DENVER – University of Denver skiing qualified a full team for the 2024 NCAA Championships next week in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
 
Denver is one of five schools and three in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association that will have all 12 student-athletes racing, with the Colorado, Utah, Dartmouth and Vermont joining the Pioneers in sending full squads as well. RMISA programs Alaska Fairbanks (Nordic only) and Westminster University in Utah (alpine only) also maxed out their allotment (six spot) for the national championships.
 
The NCAA released the names of all 74 men and 74 women that will compete earlier this week.
 
Representing the Pioneers in men's alpine is senior Trey Seymour, sophomore Thomas Hoffman and freshman Christian Soevik, all of whom will be making their nationals debut. Women's alpine features NCAA returners in senior Nora Brand and sophomore Sara Rask while freshman Liv Moritz will make her first appearance at the collegiate nationals.
 
Senior Hanna Ray will race at her fourth NCAA Championships in women's Nordic and will be joined on that squad with sophomore returner Selma Andersen and graduate student Henriette Saeterdal Semb, who previously competed at nationals with Michigan Tech. Junior Andreas Kirkeng is set for his third trip to the national championships and will be joined in men's Nordic by a pair of first-timers in grad student Florian Knopf and freshman Krystof Zatloukal.
 
Below is more about each Denver student-athlete that will compete at the NCAA Championships.
 
MEN'S ALPINE
 
Thomas Hoffman, Sophomore, Manly, Australia
Hoffman found more consistency during his second season with the Pioneers, finishing 10-of-12 races and placing in the top 15 in seven events. He enters nationals with top-10 results in four of his last six races, including posting his first career podium by coming in second in slalom place at the RMISA Championships in his last competition on Feb. 24.
 
Trey Seymour, Senior, Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Seymour returns to his hometown to finish off his collegiate career after a career season. He's recorded eight top-15 finishes this year and has placed in the top 10 five times—both career bests. He posted his best results of the campaign at Steamboat on Feb. 1-2 in giant slalom, coming in fourth in the Alpine Qualifier before a recording a career high in second the next day to begin the Colorado Invitational.
 
Christian Soevik, Freshman, Oslo, Norway
After just missing out on a podium spot by one one-hundredths of second in his second college race on Jan. 18 at the Utah Invitational, Soevik had eight consecutive top-15 results in his final nine races, including finishing in the top 10 five straight events. The DU rookie picked up his first podium by placing second in giant slalom at the RMISA Championships on Feb. 23 and was leading after the first run in slalom the next day before skiing out.
 
WOMEN'S ALPINE
 
Nora Brand, Senior, Munich, Germany
Brand has continued her momentum from her junior campaign where she earned two All-American honors in her debut at the NCAA Championships. She placed in the top 15 in all 12 races in 2024, recording nine top-10 finishes and seven top-five placements, both of which are close to matching her career highs from last season. She recorded four podiums and two wins, taking the top step in slalom at the season-opening Westminster Invitational on Jan. 17 and in the night slalom at Steamboat's Howelsen Hill on Feb. 3.
 
Liv Moritz, Freshman, Vail, Colorado
Moritz, also a member of DU's Division-I women's soccer team, transitioned near flawlessly from the pitch to the snow this winter. The rookie only raced in six college events as she was also competing for Team USA in early February at the FIS Alpine Junior World Championships in France and at Nor-Am Cup events in New York and Ontario, Canada, later in the month. She still recorded five top-20 results and two podiums this year. After posting a second-run DNF and tying for 20th in her first two collegiate slalom events, she finished four straight days of racing in Utah by recording her first podium in second place in giant slalom in the Westminster Invitational on Jan. 19 and her first career victory 24 hours later in the Utah Invite GS. After returning from the Junior Worlds a day earlier, Moritz skied the Denver Invitational on Feb. 5-6 and posted season-best results in slalom in ninth and 11th.
 
Sara Rask, Sophomore, Stockholm, Sweden
Rask's sophomore campaign might not have been as dominant as her rookie one in 2023, but the Swede is peaking at the right time heading into this year's NCAA Championships. After recording her first DNF of her college career in the season opener, Rask finished each the next 11 races, placing eighth or better in each one. In addition to her 11 top-10 finishes this year, she produced eight top-five results and six podiums—including five straight entering nationals. Rask's only win of the year came in giant slalom at the RMISA Alpine Qualifier in Bozeman on Feb. 22 and that performance secured her second-straight RMISA Most Valuable Skier title in women's GS. The sophomore posted runner-up finishes in giant slalom and slalom at the RMISA Championships on Feb. 23-24.
 
MEN'S NORDIC
 
Andreas Kirkeng, Junior, Lier, Norway
Kirkeng continued his upward trajectory in his third season with DU and produced the most impressive regular seasons on the RMISA circuit in men's Nordic since 2021 when Colorado's Magnus Boee posted podium finishes in 11-of-12 races. Kirkeng has got the better of his countryman from CU in most races this season, as he has placed in the top 10 in all 11 events while producing seven podiums and five wins. The 2024 RMISA Most Valuable Skier in both men's Nordic classic and freestyle, Kirkeng opened the season by winning U.S. National Championship in the 10K classical during the Westminster Invitational on Jan. 2. He paced the field in all four events in Colorado from Feb. 2-10, winning both freestyle and classic races at the CU and Denver Invitationals. He battled through tricky snow conditions at the RMISA Championships in Bozeman, Montana, on Feb. 24-25 and came in eighth in the 7.5K freestyle before winning the 20K classic, marking the third straight year he won gold in the traditional form at the conference meet.
 
Florian Knopf, Graduate Student, Bernau am Chiemsee, Germany
Maybe no Pioneer skier was as consistent at the top of the leaderboard this season than Knopf, who is in his first year at DU after racing for the German National Team and taking a gap year. Knopf, who still has another season of eligibility in 2025, placed in the top five in each of the first seven races this season. He recorded three podiums in that time, all of which were runner-up results. Knopf represented Germany at the FIS World Cup in Canmore, Alberta, in early February before returning to the Pioneers' lineup with a 13th-place result on tricky snow at the RMISA Championships' 7.5K freestyle on Feb. 24.
 
Krystof Zatloukal, Freshman, Karlovy Vary, Czechia
Zatloukal joined Kirkeng and captain Jonah Steinberg by racing in all 11 events this year and heads to the NCAA Championships with momentum after a strong month of February. The rookie placed in the top 15 in all six events during the month, including four top-10 results in that time. He recorded a career best in seventh in the 20K classical at Steamboat's Howelsen Hill on Feb. 3 during the Colorado Invitational before matching the results in the 10K classic at the following race during the DU Invite on Feb. 10. He placed 11th in the 7.5K freestyle and 10th in the 20K classic at the RMISA Championships on Feb. 24-25.
 
WOMEN'S NORDIC
 
Selma Andersen, Sophomore, Oslo, Norway
Andersen is set for her second NCAA Championships after making up a DU's two-women Nordic team last year as a freshman.  The second-year Norwegian recorded a career-best six top-10 finishes in 10 races this season, with five of those results coming consecutively entering the NCAAs. Andersen recorded her first career top five in fourth place in the 10K classic at the Denver Invitational on Feb. 9 before coming in 10th in three straight events: DU's 5K freestyle on Feb. 10 and in both the 7.5K freestyle and 20K classic at the RMISA Championships on Feb. 24-25.
 
Hanna Ray, Senior, Esse, Finland
Ray has battled through adversity this season and has still put together some of her results of her college tenure. She placed in the top 20 in all 11 races and posted three top-10 results—both matching career bests. She opened the campaign with a career-high fifth place in the 10K classic at the Westminster Invite on Jan. 2 and recorded her best freestyle result by placing fifth in the 7.5K distance at the CU Invitational on Feb. 2. Ray came in eighth in the 7.5K freestyle at the RMISA Championships on Feb. 25.
 
Henriette Saeterdal Semb, Graduate Student, Asker, Norway
Semb has fit in well with the Pioneers' Nordic squad this season and has brought previous NCAA Championship experience following four years at Michigan Tech. The graduate student came in the top 15 in 10-of-11 races, scoring for the Pioneers in all 10 team events. She recorded a season-high and first top 10 at Denver in ninth at the RMISA Championships' 7.5K freestyle on Feb. 24.
 
SCHEDULE
 
The 2024 NCAA Championships are hosted by the University of Colorado and return to Steamboat for the first time since 2018—the year the Pioneers won their 24th and most recent national title. This year's nationals begin on Wednesday, March 6 with alpine giant slalom at Steamboat Resort before the action 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 night slalom races wrap up the alpine portion on Friday, March 8. The national championships conclude on Saturday with the 20K classic mass start.
 
Tuesday, March 5
3:30 p.m. – Opening Ceremonies (Steamboat Resort base area)
 
Wednesday, March 6
9:30 a.m. – Men's Giant Slalom: First run (Steamboat Resort)
10:30 a.m. – Women's Giant Slalom: First run (Steamboat Resort)
12:30 p.m. – Men's Giant Slalom: Second run (Steamboat Resort)
1:30 p.m. – Women's Giant Slalom: Second run (Steamboat Resort)
 
Thursday, March 7
10 a.m. – Men's 7.5K Freestyle; Interval start (Howelsen Hill Ski Area)
12 noon – Women's 7.5K Freestyle; Interval start (Howelsen Hill Ski Area)
 
Friday, March 8
6:40 p.m. – Women's Slalom: First run (Howelsen Hill Ski Area)
7:20 p.m. – Men's Slalom: First run (Howelsen Hill Ski Area)
9:00 p.m. – Women's Slalom: Second run (Howelsen Hill Ski Area)
9:30 p.m. – Men's Slalom: Second run (Howelsen Hill Ski Area)
 
Saturday, March 9
10 a.m. – Women's 20K Classic: Mass start (Howelsen Hill Ski Area)
12 noon – Men's 20K Classic: Mass start (Howelsen Hill Ski Area)
2 p.m. – Team Awards Ceremony (Howelsen Hill Ski Area)
 
All times mountain and subject to change

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