DENVER -- As is the case with the top teams in any collegiate sport, the goal for the season is to win it all. That's the case for the 2020 version of the University of Denver Ski Team, and Andy LeRoy, Toni Roponen and their coaching staff have put together enough talent to put that lofty goal within reach.  

The changing of the calendar to a new year always signals that the collegiate ski season is near. So with that, a preview of what's to come in 2020 for the DU ski team. 

The Schedule
The alpine and nordic teams are split a bit early in the 2020 season. The alpine season will kick off with the Denver Invitational in Aspen on Jan. 10-12 and then the alpine teams will remain in the state for the Colorado Invitational at Eldora on Jan. 15-17. The Nordic teams will begin their season at the CU meet on Jan. 18-19 in Steamboat Springs and then the Nordic portion of the DU meet will take place Jan. 25-26 at Minturn, Colo.  

The Nordic teams will remain in Colorado for one more set of races in Aspen as part of the Owl Creek Chase on Feb. 8-9, which will serve as an extra qualifier. The Utah Invitational is then on the docket with Nordic races at Soldier Hollow Feb. 14-15 and alpine races taking place Feb. 22-24 at Park City. Teams will then head to Bozeman for the remainder of the season with RMISA Championships slated for Feb. 27-29 and NCAA Championships March 11-14.  

Women's Alpine
The women's alpine team is anchored by senior Andrea Komsic and junior Amelia Smart, who between them have won two individual National Championships, eight All-America honors including six first-team nods and 18 podium appearances in college races including seven victories.

Add to the mix sophomore Katie Hensien and senior Storm Klomhaus and this could be the Pioneer's strongest discipline in 2020. Hensien only raced six times last year but had four top-10 finishes and a podium appearance in five finishes. Klomhaus has not finished a college race since 2017 battling injuries, but is looking to finish her career on top. 

To show the Pioneer's potential dominance in women's alpine, look no further than that quartet's performance at the Nor-Am races in Nakiska, Canada, in mid-December, which was capped with a sweep of the podium in a slalom race on the last day with Hensien winning, Smart taking second and Komsic third while the four racked up eight podium appearances in the high-level continental cup action. 

Senior Serina Kidd also has not competed since her freshman season in 2017. Freshman Reece Bell, who won a U.S. Championship in slalom in 2017 in the U-16 age group, adds even more depth to the team, as does Eleri Smart, Amelia's younger sister who joined the team in January ahead of the college season.  

Men's Alpine
The men's alpine team is also a formidable group that will compete with any team in the country. Juniors Jett Seymour and Tobias Kogler, and sophomore Simon Fournier have all won at least two college races each and have nine victories between them. They also have a combined six All-America honors and 16 podium appearances.  

Fournier was the best slalom skier in the Western Region last season, winning four of the five races in which he competed and reeling off a run of five straight victories that included one GS race, as well. He won the RMISA Individual Championship in the slalom and was runner-up at the NCAA Championships in the GS, earning first-team All-America honors. 

Kogler has been steady his entire career for the Pioneers, finishing 21-of-24 races with 19 top 20 finishes and an astounding 13 top-five finishes with six podiums and two wins while pulling down three All-America honors to date. Seymour is the reigning NCAA Slalom Champion having won that race in Stowe to close out the college season last year. He has two first-team All-America honors to his credit and has finished 21-of-22 races and also had 13 top-five finishes with four podiums and two wins.  

Senior Nick Santaniello adds depth and has shown potential throughout his career with nine top 10 finishes and one podium appearance. Sophomore Tristan Lane, his older brother Colby Lane and freshman Cole Puckett round out the men's alpine team. Tristan Lane took home one top 20 as a freshman at the UAA Invitational and Colby joined the team after making a comeback and not skiing for almost four years. He didn't compete in a FIS-sanctioned race between March 2015 and January 2019, but did win a GS race and take second in another at Lutsen Mountain last March. Puckett will hit the college circuit for the first time in 2020; he was the Spencer Nelson Colorado Athlete of the Year for skiing in high school in the 2015-16 season.  

Women's Nordic
The women's Nordic team will be infused by two freshmen who could come in and compete at a high level on the college circuit. Vera Norli has five career podiums in FIS races and was in the top 10 at the Junior World Championships and took sixth in the 5K classic race at the Norwegian National Championships. She has been as low as a 70 point skier in FIS distance rankings, which puts her in the top 250 in the world and among the best skiers on the college circuit. 

Emma Larsson could also make an immediate impact for the Pioneers. A freshman from Sweden, she had two top-five finishes at the Junior National Championships and two podium appearances at the Roller Skiing Junior World Championships. Senior Kristine Karsrud has three top 10 finishes in her career and was at her best near the end of her junior year at the RMISA Championships when she finished 15th in the freestyle race and 16th in the classic race. Sophomores Sadie Cotton and Gracie Shanley, both Colorado high school products, add depth and both look to continue to develop in their second seasons on the circuit.  

Men's Nordic
The men's Nordic team is headed by senior Borgar Norrud and sophomore Olemarius Kirkeng who competed at last season's NCAA Championships. Norrud and Kirkeng look to use last years' experience to earn yet another spot at NCAA's in 2020. Norrud finished the 2019 regular season with five top-14 finished, along with a top-25 finish in the 10K at the NCAA Championships. Kirkeng skied to five top-25 finishes last season. DU also returns three seniors with Evan Barbier, Nick Sweeney, and Simon Zink who look to cap off their collegiate career on the podium. Colorado native Jimmy Colfer also looks to earn a spot at NCAA after gaining experience in during his freshman year last season. The Pioneers welcome freshman Bernhard Flaschberger to their team this season, a 2016 Nordic Combined Individual Junior World Champion, who will look to make an immediate impact.

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