FAIRBANKS, Alaska – On Monday, Alaska Nanooks men's and women's cross country running and Nordic skiing head coach Nick Crawford announced the addition of Eliska Albrigtsen to his staff. Albrigtsen will serve as the cross country running and Nordic skiing assistant coach, replacing Josh Eide.

"I am so excited to be back in the world of collegiate sports," Albrigtsen said on Monday. "I'm ready to become Nick's right-hand assistant and to help our student-athletes and the UAF ski and running teams to the best of my ability."

Since 2017, Albrigtsen was the head coach and junior development coach for the Central Cross Country Skiing organization in Madison, Wisconsin. Additionally, Albrigtsen served as the Madison Nordic Ski Club's program manager and junior head coach, while also contributing as the community's Olympic development coach.

Prior to moving to Wisconsin, Albrigtsen also had coaching stints with junior clubs in Tahoe City, California and Boulder, Colorado.

Albrigtsen skied for the University of Colorado at Boulder from 2009-13, an NCAA Division I program in Boulder, Colorado. Albrigtsen was an NCAA individual national champion, placing first in the 15km classic race in 2011. Throughout her career, Albrigtsen was a four-time First Team All-American, a Second Team All-American and a four-time Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association First Team selection.

Albrigtsen graduated in December of 2013 with a bachelor's degree in Integrative Physiology. Since fall of 2012, Albrigtsen has been a research assistant in the Locomotion Laboratory at UC Boulder, researching on energetics and the biomechanics of human walking, running and cross-country skiing.

"Alaska has already welcomed me with open arms," Albrigtsen continued. "The nature, the weather and the people around me make me smile with each step and it reminds me of where I became a skier at, in northern Czech Republic. I hope Fairbanks will be a good home for my husband and I, and we are so looking forward to becoming part of the UAF family."

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's and women's cross country running and Nordic skiing teams, follow @AlaskaNanooksXC on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks XC team page on Facebook.