STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Facing an uphill climb on the final day of the NCAA skiing championships, the Colorado Buffaloes didn’t flinch.
Fifth-year senior Magnus Boee claimed the third national title of his career, leading an exceptional day by the Nordic squad that lifted CU to its first national championship since 2015 and its 21st overall on Saturday at Howelsen Hill. Itap the 30th national title in CU athletics history.
The Buffs finished with 569.5 points to edge four-time defending champion Utah (567.5) by two points. Itap the smallest margin of victory since the sport went co-ed in 1983, topping the 2.5-point win by the Buffs over Utah in 1998.
To win, CU recorded the second-largest final day comeback in history, rallying from a 51-point deficit to start the day to move from third to first. CU also owns the largest rally, overcoming a 54-point deficit on the final day in 2013 to win.
In the final event of the championships, Boee cruised to the title in the men’s 20K freestyle, posting a time of 55 minutes, 38 seconds to win by 4.1 seconds over Denver’s Florian Knopf. An eight-time All-American, Boee won his first title since sweeping the two Nordic races in 2021. It is the 105th individual NCAA championship in CU skiing history.
Boee will leave CU as just the third eight-time All-American in program history, joining Maria Grevsgaard (2006-09) and Mads Stroem (2014-17), who were also Nordic skiers. Boee is also just the ninth male and 12th overall to win three individual national titles with CU.
Just as important as Boee’s effort was senior Will Koch coming in third and freshman Johannes Flaaten placing 11th. Utah led by 17 points going into the last race and had all three of its skiers finish together, in sixth, seventh and eighth. But, the placements of Boee, Koch and Flaaten were essential to overcome the deficit.
Koch, who also was fourth in Thursday’s freestyle, is a six-time All-American and earned his first two first-team All-American honors this week. His third-place finish Saturday was the best finish at the NCAA championships in his stellar career.
The CU women set the tone earlier in the day by placing all three skiers among the top nine in their 20K classical race and shaving 34 points off Utah’s lead.
Junior Hanna Abrahamsson led the way with a fourth-place finish, in 1 hour, 2 minutes, 46.5 seconds. Itap the third first-team All-American honor of her career and her fourth All-American honor overall.
Only 4.6 seconds behind Abrahamsson was senior Anna-Maria Dietze, who placed fifth to earn the third All-American honor of her career. She was also eighth in Thursday’s freestyle.
Senior Weronika Kaleta capped her career with a ninth-place finish, in 1:04:04.8, earning second-team All-American honors. It is the fifth All-American honor of her career.
A two-time national champion during her collegiate career at CU from 2003-06, Buffs head coach Jana Weinberger made some history of her own.
Weinberger is just the second female head coach in skiing history to win an NCAA title, joining Dartmouth’s Cami Thompson in 2007. Weinberger also became just the second person in CU athletics history to win team national titles as an athlete and head coach, joining former ski coach Tim Hinderman.
Overall, Weinberger is just the seventh head coach in CU athletic history to win a national title and the first female head coach to win a championship.
NCAA Skiing Championships
Final Top 10 team scores: 1. Colorado, 569.5; 2. Utah, 567.5; 3. Denver, 491; 4. Dartmouth, 399; 5. Montana State, 329; 6. Vermont, 300; 7. Alaska Anchorage, 274; 8. New Hampshire, 192; 9. Alaska Fairbanks, 175; 10. Middlebury, 159.
20K Classic Nordic results
Men – 1. Magnus Boee (Colorado), 58:38; 2. Florian Knopf (Denver), 55:42.1; 3. Will Koch (Colorado), 55:55.9. Other CU result: 11. Johannes Flaaten, 56:59.9.
Women – 1. Jasmine Drolet (Dartmouth), 1:02:38.2; 2. Haley Brewster (Vermont), 1:02:41.5; 3. Sydney Palmer-Leger (Utah), 1:02:41.8. Colorado results: 4. Hanna Abrahamsson, 1:02:46.5; 5. Anna-Marie Dietze, 1:02:51.1; 9. Weronika Kaleta, 1:04:04.8.
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