WALLA WALLA, Wash. – For the second time in as many years, Laura Valaas of Whitman College has been named to the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) All-Conference Team for women's Nordic skiing.
Valaas, a senior from Wenatchee, Wash., is one of 10 women named to the RMISA all-conference team. Representing the only NCAA Div. III program in the 10-school conference, Valaas placed eighth in both the classic and freestyle races at the RMISA regional championships, held in late February at California's Donner Summit.
Earlier this month, after placing 14th in the classic race at the NCAA National Championships in Steamboat Springs, Colo., Valaas earned All-American honors by placing fourth in the 15-kilometer freestyle. It was the third time in her college racing career that she earned All-American honors.
Skiers from NCAA Div. I schools dominated the women's All-RMISA team. Four members of the University of Colorado's national championship team made the All-RMISA squad, as did two skiers from the University of Denver. The universities of Utah and New Mexico placed one skier each on the all-conference team. The University of Alaska-Anchorage, an NCAA Div. II school, also had one skier make the team.
Valaas got her season off to a good start in early January, winning the freestyle event and placing fourth in the classic at races in Soldier Hollow, Utah. Based on those performances, she was named RMISA Skier of the Week.
Valaas established a number of Whitman "firsts" during the past two years. She is the first Whitman Nordic skier to earn RMISA Skier of the Week and all-conference honors, the first to win a RMISA Nordic race, and the first to earn NCAA All-American honors in Nordic skiing.
Whitman joined RMISA four years ago when it began competing in NCAA skiing.
Dave Holden, Whitman Sports Information,
(509) 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu