The UW Men’s Nordic Ski won the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard National Championship for the third year in a row on Saturday.
The win marks the seventh overall national championship for the UW men’s team
“Our men have completed the trifecta,” UW Coach Christine Boggs said. “They won every team event and the overall national championship for three straight years. This is an historic event in USCSA and UW history.”
The tournament featured 555 collegiate athletes representing 66 different universities across six regions, competing in 24 events during a five-day period.
Leading into the final event day on Saturday, the UW men’s team held a 33-point lead over the runner-up club and regional rival, Western State College University.
In addition, Will Timmons, a senior from Anchorage, Alaska, clinched his second individual overall national championship by taking second in the 15 km skate race at the USCSA Championships.
Timmons’ overall title made him only the second UW men’s skier to ever win two individual national championships. The only other Cowboy to do so, Kyle Bochanski, helped coach this year’s team.
Additional UW club members found individual success, with Mason Vincent finishing fourth in the overall standings, Sam Wiswell sixth and Trevor Willoughby ninth, to achieve first-team All-America status.
Meanwhile, the Cowgirls finished third in the race, just five points behind St. Olaf College and four points behind Clarkson University. The Cowgirls have placed second at the USCSA championships the past two seasons.
Standouts from the women’s team were Yara Thomas and Meghan Kent, who finished fifth and seventh respectively.
“The athletes this year have been dedicated for the entire three years, never wavering in their dedication and commitment and they were rewarded well!” Boggs said.
As a club sport, the UW Nordic Ski teams are unable to recruit through giving out scholarships. Biggs said she hopes that the teams’ success will help them bring in athletes in the future.
“We certainly hope it will have an impact because half of our men’s team and the top two women are graduating this year so we’ll be rebuilding for next season,” Boggs said. “We are always looking for more people who want to see how far they can go or just learn to ski race.”
