Fall is certainly in the air around Grand Junction and with the chilly change comes the inevitability of a snowy Colorado winter. Nobody looks forward to this more than the Mesa State Nordic ski team.
The Mavericks are gearing up for another year of cross country competition as they look to build on to last year’s success despite being a program that is in its infancy.
“We’ve only been established for three years. Last year was our first season as an official program and to see the success we’ve had already is an exciting thing coming into this year,” coach Dave Achwanden said. “We’re lucky here at Mesa State. People in the community approached us about putting a program together. With as many resources as we have, it was something that needed to happen.”
Mesa State competes in a league with Air Force, the University of Wyoming and Western State. Each skier competes in one race per meet. Races vary from 1k to 15k.
The ski team had success last year, sending three athletes to nationals. One of those athletes, Brooke Bosman, placed 10th nationally in the 15 km classic race.
“Brooke was awesome last year as were all the kids we had. We have everyone returning this year from last year’s team except for one. The best thing about that is that they were all underclassmen. They each had a chance to get stronger and improve their performance in the offseason,” Achwanden said.
Senior Michelle Peterson thinks the addition of a Nordic ski team to Mesa State athletics is an important one.
“I think the Nordic team is beneficial to not only students, but it’s important to the community of Grand Junction as well,” Peterson said. “Lots of people around Mesa and Grand Junction cross country ski and I think it’s great that we can get attention to the sport.”
Achwanden sees momentum heading into the upcoming season.
“We have eight on the roster, but we want more. We have the opportunity this year to host a meet. It’ll take place the last weekend of January on top of the Mesa,” Achwanden said. “I think it’ll be fun. We have amazing resources here in the Grand Mesa. We just need to take advantage of them.”
With the team getting into the swing of things, they are excited to be able to get the chance to host a meet and draw more attention to the Nordic ski team.
“We get to host a meet and continue to raise awareness of our program, hopefully that translates to more members,” Peterson said.
u
chughes@mesastate.edu