Colorado Mesa University Cross Country Ski Team

Hey! Join the Team at the Ouray Mountain Trail Run!

We'll be at the Ouray Mountain Trail Run on Saturday, September 19, and we'd love to see you there. It will be an unforgettable day in the San Juan Mountains.

The race is a 13-mile course through some of Colorado's most spectacular mountain scenery, starting and finishing in Fellin Park in beautiful Ouray. This event supports a great cause as it is a fundraiser for Ouray School, hosted by the school's Parent and Teacher Together organization and the high school Outdoor Education Class.

Come run with us and support this fun community event!

Info and registration: https://ouraymountaintrailrun.godaddysites.com/

From Martin, the team's coach:

If you're a cross country ski coach, a college skier, a Master, or a high school senior thinking about competing while earning a degree, I highly recommend checking out the Race Ready Podcast.

Hosted by Olympian Andy Newell and U.S. Biathlon coach Brian Halligan, Race Ready is one of the best resources for cross country skiing and biathlon coaches, athletes, and endurance sports enthusiasts. Every episode dives into training, technique/skills, race strategy, athlete development, and the many factors that contribute to long-term success.

The latest episode is with University of Utah Director of Skiing Fredrik Landstedt, one of the most accomplished coaches in collegiate cross country skiing. His insights into individualized coaching, building a strong team culture, balancing academics with elite performance, managing training load, and developing athletes over the long term are incredibly valuable.

Regardless of whether you're coaching NCAA, USCSA, juniors, or simply trying to become a better athlete, there's a tremendous amount to learn from Fredrik's experience and from all Nordic Team Solutions podcasts.

Well worth a listen.

Find the Race Ready podcasts on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1IyiX2uZRK4daSuKoEecQC , Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/race-ready/id1812103326 and other podcast platforms.

Check out the training and development resources on Nordic Team Solutions: https://nordicteamsolutions.com/

Outstanding showing by our Colorado Mesa University Cross Country Ski Team athletes at the legendary Mount Marathon Race in Seward, Alaska!

Often called one of the toughest mountain races in North America, Mount Marathon sends runners nearly 3,000 vertical feet up an incredibly steep mountain before a wild descent back to town. It demands strength, endurance, technical skill, and more than a little courage.

Congratulations to our Mavericks:
Former CMU skier Jayna Boonstra - 16th overall
Greta Bochenek - 58th overall
Mya Taylor - 199th overall
Ruthie Richardson - 205th overall

Colorado Mesa University Colorado Mesa Mavericks Colorado Mesa University Alumni Association

Winter success is built during the summer.

We've published our 2026 CMU Cross Country Ski Summer Training Guidance, outlining the principles we use to develop successful collegiate cross country skiers: aerobic volume, consistency, recovery, strength training, and polarized training.

Whether you're a current athlete, a prospective one, a coach, or simply interested in endurance training, feel free to take a look.

https://cmunordic.org/resources/summer-training-guidance-2026
Colorado Mesa University

CMU Cross Country Ski Team Summer Training Guidance 2026 A guide for CMU Cross Country Ski Team athletes covering summer training volume, aerobic development, strength training, recovery, and polarized training principles.

As this school year wraps up, we also close another memorable season for the CMU Cross Country Ski Team. Looking at this team photo, I’m filled with gratitude for this incredible group and for everyone who helped make this season possible.

Thank you to Colorado Mesa University, our Athletic Director for Club Sports Reese Kegans, the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association, the CMU Foundation, fellow coaches, supporters, families, alumni, sponsors, and the entire Western Colorado community. We truly felt your support everywhere we went.

But above all, thank you to our student-athletes.

Thank you for being kind, driven, respectful, and caring young people. Cross country skiing is a hard sport, and you embraced the training, racing, and travel with grit, humility, teamwork, and genuine care for one another.

And yes, they are also incredibly fast.

This season, our team produced two national champions, with two more athletes finishing highly ranked nationally in their events. What this group accomplished against much larger programs was remarkable, but what makes me proudest is how they represented CMU and our community along the way.

The best part? Every current team member is coming back next season. We’ll soon announce new teammates, next year’s race schedule, and some exciting plans for the future.

With all my heart: thank you to everyone who helped make this season so special.

Go Mavericks. 💙💛

- Marcin Wiesiolek, Head Coach

Back row (left to right): Wes Sumner, Rylan Birch, Jack Lackman, Ruthie Richardson
Middle row (left to right): Mya Taylor, Griffin Gracey, Ellayna Potter
Front row (left to right): Greta Bochenek, Jane Malouf

Our cross country ski athletes, Ellayna, Jack, and Rylan -- Team Butter Boys & a Belgian Waffle -- win first place as a team in today's Rides & Vibes 30-mile mountain bike race. Woohoo!!

End of season get together of both Alpine and cross country ski teams.

On April 9, the CMU Cross Country Ski Team had a live interview on KAFM. While the focus was on the national titles, we also got to talk about what we’re very proud of; the culture of this team and being part of the Grand Junction community.

If you want to hear a relaxed conversation with the crew, you can listen to the broadcast recording here: https://kafmradio.libsyn.com/cmu-nordic-ski-team-national-champions

Colorado Mesa University KAFM Community Radio