WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Laura Valaas, who developed into a world-class Nordic skier over the past four years at Whitman College, was named Female Athlete of the Year Monday evening at the 30th Annual Blue Mountain Youth Recognition Evening at the Marcus Whitman Hotel.
Valaas, a three-time NCAA All-American, is the second Whitman woman to win the award in the past three years. Denise Kirstein, the Northwest Conference Player of the Year in women’s volleyball in the fall of 2003, won the Blue Mountain award as the top female athlete in the spring of 2004.
Valaas, who graduated magna cum laude from Whitman on Sunday, was traveling to Peru on Monday and unable to attend the banquet. Her coach, Nathan Alsobrook, accepted the award in her place.
"Laura is the most talented and dedicated skier I've ever worked with,” Alsbrook says. “Winning this award is a great honor for a very deserving athlete."
The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin newspaper administers the Blue Mountain sports awards program, which recognizes high school and college athletes, teams and coaches in the newspaper's coverage area. Carl Jones, a standout swimmer at Walla Walla High School, was named Male Athlete of the Year, while Jeremy Claridge, a basketball player at Walla Walla College, was tabbed as Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The boys soccer team at Milton-Freewater's McLoughin High School, which won an Oregon state title last fall, was named Team of the Year, and its coach, Jose Garcia, was handed Coach of the Year honors.
Valaas, a graduate of Wenatchee (Wash.) High School, capped her college ski career in March by placing fourth in the women’s 15-kilometer freestyle at the NCAA National Ski Championships in Steamboat Springs, Colo. It was her third NCAA All-American performance in the past two years. Competing in the 2005 championships, she placed fifth in the classic and ninth in the freestyle.
In sponsoring skiing, the NCAA does not divide schools between three divisions as it does with most sports. Schools of all sizes compete in the same national ski championship. That means Valaas earned All-American honors against athletes at much larger NCAA Div. I schools, most of which give athletic scholarships to top skiers from Europe and other foreign countries. As an NCAA Div. III school with an enrollment of about 1,450 students, Whitman does not give athletic scholarships.
In January, Valaas became the first U.S.-born athlete in nearly two years to win a women’s Nordic race at one of the NCAA’s Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) events.
Also in January, competing against a field of U.S. Olympic Team hopefuls, Valaas placed third in the freestyle sprint at U.S. Nationals. She narrowly missed snaring a spot on the American Olympic squad that competed in February at the Winter Games in Torino, Italy. She was named instead to represent the U.S. at the Under-23 World Cross Country Ski Championships in Kranj, Slovakia, where she placed 14th in the freestyle sprint.
In February, Valaas was featured in an episode of NCAA on Campus, which airs nationally on the Fox Sports Network. NCAA on Campus is a monthly 30-minute look at the challenges and achievements of student-athletes in all three NCAA divisions.
Following her senior ski season, Valaas helped the Whitman club cycling team win its second consecutive National College Cycling Association (NCCA) Div. II championship. She was a key contributor to the team title, placing fourth in the both the road race and criterium while helping the Whitman women win their third straight national team time trial event.
Valaas, who majored in applied mathematics with minors in physics and gender studies, plans to pursue graduate studies in mechanical engineering while continuing her athletic career as an elite skier. Her long-range goal is to make the 2010 U.S. Olympic Team.
Dave Holden, Whitman Sports Information,
(509) 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu