by Riley Bauling
Daily Lobo
The UNM ski team has one goal in mind as it begins this season - a national championship.
Head coach George Brooks said this year's team has the potential to be the best team he has ever coached.
That is a significant statement, considering that under his tutelage, the UNM ski team has recorded 20 top-10 NCAA Championship finishes, including a second-place finish in the 1992 NCAAs - the highest finish of any Lobo athletic team in school history.
"This is my 34th year of coaching and this is the best team we've ever had," Brooks said. "The quality of the athletes, the attitude, the work ethic and really just the athletic ability of everyone on the team is what makes it such a great team." The ski team includes men's and women's squads. At the end of a race, both scores are combined to determine placement.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
The men's team will be led by sophomore Alpine skier Christian Jensen, who is one of the top-returning athletes for the Lobos. Jensen was the Alpine team's MVP last year. The only senior on the women's squad, Alpine skier Jennifer Delich, was an all-conference selection last year, along with junior Nordic skier Martina Stursova.
Stursova returns to a team that won the 5K freestyle race last year at the NCAA Championships. The Lobos will look to improve on their performance last year in the NCAA Championships. UNM was in a great position to win the title after strong performances on the initial days of competition. The team was second overall heading into the final day of the championships.
But the Lobos could not keep a grasp on their lofty standing, as the final day saw falls on runs and poor finishes bump UNM down to 4th place overall. Brooks said that the team is more focused on this season and what it has to do to win a national championship.
"The coaches believe in the players and the players believe in themselves," he said. "There are a bunch of things we need to work on, but the most important thing for us to do is believe in ourselves. With that will come the success." The Lobo Nordic team has already competed in one event this season in West Yellowstone, Mont.
UNM freshmen Geir Endre-Rogn and Dirk Grimm placed seventh and ninth, respectively overall, but they came in first and second among collegiate skiers. The skiers who finished ahead of them were members of the U.S. Ski Team. Even though skiing is an individual sport, Brooks said his team's success will rely on the fact that it works as a cohesive unit with a common goal in mind.
"The team has always been individually-driven and it still is," he said. "But now the team wants to succeed together because they see that we have an attainable team goal of winning the national championship.
