|
When Fredrik Landstedt took over the University of New Mexico ski program over a year ago, the Lobos did not skip a beat. In his first season as head coach, Landstedt's team continued the Lobos' 27-year streak of NCAA top-10 finishes. Despite illness and injuries throughout the 2008 season, UNM finished seventh at the 2008 NCAA Championships in Bozeman, Mont. The squad was led by sophomore Polina Ermoshina's national runner-up finish in the 15K classic and All-America finish in the 5K freestyle races. All-American performances by Malin Hemmingsson (giant slalom), Karin Ohlin (slalom), Thomas Schwab (slalom) and Tor-Hakon Hellebostad (20K classic) boosted the Lobos into the top-10. Landstedt is the secretary-rules editor on the NCAA Ski Committee. Landstedt became just the second head coach in the history of the Lobo ski program on June 14, 2007, succeeding long-time UNM ski mentor George Brooks. "When we started looking for someone to replace George Brooks, Fredrik Landstedt was the easy choice," stated UNM Vice President of Athletics Paul Krebs. "He has been an integral part of our ski team for the last 10 years and is a graduate of the University of New Mexico. He brings continuity to one of the top ski teams in the country and we are confident he can continue the success UNM has enjoyed in skiing under coach Brooks." Landstedt continues to oversee the Nordic portion of the Lobo program, becoming head coach after 10 seasons as the Nordic head coach under Brooks. Landstedt guided the Nordic Lobos as UNM took the 2004 NCAA National Championship and runner-up in the 2006 NCAA title race. Since 2000, Landstedt's women's Nordic squad has won four NCAA team event championships - 2000 15K classic, and 2003, 2004, and 2005 15K freestyle. During his tenure at UNM he has coached 21 Lobos to 47 All-American awards and two individual national championships - Kristina Strandberg (2000) and Jimmy Vika (2003). Landstedt also served as the President of the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association from 2000-06. Prior to his return to UNM, Landstedt coached at the University of Colorado for three years where he coached the Nordic team during the Buffs' 1995 NCAA championship and third-place finish in 1997. Before moving to Colorado he coached the West Valley High School ski team in Fairbanks, Alaska, to two state team titles in 1992 and 1993. Landstedt also served as an assistant coach in New Mexico prior to his move to Alaska, including the 1990 and 1991 seasons at UNM. During his skiing days, Landstedt was a top national skier and placed in the top-10 in the U.S. National Championships eight times between 1991-93. Landstedt was one of the top collegiate skiers in the nation while competing for the Lobos, earning All-American status after he finished fourth in the NCAA Championships in 1987. In 1988 and 1989, he finished 11th at the NCAAs. As a young ski racer in Sweden, Landstedt took three medals in the Swedish Junior Championships and finished in the top-20 in many national competitions as a senior racer. Originally from Solleftea, Sweden, Landstedt graduated from the University of New Mexico with a bachelor's degree in Economics in 1991 and an associate degree in Accounting/Bookkeeping in 1989. Landstedt represented the U.S. Ski Team as a coach during the 2006 World Junior Championships and the U-23 World Championships. Landstedt and his wife, Brenda, have three sons, Gabriel (13), Adrian (11) and Andreas (7), and a daughter, Zara (2). |
|
|||||||||||||||
