MIDWAY, Utah – The Alaska Nanooks Nordic skiing team has officially qualified five skiers for the 2026 NCAA Skiing Championships in Midway, Utah. Rosie Fordham and Viktorie Kahounova will represent the Nanooks on the women's side, while Ben Dohlby, Blake Hanley and Philipp Moosmayer will compete for the men.
"We are excited to be bringing five athletes to the NCAA Championships this year from a very strong RMISA field!" said interim head coach Ben Buck. "For the first time in program history, we had six of our men qualify from the RMISA ranking list, but we are only permitted to bring three. It's a difficult thing to leave half of our team at home, but it speaks to the strength of our squad and to the countless hours of work these guys have put in together as a team."
This marks Dohlby's third and Moosmayer's second NCAA Championships appearence, with the duo having competed in the championships last season. Blake Hanley will make his NCAA championships debut for the 'Nooks after his strong sophomore season.
"Ben Dohlby has been our top performer this season despite missing a good chunk of our races to pursue qualification for the U.S. team for World U23 Championships and World Cup Finals," said Buck. "Philipp Moosmayer has been our most consistent skier on the men's side, and has been a leader for the men both on and off the course. Blake Hanley had a breakout season this year, which he capped off with two very strong performances at Regionals at Soldier Hollow, leading the men's team in the 7.5k classic on day one and notching another top-10 finish in the 20k on day two."
Fordham will compete in the NCAA Championships for the fourth time, having appeared in the championships each year she has raced for the Nanooks. Meanwhile, Kahounova is set to ski at the championships in her first season with the 'Nooks.
"Although we have only qualified two women this year, we more than make up for it with the quality of those two skiers," added Buck. "Rosie Fordham will make her fourth and final NCAA Championships appearance and she will be a strong contender for an individual National Championship title. We are excited to see what she can accomplish coming off of a very strong season, which included five starts at the Olympic Winter Games! Viktorie Kahounova has made an instant impact for us this season after joining the team in January, and we look forward to seeing how she performs in a field composed of skiers from all three regions!"
The Nordic events will be hosted by the University of Utah and held on Thursday, March 12, and Saturday, March 14, at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center, with day one being a 7.5k classic interval start and day two being a 20k freestyle mass start. Participants are selected on a regional basis from 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 be selected from an institution.
The Nanooks are coming off a fourth-place finish in the Nordic races at the RMISA Championships on Feb. 27-28, accumulating 245 points over the four races. Season highlights include Rosie Fordham's two podiums at the RMISA Championships, where she placed third in the 7.5k classic and second in the 20k freestyle. She added podiums in the 10k classic at the RMISA Invitational (third place) and the 20k freestyle at the RMISA Nordic Qualifier (second place). Other notable performances include Ben Dohlby's pair of fourth-place finishes at the Utah Invitational and Philipp Moosmayer's two fourth-place results at the Colorado Invitational.
The Nanooks ended the 2025 NCAA Championships fifth in the Nordic standings with 176 points, with the men and women both ranking sixth with 92 and 84 points, respectively. The championships were highlighted by Kendall Kramer's win in the 20k freestyle, along with Ben Dohlby and Philipp Moosmayer's All-American honors.
This year's skiing championships will be webcast live on NCAA.com. Click HERE to watch all the action.
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