After sitting out most of the past two seasons with injuries and to give birth to her first child, Sarah Schleper of Vail has been cross-training at the family’s lake in Minnesota with an eye on returning to the World Cup skiing circuit this fall.
Schleper says she’s been swimming across Big Watab Lake and training at the Saint John’s University gym. U.S. Ski Team women’s alpine coach Jim Tracy says she’s close to her old form. “She’s still got some work to do,” Tracy said, “but I was seeing multiple turns in a row that looked exactly like they did when she was at her best a few years back. It’s really encouraging to see that.”
The World Cup season opens Oct. 25 with a giant slalom in Soelden, Austria. Aspen will stage a women’s giant slalom and slalom on Thanksgiving weekend.
UNC has bear of a schedule.
University of Northern Colorado wrestling coach Jack Maughan says the schedule released Wednesday is “arguably one of the toughest schedules any of our sports has undertaken at Northern Colorado.” The Bears will be attempting to qualify for the NCAA West Regional, which they will host March 7 at Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion.
UNC will face Minnesota, the 2007 NCAA champion, and North Dakota State and Portland State at the Northern Duals in Rochester, Minn., on Nov. 29. The Bears get a crack at Oklahoma State, champs from 2003-06, in a dual in Stillwater, Okla., on Dec. 5.
“Minnesota and Oklahoma State have won seven of the last eight national championships, and to have both on your schedule is tremendously challenging,” Maughan said. “That is the reason why we went back to Division I, though, to go back to competing against the absolute best. It’s a rigorous schedule, so we can hopefully get individuals to go deep into the NCAA Tournament at the end of the year.”
The Bears also face traditional powerhouses Nebraska and Michigan on Jan. 3 in Lincoln, Neb. The home schedule includes the Northern Colorado Open on Nov. 23 and Western Wrestling Conference opponents Northern Iowa (Jan. 16) and Wyoming (Feb. 25).
