DENVER – A pair of newcomers earned Most Valuable Skier honors to highlight the 2024 team awards for University of Denver skiing.
 
First-year graduate student Florian Knopf of men's Nordic and freshman Christian Soevik of men's alpine were recognized as the Pioneers' MVS's for this past winter season, while freshmen Liv Moritz of women's alpine and Krystof Zatloukal of men's Nordic were named DU's 2024 Rookies of the Year. Nordic sophomore Elijah Weenig won his second consecutive Most Improved Skier award and was joined in the category by alpine senior Trey Seymour. Women's alpine sophomore Sara Rask and women's Nordic freshman Maja Moland were selected as the recipients of the Pioneer Award, which are given to the student-athletes that exemplifies teamwork, hard work and pride in the school.
 
Knopf was consistently at the top of the leaderboard in his first season at the collegiate level, placing in the top five in nine of his 10 races and earning four podium finishes—all of which were runner-up placements. The Bernau am Chiemsee, Germany, native picked up a pair of first-team All-American awards at the 2024 NCAA Championships by placing fifth in the 7.5K freestyle on March 7 and second in the 20K classic on March 9. He began the season with top-five results in each of the first seven races and later represented his home country in FIS World Cup races in Canmore, Alberta, on Feb. 9-13. Knopf has another season of eligibility with the Pioneers as he works toward a master's degree in the Denver business school.
 
Soevik had a slow start to his rookie campaign on the RMISA circuit but was at his best in the final weeks of the year, posting seven top-10 finishes and five top-five results in the last seven events he finished. Overall, he recorded eight top-10 finishes, had six results in the top five and was twice on the podium while finishing 12-of-14 races in his first collegiate season. The Oslo, Norway, native led the Pioneers in both men's alpine events at the 2024 NCAA Championships, placing third in giant slalom on March 6 and fourth in the night slalom on March 8.
 
Moritz split her freshman season between both DU and the U.S. Ski Teams while also competing for the Pioneers' Division-I women's soccer program. She suited up for DU in eight college races, including pacing the women's alpine squad with a fifth-place finish in giant slalom at the 2024 NCAA Championships on March 6. She picked up her first career win in the Utah Invitational's giant slalom on Jan. 21—one of two podiums and three top-five finishes of hers during the year. The Vail, Colorado, native came in the top 15 in six of her eight races, including coming in 12th in the night slalom at the national championships on March 8. Moritz also represented Team USA at the FIS Junior World Championships in France in February, which included winning a bronze medal in the team parallel slalom.
 
Zatloukal recorded five top-10 finishes and nine top-15 results while competing in all 13 races during his freshman season. After picking up a pair of top-15 finishes in his first five events, he closed his rookie campaign with five top-10 results and seven placements in the top 15 in the last eight races. The Karlovy Vary, Czechia, native earned three consecutive top-10 results and scored in four straight events during the four Colorado races in early February, including matching a season best in seventh in both the CU Invitational's 20K classic on Feb. 3 and DU Invite's 10K classic on Feb. 9. Zatloukal earned a second-team All-American nod after coming in 10th in the 20K classic at the 2024 NCAA Championships on March 9.
 
Seymour produced the best season of his collegiate career and made his first career NCAA Championship squad, competing in his hometown of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. A team captain, he picked up his second career podium during the 2024 season while adding two top-five results, five top-10s and placing in the top 15 in eight events. Seymour went on a streak of producing top-10 finishes in five of seven races from Feb. 1-23, which included earning his then-second career top-five finish in fourth place in giant slalom at the RMISA Alpine Qualifier on Feb. 1. The next day, he grabbed his second-ever podium and best-career result by placing second at the Colorado Invitational's GS race on the same hill at Steamboat Resort.
 
Weenig produced top-12 finishes in each of the five races he's competed in, including four top-10 results—the first such placements of his career. After coming in 12th in the season-opening 10K classic at the Westminster Invitational, he placed in the top 10 in each of the next four events in Utah. The Jackson, Wyoming, native placed fourth in the 20K classical mass start at the U.S. National Championship on Jan. 5 and went on to represent the United States at the FIS Nordic U23 World Championships in Planica, Slovenia, in early February.
 
Moland earned the Nordic Pioneer Award as a freshman, competing in each of the first 11 races of the season and serving as an alternate for DU's women's squad at the 2024 NCAA Championships. The Andebu, Norway, native had a season-best performance and first career top-10 finish in eighth in freestyle sprints on Jan. 4 during the Westminster Invitational. She recorded seven top-20 results and was in the top 15 four times, including in both the 10K classic (15th) and 5K freestyle (12th) at the Denver Invitational on Feb. 9-10.
 
Rask recorded top-10 results in each of her 13 races she finished while also placing in the top five nine times and earning six podium spots. The sophomore picked up her first Pioneer Award accolade after being named a Most Valuable Skier at DU in 2023. The Stockholm, Sweden, native won her seventh career race in the RMISA Alpine Qualifier giant slalom on Feb. 22 and went on to finish runner-up over the next two days in both GS and slalom at the RMISA Championships on Feb. 23-24 at Big Sky, Montana. For the second straight year, Rask earned a pair of All-American honors at the NCAA Championships by finishing ninth in giant slalom on March 6 and tied for fourth in the night slalom on March 8.
 

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