DENVER – Junior
Andreas Kirkeng and sophomore
Sara Rask of the Denver Pioneers ski team picked up Most Valuable Skier awards for the 2024 regular season from the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association.
Kirkeng swept the men's Nordic awards as he was named RMISA MVP for both the classical and freestyle disciplines. Rask was honored with the women's alpine giant slalom accolade.
Both Pioneers are repeat champions, as Kirkeng also won the Nordic classic in 2023 while Rask swept both alpine giant slalom and slalom as a freshman last season.
The MVP awards are given to the skiers that accumulate the most NCAA qualification points in regular season races, which included five events each in slalom, giant slalom and classic races and four in freestyle from Jan. 2-Feb. 22.
Kirkeng had one of the most dominant regular seasons in men's Nordic on the RMISA circuit since 2021 when Colorado's Magnus Boee posted podium finishes in 11-of-12 races. The DU junior has placed in the top 10 in all 11 Nordic events so far in 2024, which included all nine during the regular season.
The Lier, Norway, native posted five wins and seven podiums during the regular season, including winning four consecutive races in Colorado from Feb. 2-10 at the CU and Denver Invitationals. Overall, he reached the podium seven times in the first nine races. Kirkeng picked up his sixth victory by defending his Nordic 20K classic title at the RMISA Championships last Sunday in Bozeman, Montana; his third consecutive season where he's finished on top of the podium in the discipline at the annual meet.
Rask earned her second-straight RMISA giant slalom MVP by winning the last race prior the postseason. Trailing Westminster's Hannah Saethereng by 17 points heading into last Thursday's RMISA Alpine Qualifier, the sophomore jumped to the top of the leaderboard with her first win of the season while Saethereng placed 13th.
The Stockholm, Sweden, native recorded six top-five finishes during the 10-race regular season and has placed in the top 10 in each of the last 11 events after posting a DNF in the second run of the opening race of 2024. Rask registered four podium appearances during the main RMISA campaign and added second-place results in both giant slalom and slalom at the RMISA Championship on Feb. 23-24 to bring her total to six overall. A two-time All-American from last season, she enters this year's nationals on a five-race run where she's placed on the podium.
Four other RMISA skiers picked up MVP awards, as Montana State's Tilde Baangman joined Kirkeng in sweeping the Nordic categories on the women's side. In alpine, Utah's Kaja Norbye won women's slalom, Colorado's Filip Wahlqvist picked up the men's slalom honor and Leon Nikic of Alaska Anchorage earned the men's giant slalom accolade.
The Pioneers wrap up 2024 collegiate campaign on March 6-9 at the NCAA Championships in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. This year's nationals begin with giant slalom at Steamboat Resort before the competition heads across town to Howelsen Hill Ski Area for the final three days of the meet. The Nordic 7.5K freestyle interval start is Thursday, March 7, while a night slalom race wraps up the alpine portion on Friday evening. The national championships conclude on Saturday morning with the 20K classic mass start.
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