CU claims 21st national title
Rally for the program’s first crown since 2015
Facing an uphill climb on the final day of the NCAA skiing championships, the Colorado Buffaloes didn’t flinch.
Fifth-year senior Magnus Boee claimed the third national title of his career, leading an exceptional day by the Nordic squad that lifted CU to its first national championship since 2015 and its 21st overall on Saturday at Howelsen Hill at Steamboat Springs. It’s the 30th national title in CU athletics history.
The Buffs finished with 569.5 points to edge four-time defending champion Utah (567.5) by two points. It’s the smallest margin of victory since the sport went coed in 1983, topping the 2.5-point win by the Buffs over Utah in 1998.
To win, CU recorded the second-largest final day comeback in history, rallying from a 51-point deficit to start the day to move from third to first. CU also owns the largest rally, overcoming a 54-point deficit on the final day in 2013 to win.
In the final event of the championships, Boee cruised to the title in the men’s 20K freestyle, posting a time of 55 minutes, 38 seconds to win by 4.1 seconds over Denver’s Florian Knopf. An eight-time All-american, Boee won his first title since sweeping the two Nordic races in 2021. It is the 105th individual NCAA championship in CU skiing history.
Boee will leave CU as just the third eight-time All-american in program history, joining Maria Grevsgaard (2006-09) and Mads Stroem (2014-17), who were also Nordic skiers. Boee is also just the ninth male and 12th overall to win three individual national titles with CU.
Just as important as Boee’s effort was senior Will Koch coming in third and freshman Johannes Flaaten placing 11th. Utah led by 17 points going into the last race and had all three of its skiers finish together, in sixth, seventh and eighth. But, the placements of Boee, Koch and Flaaten were essential to overcome the deficit.
Koch, who also was fourth in Thursday’s freestyle, is a six-time All-american and earned his first two first-team All-american honors this week. His third-place finish Saturday was the best finish at the NCAA championships in his stellar career.
The CU women set the tone earlier in the day by placing all three skiers among the top nine in their 20K classical race and shaving