FAIRBANKS, AK – Alaska Nanooks skiing head coach Scott Jerome announced the signing of Marion Ruf of Voehrenbach, Germany to a national letter of intent. She will enter the University of Alaska Fairbanks in the fall with four years of NCAA eligibility remaining.
Ruf, who has been training and racing for several years in attempts to make the German national team, has competed internationally for her country at the World Junior Championships and Under-23 World Championships. Despite falling short of her bid for a spot on the national team, Ruf has seen much success at high levels of international skiing including four top-ten finishes at German national championships over her career. She has the ability to make a big impact on the Nanooks' program, which in turn will give her the opportunity to extend her skiing career.
Her best international results include taking third in the 15 kilometer mass start classic race a the 2004 FIS World Junior Championships, 16th in the 10km pursuit at the 2005 FIS World Junior Championships and 16th in the 15 km pursuit at the 2007 FIS U23 World Championships.
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Marion has excellent experience with racing at a very high level,” said Jerome. “She will bring maturity and a professional work-ethic to our team; she will be a valuable asset to our program.”
She has been ranked as high as 107
th in the world. By comparison, her future teammate and fellow German
Raphaela Sieber has been rankled as high as 142
nd.
The youngest of four girls, Ruf grew up on a working dairy farm in the Black Forest of
Germany.
“She knows about hard work, long hours, and the value of giving her best each and every day,” Jerome added. “She is anxious to begin her studies at UAF and compete for the Nanooks."
Ruf joins Alyson McPhetres (Chugiak, AK) in the Alaska Skiing recruiting class of 2010.
