University of Wyoming
I knew I wanted to race in college when I was in 7th grade. I decided my senior year of high school that I would race for the University of Wyoming (UWYO) in Laramie, Wyoming. I chose UWYO for several reasons. The number one reason was in-state tuition. It seemed practical to get a higher level education and be able to ski for cheap! Another reason I chose here was I wanted the “D1 experience”. Wyoming is not a huge school, but it has the college town, school pride vibe I was looking for. Lastly, I was completely convinced to go to UWYO by the coaches and several of the team members after I attended the Memorial Day Ski Camp hosted by the team. The coaches promised me a spot on team, something that I so desperately wanted after training by myself the last four years. When the coaches weren’t around ;) the team told wild stories and joked around, adding to my want to be a part of that!
After a summer of training in Anchorage, Alaska, I moved to Laramie to start my first year of college the fall of 2018. I had a lot of fun running around the Happy Jack trails, rollerskiing next to Interstate 80 while semi trucks honked and cheered at us, and attending the Friday night football games. The team traveled to Colorado frequently because our coaches grew up there, and it provided great rollerski trails and early on-snow skiing.
Additionally, I chose to redshirt my year at UWYO because of an ankle injury. Taking a redshirt year, or development year, means that you are on the team, but do not take points for yourself or the team. Most college athletes do this so that they can race an additional year (five rather than the traditional four). I was hoping to gain more strength and speed after taking a season to recover from the ankle injury. Here are a few season highlights I am proud of.
Finished the season unofficially ranked 5th (redshirt).
In the Rocky Mountain Division, the women’s team finished the season in 1st place. My top individual finish was 3rd place. My top relay team finish was also 3rd place.
Elected Women’s Team captain for the 2019/2020 season.
Unfortunately I wasn’t as healthy as I should have been to be successful in both athletics and academics. I ended up spending too many nights in the UrgentCare with three rounds of antibiotics to treat bronchitis, apnea, and later being diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Not an ideal freshman year! Additionally, I did not fit into the team dynamics and this made training, competing, and general interactions very difficult.
By the end of the season I was so physically and emotionally drained that I wanted to quit skiing all together. I did not go to one practice, team dinner, or event after the season officially ended. I no longer socialized with people, in general, and I fell behind in my academics to the point I failed my first class (oops).
This was a very low time so I decided to go back to Anchorage for the summer to reset and train. It was there, in late August, that I decided I would be a fool if I left such an amazing place, so I transferred to Alaska Pacific University! This is also when I decided to do biathlon, something I have wanted to try for years.
I also put together a poorly edited video of the fun memories that were had at UWYO. You can watch it here.
