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Show Sports Page Eight SWIMMING & SKIING U. skiers aim for 4th straight title By Mm" Patterson Chronicle staff writer The University of Utah ski team proved once again last year it is the pride of the Utah athletic program. The Ute ski racers captured their third straight NCAA championship and have compiled an unprecedented seven ski titles in the last 10 years. With that kind of consistency, the U. ski team can be considered along with Penn State football and North Carolina basketball as one of the great collegiate athletic . programs in the United States. Yet what catapults the Utah ski program above the other programs is that the skiing Utes assume the role of the quiet Don. With little publicity and minimal funding, they rise from the ashes of obscurity and quietly dominate the sport of collegiate ski racing. Utah is able to accomplish these feats year after year mainly because it boasts one of the strongest and most competent coaching staffs in the country. Because of that reputation, the U. is able to recruit some of the world's top skiing prospects. Pat Miller, director of skiing at the U. since 1976, is the man solely responsible for assembling the successful program. He always finds some way to replace talent with talent and has the uncanny ability to find coaches who can follow in the footsteps of the great coaches that ' preceded them. But Miller shrugs off any individual praise. "Utah skiing has always been based on a family .aspect where the athletes and the coaches are senior partners in the program," Miller said. "One individual doesn't have any authority over the other. It's a cooperative team structure and everyone has a certain say in the program." The confidence Miller has in his athletes as individuals and performers is a large contributor to the success of the skiing program. And his leadership is essentially why the Utah ski team is always such a tight, cohesive unit. Consider last season. The snows came late to Utah and the athletes were forced to train on dry land while their opponents trained on snow for a full month. The skiers began the season a bit sluggish and the Nordic team suffered a close loss. Toward the middle of the season, freakish and untime, ly injuries plagued the team and the Utes suffered another defeat in Colorado. The gritty Utah skiers refused to say die, however; they overcame their losses and injuries and put together a string of races that left the rest of the competition in a cloud of smoke. jam jmmmmm ' : j ., . , .. j r coach Lester Keller Alpine Director and second-yea- r reflects in awe at his previous team, and looks with a bit of apprehension toward the upcoming year. "From last year's Alpine team we lost some of the greatest athletes to ever ski for Utah," Keller said. Keller is a man who speaks the truth. The U. lost four Podboj, Henrik men synonymous with Utah skiing-Ig- or Smith-Meye- r, Gordon Perry and Jim Vogel. The loss of this foursome is paricularly difficult because last season, three of these racers received All- American honors. From the women's side, three cornerstones will not be skireturning. Sonja Stotz, the top points leader in Utah Van Ert Sondra ing history, and giant slalom specialists and Anne Grevy will be absent from this year's team. "It is difficult to lose such greatness and not have some apprehension about the upcoming year," Keller admits, "but I'm very excited about our recruits, and if they can perform up to their potential this team can be the best in V Ute history." On the men's side, the burden of the team's success lies solely on the shoulders of senior Greg Norton. Coach Keller maintains that Norton's dedication and leadership are crucial to the productivity of the 1989 U. ski team. Another returning upperclassman is junior Morgan Mahanke, who was injured for a good part of last season. However, when healthy, Mahanke is one of the most talented collegiate skiers in the country. and Also returning to the squad is junior slalom standout Brent Nixon. The newcomers consist of Jose Depaz from Madrid, Spain; Gard Telje of Osloj NorWayiChris Gibson from Mecosta, Mich.; and Oyvind Raghildstveit from Aar, . Ail-Americ- an Norway. Kallerud has As for the women's team, Thor-Eivin- d and his delight to taken over the reins as head coach, three strong veteran racers will be returning. Kjersti Nilsen is coming off a phenomenal freshman year and top women's slalom racer Vibeke sopho-mor- e Hoff will be returning from an injury-plague- d ; year. All-Americ- an Perhaps the single most important member of the ing Utes, Alex Von Wichman, will be returning to complete her senior year. The fearsome foursome of Anne Kari Aas, Kris Ryan, Simone Brake and Kim Czizmazia will return for the Utes and round out the women's team. t Last year Czizmazia Ved shirted to undergo bone spur surgery on her ankles. Reports indicate she will be 100 percent by the start of the season in January. Her return will add even more consistency to an already gifted group of lady Utes. The U. men's ski team captured its NCAA championship last year. Over past 10 years, it has earned seven titles. The big news from the Nordic team is that fourth-yea- r head coach Brent Lund will 'step down and will bt replaced by Alan Watson. "I feel lucky to have been considered for the job and I'm excited about stepping in to such a spirited program," Watson said. The men have been successful over the years due to the efforts of Erik Baumann and Hans Martin Sjulstad. These two seniors are among the premier Nordic racers in the country. These skiers will bring success and leadership to a relatively young group of racers. Junior Tony Chambers has proven he is an integral part of the sqaud, and joining j nim are freshmen Luke Bodensteiner of West Bend, Wis., f and Andre Kuhn from Aspen, Colo. third-straig- ht Swimmmmeirs emijoy womnmiiiDg Good recruiting essential , coach says Alt squad is Sal Castro.' This freshman from Pico Rivera, Calif., participated at the Olympic swim trials last summer after honors in high garnering ': -; school. '.''."He will be very competitive for us," Reddish said. "After all, he was invited to the Olympic trials." Along with Castro, the Utes added the National Junior College Swimmer of the Year, Joel Bussard, and prep American, Tim Giottofiini to" the fold. . "We'll be competitive," Reddish said in reference to the addition of his recruits. "They will go along way towards filling the voids we have. The talented recruiting class will join a strong nucleus of returning veterans. Freestyle standout Anders Bladh and will both Australian Marc Fraser-Bereturn for their senior years. Other superb returnees are junior Richard Johansson and soDhomore Mark ' Hofelinf. ' . Despite 'some significant losses, this year's mens team is expected to challenge for yet another conference crown. BYU and Hawaii will be Utah s mam compeu-tio- Chronicle assistant sports editor v Some habits are hard to break. But unlike most vices people have trouble avoiding, the problem the University of Utah swimming teams are having these days is rather 'pleasant and easy to handle. The subject of question is winning, a . . . -.i By Dirk Facer i Openings 1988 . ,. habit the :Utah swimmers have enjoyed frequently over the years. Last year the. men's team captured its 15th WAC swim title since the conference was formed in 1963. Paced by senior Shawn Rowland, the Utes outdistanced Hawaii and Wyoming for the crown. The Utes were a very talented squad, but the core of the team was built around several seniors. "I don't like to dwell too much on whatVgone," Utah swim coach Don Reddish said in reference to this years swim team; "But we did lose approximately half of the points we scored at the conference championships." Like most strong teams, the Ute swimming program has a strong supporting cast to fill the voids left by the departed seniors. Successful recruiting is perhaps the most vital ingredient in maintaining a winning tradition. "We recruited quite well," Reddish said. "It is as good a recruiting job as we have ever done." Among the newcomers to this year's Last year, Utah's men's swim team cap- All-Americ- :: , : ll n : WAC swim title. This team is year's strong enough to fill voids left by departing seniors. for the WAC title, ... "We're here to win; we want to win the . . . tured its 15th an - conference championship," Reddish concluded with a sense of gaurded optimism. "I don't like to lose." Losing is obviously not a word used to describe Reddish's efforts. Now entering his 36th year with the Utes, Reddish has developed Utah swimming into a perennial power. V see " on sports - page nine W |
