Photo by: DU Media Relations

BOZEMAN, Mont. – The University of Denver ski team has won its 19th NCAA national championship, marking the end of a uniquely epic season for a team that overcame an enormous handicap to take home the win.

Despite injuries and sickness, both the Nordic and Alpine teams showed an unprecedented effort, making them only the second shorthanded championship team in NCAA history.

“Such a dramatic finish made it extremely exciting for everyone involved, athletes, coaches and spectators alike,” said Assistant Alpine Ski Coach Chris Berg.

The atmosphere was electric during the week of the championship events. Although trailing Northern Michigan and long-time rival University of Colorado, at the end of day one the confidence of the Pioneers team never faltered.

This confidence would prove to be unstoppable for the Pioneers’ competition and a fitting end to a spectacular season that will go into the record books as uniquely dramatic in the history of the DU skiing program.

This confidence would prove to be unstoppable for the Pioneers’ competition and a fitting end to a spectacular season that will go into the record books as uniquely dramatic in the history of the DU skiing program.

On day two DU overcome a 45-point deficit to go past Colorado into first place, only to see it snatched away again by CU at the end of the third day.

Battling hard against Colorado, Utah and defending champion Dartmouth, it came down to the final nail-biting minutes on Saturday, during the final run of the slalom competition.

The race finished with John Buchar taking his second gold of the week after winning the giant slalom event on Thursday, sweeping the men’s alpine events. Freshman sensation Seppi Stiegler took home silver in the event, securing the win in the final moments of the championship.

“Anything can happen in a slalom race,” said Berg. “With it as the last event, there was so much pressure on the athletes.”

The victory was the best collegiate career-ending birthday present for which senior Francesco Ghedina could have asked. “It was the best day of my life, no kidding,” he said. “I didn’t sleep the night before because I was so nervous. We knew that we had a chance to win and we did it and it was unbelievable.”

Ghedina describes the win as purely a team effort.

“Our coaches were confident, everyone just did their best,” he said.

“It easily could have gone a different way,” said Hennie Kashiwa, assistant Nordic coach. “In the end, everyone showed up and did their job.”

The women’s Nordic team had to raise its level of competition as only two of a possible three women qualified for the event. “The most exciting part was watching the Nordic girls,” said Ghedina. “They were just giving everything they had.”

Stepping up to the challenge, the women of the Nordic team were unfazed. “The Nordic women did as well, if not better, as many of the full teams,” said Kashiwa.

Meanwhile senior Rene Reisshauer posted impressive results for the men’s Nordic team despite being ill for much of the NCAA season.

“I think it made the win that much more special. It made it so exciting to overcome it all and to take the title and bring it home proudly,” said senior Jenny Lathrop.

The team faces the reality of losing nearly one-third of its roster to graduation.

“This is going to put a lot of stress on recruiting,” said Berg. “We’re losing a lot of leaders.”

“There’s a lot of depth on our team and hopefully those who are injured will be healthy again and hopefully they will step up,” said Lathrop, expressing her confidence in the abilities of the younger members of the team.

“This is going to open an opportunity for others,” said Kashiwa. “The younger athletes will see their roles and responsibilities continue to grow.”

As its 19th NCAA skiing championship, DU secures itself as the country’s premier skiing powerhouse school. Since the sport’s induction as an official NCAA event in 1954, Denver and its only rival to the throne University of Colorado have combined to win 35 national titles.

Despite an amazing record of victories, the skiers display remarkable humility. “I couldn’t be more excited, it was great being with everyone,” said sophomore and recent All-American honor recipient Molly Ryan. “Skiing is such an individual sport; it’s so fun to come together as a team to win an actual championship.”