Photo by: Denver Athletics

Haugen skis for Norway today in Winter Olympics

Sophomore skier Leif Haugen will compete for his native Norway, in the giant slalom race today at 10:30 a.m., MST.

The event will take place at Whistler Creekside with the medal winning run beginning at 2 p.m., MST.

Haugen was born in Lommedalen, Norway in 1987.

He came to DU last year and finished second in the NCAA Championship’s giant slalom event last season.

Haugen earned two All-American honors for his effort at the NCAA’s.

 

Swimming and diving finish second at SBC

Men’s and women’s swimming and diving finished second at the 2010 Sun Belt Conference  Championships last week.

The men’s team finished second behind Western Kentucky with a score of 857.5.

The Hilltoppers recorded a total score of 916.5, defeating the Pioneers who had finished first.

The women’s team finished with a score 746, which wasn’t enough to beat the first place Hilltoppers score of 821.

Senior diver Cody Stambaugh was named SBC’s Men’s Diver of the Year.

Stambaugh won two events at the championships.

In addition to Stambaugh’s award, DU’s diving coach Aaron D’Addario was named SBC Men’s Diving Coach of the Year.

 

Alum recalls coaching the ‘Miracle on Ice’

Alum Craig Patrick, BA in economics ‘69, was behind the bench coaching during  the “Miracle on Ice” game that took place on Feb. 22, 1980.

Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the memorable upset.

According to an article written by DU Today, Patrick remembered being told by head coach Herb Brooks that his job was to “be the good shepherd,” which meant uniting the teams eastern faction of players and western faction of players.

The “Miracle on Ice” occurred when the underdog  United States Olympic hockey team, composed of amateur hockey players mostly from college teams, defeated the heavily favored Soviet Union, in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Patrick played hockey at DU for four years and then played 10 years of professional hockey.

According to the article, Brooks asked Patrick to serve as the team’s assistant coach as the former Pioneers professional career was winding down.

In the DU today article, Patrick said, “I’ve never seen a team prepared anywhere as well as Herbie prepared that team.”

Although coaches don’t get gold medals in the Olympics, Patrick admitted, in the article, that he and Brooks were awarded gold medals.

In the 2004 movie titled “Miracle,” actor Roland Emmerich played Patrick.

 

Kilde named regional skier of the week

Junior alpine skier Andreas Kilde was selected as Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association’s Skier of the Week.

Kilde received the award, because of his races in the FMISA extra qualifiers that were held in North Star, Nev., last weekend.

Kilde finished fourth in the giant slalom qualifier, an event he had won at RMISA qualifier in Big Sky, Mont., on January 15.