, Yukon), sophomore
Theresia Schnurr (Buhlertal, Germany) and freshman
Tyler Kornfield (Anchorage, AK).
The women bring the only previous championship experience into this year's event as it will be Korthauer's third trip to NCAAs and Schnurr's second. Korthauer competed at the NCAA Skiing Championships in 2007 and 2008, earning All-American honors with a fifth place finish in the women's 15k freestyle race her sophomore season (2007) in Vermont. Schnurr was just three spots shy of earning All-American honors at last year's championships in Maine as she was 13th in the 5k classic event.
Korthauer is a solid contender for more All-American honors, as she has finished in the top five of every collegiate race she has competed in this season, including a string of five first place finishes from Jan. 4-Feb. 14. Schnurr has landed a spot in the top-10 in all but one of her races this season, which was highlighted by third and fifth place finishes in the 20k classic and 10k freestyle races at U.S. Nationals.
On the men's side, both Parry and Kornfield have finished in the top seven of all but one race they've competed in this season. Parry's junior campaign is highlighted by a pair of 4th place finishes at the U.S. Nationals (20k classic) and the Central Region Championships (15k classic). Korthauer, meanwhile, won the men's sprint event at the U.S. Nationals and earned a spot on the U.S. World Junior National team. After missing two CCSA events, which included the league's championships, he returned for the NCAA Central Region Championships, where he finished fourth in the 10k freestyle event and 13th in the 15k classic race.
Participants are selected on a regional basis from two designated regions for Alpine skiing (East and West Regions) and three designated regions for Nordic skiing (Central, East and West Regions). Bids are awarded to regions using a formula determined by the skiing committee. A maximum of 12 student-athletes (three per gender per discipline) may participate from an institution.
Alpine events will run March 10 and 12 at Steamboat Springs. The men's and women's giant slaloms will be held March 10 at Mt. Werner, with the men's and women's slaloms conducted March 12 at Howelsen Hill.
Nordic events will be held March 11 and 13 at Howelsen Hill. The men's 10-kilometer and women's five-kilometer classical cross-country races will be conducted March 11. The women's 15-kilometer and men's 20-kilometer freestyle races will be held March 13.
Highlights of the skiing championships will be shown on CBS at 1 p.m. Eastern time, Saturday, May 1. CBS Sports Presents Championships of the NCAA will feature highlights of 17 different NCAA championships, each taking place during the winter season.
Live coverage of the Alaska Nanooks from the 2010 NCAA Skiing Championships will be posted on the official Alaska Nanooks blog (
http://blog.alaskananooks.com/), while recaps and results will be posted at
alaskananooks.com on Thursday and Saturday following the conclusion of both the men's and women's races.
