Twelve Lobos to Compete at 2013 NCAA Skiing Championships

Twelve Lobos to Compete at 2013 NCAA Skiing Championships
UNM will be represented by six apliners and six nordic skiers in Middlebury, Vt.

<b>Senior Chris Acosta is fresh off an RMISA title in the giant slalom and a runner-up finish in the slalom, and looks to add to his four All-America honors at the 2013 NCAA Championships in Middlebury, Vt., March 6-9.</b>

Senior Chris Acosta is fresh off an RMISA title in the giant slalom and a runner-up finish in the slalom, and looks to add to his four All-America honors at the 2013 NCAA Championships in Middlebury, Vt., March 6-9.

Feb. 26, 2013

2013 NCAAs Selection Release

New Mexico Skiing Notes - 2013 NCAA Championships, March 6-9

INDIANAPOLIS - Twelve Lobo skiers will represent the University of New Mexico at the 2013 NCAA Skiing Championships in Middlebury, Vt., March 6-9. Seniors Chris Acosta, Kate Williams, Mary Rachel Hostetter and Linn Håvelsrud Klaesson; junior Christian Otto; and sophomores Michael Bansmer, Joonas Rasanen, Mateja Robnik, Mats Rudin Resaland, Sjur Prestsaeter, Anni Nord and Clara Chauvet will make the trip to host school Middlebury College to compete in this year's NCAA events. The NCAA Men's and Women's Skiing Committee announced the 74 men and 74 women selected to participate in the Championships on Tuesday.

Participants are selected on a regional basis from two designated regions for Alpine skiing (East and West Regions) and three designated regions for Nordic skiing (Central, East and West Regions). Bids are awarded to regions using a formula determined by the skiing committee. A maximum of 12 student-athletes (three per gender per discipline) may participate from an institution.

Alpine events will run at Middlebury College Snow Bowl. The men's and women's giant slaloms will be held March 6, with the men's and women's slaloms conducted March 8.

Nordic events will be held at Rikert Nordic Center. The men's 10K and women's 5K classical cross-country races will be conducted March 7. The women's 15K and men's 20K freestyle races will be held March 9.

This year's skiing championships will be webcast live on NCAA.com. Visit the skiing page of NCAA.com to watch all the action. Middlebury College has also established an information central Web page for the event: http://www.middlebury.edu/athletics/sports/skiing/ncaa13.

It's the fifth time in school history that Middlebury College will be the host site for the NCAA Skiing Championships. The Panthers previously hosted the event in 1961, 1972, 1988 and 2001.

Lobos at the Big Dance...

The Lobos look to keep their 29-year streak of top-10 finishes at nationals alive. Last season UNM finished eighth at the 2012 NCAA National Championships and earned five All-American honors: Chris Acosta earned national honors in men's giant slalom and slalom, finishing 10th and third, respectively; Armin Triendl claimed fifth place in the giant slalom and Stefanie Demetz claimed sixth place in the women's slalom; and on the Nordic side, Sjur Prestseater finished 10th in the men's classic.

The last time a Lobo skier won an individual national title was 2009 when Malin Hemmingsson won the women's slalom for the second time in her career (also won in 2007).

The last time a men's Alpine skier won an individual national championship was 1996, when Mattais Erlandsson won the slalom.

For Nordic, the last individual to win a national title was Jimmy Vika in the freestyle in 2003. On the women's Nordic side, Kristina Stradnberg won the classic race in 2000.

UNM's Dozen Dancers in 2013...

Chris Acosta • Alpine • SR • Ashland, Wisc./MIddle Park HS • 4th NCAAs • Four-time All-American (2010, 2011, 2012)
Has two first-place and five top-five finishes in 2013...won the giant slalom and was the runner-up in the slalom at the 2013 RMISA Championships/NCAA West Regionals, Feb. 22-24...four-time All-American: 2010 (8th in SL), 2011 (5th in GS) and 2012 (10th in GS and 3rd in SL)...if he earns All-America honors, he'll be the third Lobo men's Alpiner in school history to earn national honors all four years of his collegiate career, joining the likes of Lars Loseth (2004-07) and Oeyvind Larsen (1990-93)

Michael Bansmer • Alpine • SO • Central Pointe, Ore./Crater HS • 1st NCAAs
Has placed as high as second in 2013 in the giant slalom at the CU Invite on Jan. 8...has three top-5 finishes...finished seventh in the giant slalom and fourth in the slalom at the 2013 RMISA Championships/NCAA West Regionals

Joonas Rasanen • Alpine • SO • Helsinki, Finland/Nilsian Lukio • 1st NCAAS
Has three victories and four top-five finishes in 2013...won the slalom at the CU Spencer Nelson Invite, the DU Invite and UNM Invite...ranks tied for fourth in UNM history for most men's alpine wins in a single season and is tied for first for most slalom wins in a single-season

Mateja Robnik • Alpine • SO • Luce, Slovenia/Univ. of Ljublijana • 1st NCAAs
Has led the Lobos and placed 14th or better in all eight RMISA events she's competed in...recorded career-best 3rd-place finishes in the giant slalom and slalom at the 2013 RMISA Championships/NCAA West Regionals...transferred to UNM at the semester break from University of Ljublijana in Maribor, Slovenia

Kate Williams • Alpine • SR • Park City, Utah • 4th NCAAs • All-American (2010)
Has three top-five finishes in 2013, including a season-best fourth place in the giant slalom at the RMISA Qualifier...finished fifth and 11th in the SL and GS at the 2013 RMISA Championships/NCAA West Regionals...second team All-America in 2010 (9th in SL)

M.R. Hostetter • Alpine • SR • Steamboat Springs, Colo./Denver • 4th NCAAs
Has four top-10 finishes in the slalom this season...placed a career-best third place in the SL at the CU Invite...finished 18th and 12th in the GS and SL, respectively, at the 2013 RMISA Championships/NCAA West Regionals...30th in GS and 20 in SL at 2012 NCAAs...skied for Denver at the 2010 and 2011 NCAAs

Mats Rudin Resaland • Nordic • SO • Kongsberg, Norway/Norges • 1st NCAAs
Has led the Lobos in every RMISA event in 2013 and placed in the top-10 in all regular-season races...finished 13th and sixth in the classical and freestyle races at the 2013 RMISA Championships/NCAA West Regionals...placed as high as second in the CL at UNM's Invite

Christian Otto • Nordic • JR • Waltersdorf, Germany/Eliteschule • 3rd NCAAs
Has six top-20 finishes in 2013...season-best 14th in the freestyle at the Utah Invite...finished 19th and 22nd in the CL and FS at 2013 RMISA Championships/NCAA West Regionals..placed 28th in CL and FS at 2012 NCAAs...finished 12th in CL and 30th in FS at 2011 NCAAs

Sjur Prestsaeter • Nordic • SO • Lillehammer, Norway/Norges • 2nd NCAAs • All-American (2012)
Has placed as high as 23rd in the classical in 2013...has battled a lingering sickness all season but feels good heading into NCAAs...placed as high as sixth in 2012...second-team All-America (10th in CL) at 2012 NCAAs

Anni Nord • Nordic • SO • Tammela, Finlad/Sotkamon Lukio • 2nd NCAAs
Has led the Lobos three times this season, including tying her career-best with a fourth-place finish in the classical at the UNM Invite...was sick and missed 2013 RMISA Championships/NCAA West Regionals...16th and 28th in the FS and CL at the 2012 NCAAs

Linn Håvelsrud Klaesson • Nordic • SR • Oslo, Norway/Lambertseter • 3rd NCAAs
Has led the Lobos five times and placed in the top-20 nine times in 2013...placed a season-best fourth in the freestyle at the CU Invite...placed 11th in the CL and 24th in FS at 2012 NCAAs...finished 23rd in FS and 33rd in CL at 2010 NCAAs

Clara Chauvet • Nordic • SO • St. Gervais, France • 2nd NCAAs
Has led the Lobos twice and placed in the top-10 four times in 2013...is strongest in the freestyle...placed 25th in the CL and 11th in the FS at the 2013 RMISA Championships/NCAA West Regionals...finished 21st in the CL and 12th in the FS at 2012 NCAAs