2024 Seawolf NCAA Championship Fan Guide

I'm pleased to announce that the day you've been waiting for has finally arrived!  It's time for the annual Seawolf NCAA Championship Fan Guide! On the one hand, the NCAAs will take place in Steamboat Springs, Colorado - one of my very favorite places for ski racing. On the other hand, I'm writing this from the Seattle airport, where our connecting flight to Colorado has just cancelled, throwing into question our travel itinerary for the next several hours (or days).

Be that as it may, the following are the Seawolf athletes and coaches on this year's NCAA Championship team:

Carmen Nielssen - Alpine

Tuva Bygrave - Nordic

Jon Ronner - Alpine

Anna Berecz - Alpine Assistant Coach

Trond Flagstad - Head Nordic Coach

Ainsley Proffitt - Alpine

Ari Endestad - Nordic

Sparky Anderson - UAA Ski Team Head Coach

Ella Bromée - Alpine

Leon Nikic - Alpine

Tuva Granøien - Nordic Assistant Coach

Adam Verrier - Volunteer Assistant Coach

Beth Granstrom - Nordic

Morten Kjerland - Volunteer Assistant Coach

Derek Deuling - Nordic

Astrid Stav - Nordic

The racing begins tomorrow, with the mens and womens giant slalom.  We are ready. 

Go Seawolves!

World Champion of the World

 Not everyone can be a World Champion. After all, there’s only one world. And there’s a limited number of sports that can be contested on this earth. So that limits the number of possible world champions.

Nevertheless, we have a newly-crowned world champion on our UAA Ski Team. Derek Deuling spent a portion of this month racing World Cup races in Switzerland and competing at the Under-23 World Championships in Slovenia. And it was there that Derek, along with his Canadian teammates, won the world championship relay. 

I heard the news of Derek’s glorious success from Trond Flagstad, in our team condo, in Vail, Colorado, at around 4:40am. We three coaches were kind of bleary-eyed from a weekend of racing and a lack of sleep caused by getting up so early to drive to Denver for our flight back to Alaska after our most recent road trip.

Trond emerged from his room as I was stuffing ski boots into my duffle bag and trying to remember not to forget to fetch my jacket out of the closet or to look under my bed for any socks that might have ended up there, and his first words of the day were, “I think Canada just won the World Championship relay.”  It took a moment or two for that to sink in, and actually it wasn’t really sinking in, so I just said, “Oh… OK… Good”. I’m not much of a multi-tasker. When I’m doing one thing, I really can’t let any other things intrude and get in the way of my focus on that one thing, until that one thing is completed. So I kept focusing on packing my bags and remembering not to forget to pack anything, but the little voice in the back of my mind was telling me I should circle back to this World Championship news later, because if this news from Trond was true, then our Derek is a World Champion.

By and by, Tuva came downstairs and heard the news from Trond. She said, “Oh… wow!” But I think she was probably in the same state of mind as myself - almost as surprised that she was walking around the condo at 4:50am as she was to hear that the Canadians had won the U23 World Championship relay.

A few minutes later, as we were shoveling in a little breakfast and keeping an eye on the clock (because we were scheduled to be on the road with all aboard at 5:45am), Trond announced that the Canadians had definitely won the relay, and that it was raining in Planica, Slovenia.

Anyway, I guess my point in all this is to say that everyone’s World Championship experience is unique and personal. But most of all, I want to congratulate Derek Deuling and his Canadian teammates for becoming Under-23 World Champions!

Derek (and Beth)

Back in the Boat

The view from the top of the slalom course at Howelsen Hill. (from Ainsley Proffit's perspective.)

 This team enjoys coming to Steamboat Springs, Colorado. It's usually sunny, the snow is cold and dry, and there are good trails to ski on. And we usually get to cheer on our alpine teammates in a night slalom race at Howelsen Hill, just across the Yampa River from Steamboat's main street. The University of Colorado hosts their meet here each year. But this year, they're also hosting the NCAA Championships here in March. So we get to come back twice!

Waiting around for the awards ceremony post-race.

Results from our Nordic team this past weekend were mixed, but with so many Freshmen on our team this year, it was a good opportunity to do some reconnaissance and become familiar with the race courses here in the land of "champagne powder". 

The training conditions are excellent here. (Beth, Marlie and Pascale)

Tomorrow's our last chance to familiarize ourselves with Howelsen Hill's race trails, as we'll drive south to Minturn, Colorado on Wednesday for the University of Denver's meet this coming weekend. But it'll only be another month or so before we're back in the 'Boat for the NCAA Championships.

Skiing at the Wiik's place.

Ainsley Proffit. There's a reason her racing bib says "Leader".

Trond has been letting me get out to ride the chairlift at Mt. Werner in the afternoons whenever there's an opportunity to squeeze in a few runs between nordic workouts. It's been excellent skiing.

With our alpine teammates Carmen and Ella after the night slalom at Howelsen.

The Weeks That Were

Tuva Bygrave

I write this from the airport in Portland, Oregon. I've become separated from my team. They're in Alaska's capitol city, Juneau. They stayed overnight there last night, after leaving Salt Lake City at the break of dawn, flying to Portland, Oregon, then Seattle, Washington, and finally northward to the rainforest of Alaska's southeast panhandle. Meanwhile, my flight out of Salt Lake City was delayed until eventually my connections back to Anchorage couldn't be made. I was rebooked on a ticket that would have had me spending four days in Portland before being able to get a seat on a plane back to Alaska. I don't mean to harsh on Portland, but spending the week here doesn't sound appealing to me. So I managed to talk my way into a more southerly routing, so that I could spend those four layover days in Southern California instead of the gray and dreary Northwest. So I spent a little time in Phoenix before moving on to the palm trees of Santa Ana, California.

Pre-race ski testing

The team spent this morning going for a run in the snow in Juneau, and then out for a mid-day brunch at Donna's restaurant. As for me, I went for a walk in a t-shirt around a sunny Santa Ana neighborhood and played a little pickup soccer with some kids until I overheated because I didn't have a pair of shorts with me and wasn't used to the summery temperatures. But Alaska Airlines told me this morning they could get me back to Alaska today if I would like to go. I have to admit I started getting buyer's remorse immediately after accepting the plane ticket they handed me. I probably ought to go back to work after almost a month away, and I probably ought to see if my house in Alaska is still there and isn't occupied by vagrants or a pack of wild family dogs. But the prospect of three more days in summery southern California sure did sound attractive. On the other hand, would Alaska Airlines still pay for my little mini-vacation, as per our original agreement, if I turned down their offer to fly home today?  Maybe not. And besides, I'd have to go shopping for a new summer outfit for the week if I'd stayed.

Ethan Eski

The last I heard from Trond, the team was on the plane again on the tarmac in Juneau for a second attempt at taking off, after taxiing out to find the runway a snow-covered sheet of ice. So they went back to the gate so the rampers could plow and sand the runway. Trond thought they were putting chains on the airplane's tires, too, but that has not been confirmed. And now the Alaska Airlines website says the plane took off fifteen minutes ago and is climbing through 24,000 feet, so presumably they'll land in Anchorage within the next hour or two.

At the team house

As for me, it's looking more and more likely that I'll also make it back to Anchorage tonight. It's been a long trip.

Storm-day skiing at Sundance between race weekends

Most of our team arrived in Utah two weeks ago. Some traveled to Utah from Anchorage, but many traveled from other places - Colorado, Germany, Canadia, California, Oregon - where they had spent Christmas. As for me, I arrived a week earlier than the team so I could get some time bashing my alpine skis into rocks at the local Utah ski areas, which didn't have much snow around Christmastime. 

We'd have skied further up this trail but it was closed due to avalanche danger.

But some of the team arrived a week later, from Quebec, where they were busy qualifying for all kinds of Canadian travel teams. Derek Deuling will represent his country at the Under-23 World Championships in Slovenia. And Garrett Siever is going to the World Junior Championships in the same location. Marlie Molinaro qualified to race in some World Cup races next month. 

Corbin Carpenter

The US National Championships took place during our first week in Utah - four races in a week. Matt Seline qualified himself for the the American team at next month's World Junior Championships. Corbin Carpenter is qualified for World Juniors as first alternate, but he won't go to Europe unless a team member has to drop our for some reason. Peter Hinds scored a third place in one of the sprint races, and is thus first alternate for the Under-23 World Championships in Slovenia. 

Astrid and Beth, relaxing between races

By the end of the two-week, six-race series, we didn't have anyone on the team who didn't have at least one good race. And most of us had several pretty good races.  At the moment, I don't think we have anyone on our team who isn't faster now than they were last year. We are improving.

Ari and Peter took us all skiing at their new favorite spot - Bonanza Flat

Matt Seline earned himself a new outfit. But he may have made a big mistake letting Tuva try on his parka. Prying it back off her shoulders will be no easy feat.

Team dinner in Salt Lake City on our way to the airport.

2VA

It was a big loss for the team last spring when Toomas Kollo ended his tenure as the Nordic Team's Graduate Assistant Coach to move on to greener pastures.  But the timing of his departure was right, as Tuva Granøien finished up her undergraduate degree last spring and was interested in pursuing a Master's of Business Administration. So Tuva's our new Graduate Assistant Coach!

But Tuva's not satisfied to just hang out in the wax room and stand beside the race trail calling out splits. Last week, she asked Trond for a half-hour leave of absence from the wax room so she could compete in the skate sprint race at US Nationals. She finished the prelim only about four seconds from qualifying for the heats! If Tuva was one of our athletes, she'd have scored points for the team.

We're really happy not to have lost Tuva to graduation last spring!

Our RMISA Racing Season is Underway

 Heber City, Utah is our home base for the next two weeks. Soldier Hollow, site of the 2002 and 2034 Olympics, is our playground. There's a lot more sun than there is in Alaska, and a lot less snow. 

Tuva Granøien has exchanged her racing bib for a coaching bib this winter. It's been a seamless transition.

Part of the job of assistant coach is learning the tools of the trade. Here's Trond, showing Tuva what skis are.

And sometimes we coaches need to wax some skis.

Pascale

King of the downhills today, Matteus Sokulsky.

Beth Granstrom, in her first-ever RMISA race this morning.

Parke Chapin. 40 meters to the finish line.

We're at the US National Championships - four races over the course of a week. These races double as RMISA college races, and they also are used a qualifying races for World Cup, Junior World Championships, and other racing opportunities. We raced our first race this morning. Ten kilometers classic for everyone. We're in our third day into this road trip, usually the toughest day for good results, and we came through today alright. It's going to be a good winter.

Transitions

The view out my window onto my deck as I write this.

The training season has ended. Now the racing season begins. It's winter solstice. It's dark in the north, but the snow lies deep and fluffy on the ground. The skiing here is so good now! There's no place I'd rather be at the moment. 

Before snow came to Anchorage, we had a week of amazing ice skating on alpine lakes that would normally be covered in snow. It was an opportunity not to be missed!

But our team is scattered far and wide. And I'm flying to Utah tomorrow. We have to go where the races are. The word on the street is there's not really any snow in Utah. 

Our alpine skiers. In Yukon Territory.

We've had a good transition to winter. We have a big team this year. Lots of new faces. Our new skiers are bringing a lot of good energy into the mix. I'm pretty fired up to go out on the road with this group. I think we all are.

Astrid. On her way to a time trial win.

Alpine training camp finished up and I made my way off the chairlift and back to the cross-country scene at the beginning of December. It's a safer sport, generally speaking. I was reminded of this last week when I heard the news that Head Coach Sparky had a wreck in Jackson Hole while coaching our alpine skiers, tore his achilles, broke his ankle, and went directly into surgery. His is not a job that's easy to do while on crutches. Get well soon, Sparky!

Sparky

But the alpine and nordic skiers on this team are close, and I was so happy to see, during one of our recent time trials with APU, Olivia, Ella and Carmen come marching in a few minutes before start time, carrying a huge mobile speaker, to cheer for our nordic Seawolves out on the race course on a dark, cold Sunday morning. This is what college ski racing is all about!

Ella, Carmen and Olivia. Making a lot of noise out in the woods.

Last week, we raced the first period of the Super Tour series, the highest-level racing circuit in North America, the results of which are used to select American and Canadian skiers for the World Cup. Everyone who's not on the World Cup circuit was here. Four high-quality races on perfect snow conditions was a great way to get ready for the heart of the winter racing season, which starts in the beginning of January, and ends in mid-March. 

Trond and Lindsay invited us all to their house for a Christmas party last weekend. We had a wonderful time together, but the highlight of the evening was the appearance of Niva's guinea pigs.

Putting on the interval-workout jerseys. At Kincaid Park.

We are a team with a lot of fresh faces, loads of new energy, and an openness to learning, improving, and becoming successful on this very competitive NCAA circuit. One of our skiers told me earlier today she thinks it's gonna be a really good winter. I agree with her!