April 28, 2016 Boulder, Colo. - NCAA Champion Denver took home four major awards, as well as Nordic National Coach of the Year honors, the United States Collegiate Ski Coaches Association (USCSCA) announced on Thursday.
Denver's Dave Stewart, in his eighth season with the Pioneers, was named the co-Nordic National Coach of the Year along with Matt Johnson of Montana State University.
Stewart helped lead Denver to an NCAA record 23rd National Championship, the Pioneer's second in three seasons and second straight in the west. All six DU Nordic skiers earned All-America honors as the Pioneers secured the most points for the championship in Nordic action.
On the women's side, Linn Eriksen (Oslo, Norway) won the individual NCAA Championship in the women's classic race while also earning second-team All-America honors in the freestyle race. Aja Starkey (Bozeman, Mont.) and Taeler McCrerey (Frisco, Colo.) each took home one second-team All-America honor, as well. Moritz Madlener (Sulzberg, Bavaria, Germany) earned two first-team All-America honors taking second in the classic and third in the freestyle race. Lars Hannah (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) and Dag Frode Trolleboe (Oslo, Norway) each brought the Pioneers one second-team All-America honor, as well.
Eriksen's exploits led to her winning the Women's Nordic National Skier of the Year honor. Along with her individual NCAA Championship, she was second in the freestyle race at the RMISA Championships, after winning four races in the regular season, two each in classic and freestyle and not finishing lower than ninth in any of the 12 races she competed in this season.
Colorado's Mads Stroem was named the Men's Nordic National Skier of the Year. He won both individual NCAA Championships, becoming the first men's Nordic skier to accomplish that feat at CU. He also won both RMISA Individual Championships and won eight races overall, while taking second in two more, meaning he was first or second in 10 of the 12 races on the season.
The Pioneers swept the alpine awards with Kristine Haugen (Lommedalen, Norway)winning the Women's Alpine National Skier of the Year honor and Erik Read (Calgary, Alberta) taking home the Men's Alpine National Skier of the Year.
Haugen capped another brilliant season by winning the Individual NCAA Championship in the women's GS race and then took sixth in the women's slalom to earn one first- and one second-team All-America honor. She finished 11 of 14 races on the season with all 11 finishes in the top 6 including eight podiums and three wins. She capped an unbelievable career in which she won four individual NCAA Championships and in 45 finished races, she won just under half with 22 wins. She was in the top five in 43 of those 45 career races and had 34 podium appearances.
Read came out strong in 2016, winning four of the first five races of the season and taking second in the other. After he missed the CU Invitational, he brought home two more top 10s in New Mexico and was seventh in the slalom at the RMISA Championships. He was back to early season form at the NCAA Championships, finishing third in the GS on the first day before winning the individual NCAA Championship in the slalom. In all he had four wins, six podiums and 10 top 10s in 11 races on the season.
