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Eliska Albrigtsen appointed Alaska Nanooks cross country head coach

August 17, 2020

University Relations

Eliska Albrigtsen has been named the head coach for the Alaska Nanooks men’s and women’s cross country running and Nordic skiing teams.

“I am excited and pleased to have a head coach of Eliska’s caliber and comprehensive background to lead out world class cross country running and Nordic skiing programs,” said Keith Champagne, vice chancellor for student affairs and athletics. “She has the expertise and experience to build a powerhouse program for years to come.”

Albrigtsen was hired as the assistant coach for Alaska’s cross country and ski programs in fall 2018 under former head coach Nick Crawford. In November 2018, Albrigtsen took on additional coaching duties for the remainder of the 2018-2019 season before being named the acting head coach in May 2019.

“I am happy to be hired as the official head coach for cross country and skiing,” Albrigtsen said. “Having been the acting head coach, this role doesn’t bring much change to our four teams but brings much-needed stability within our programs. In these unstable pandemic times, it is the one thing that can make a big difference for our student-athletes, and that is why I am truly excited for the seasons to come.”

Since joining the Nanooks, Albrigtsen has overseen each of the four Alaska Nanooks varsity teams in men’s cross country, women’s cross country, men’s Nordic skiing and women’s Nordic skiing.

Following the conclusion of the 2018 cross country season, both the Alaska Nanooks men’s and women’s running teams placed ninth at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, sending two individual qualifiers to the NCAA West Regional race. The men’s cross country team tallied six academic honors in 2018, while the women’s team posted six, as well.

Following the 2019 cross country running season, both of Albrigtsen’s teams placed eighth at the GNAC championships, sending seven qualifiers (two women, five men) to the West regionals. In June of this year, the men’s cross country team ranked first among their peers in the GNAC with the highest team cumulative grade point average at 3.51. The men’s cross country team amassed seven individual academic honors, while the women’s team totaled seven.

Throughout the 2018-2019 ski season, Alaska’s women’s Nordic ski team earned three academic honors, while the men earned one. Standout Kati Roivas was named to the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association’s all-conference first team, earning another individual athletic honor following the conclusion of the season. The Nanooks sent two men and two women to the 2019 NCAA skiing national championships that season.

This past season, the men’s Nordic ski team posted four individual academic honors, while the women earned eight. Before the 2020 NCAA Skiing National Championships were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Alaska qualified three men (a full team) and two women.

Albrigtsen was also present throughout the locker room renovations at the Patty Center, which saw the men’s and women’s cross country and ski teams receive separate locker rooms, a team room, two unisex bathrooms and new coaching offices.

Before joining the Alaska Nanooks, Albrigtsen served as the head coach and junior development coach for the Central Cross Country Skiing organization in Madison, Wisconsin. She was also the program manager and junior head coach for the Madison Nordic Ski Club, while contributing as the community’s Olympic development coach.

Albrigtsen herself skied for the University of Colorado at Boulder from 2009-2013, an NCAA Division I program located in Boulder, Colorado. Albrigtsen was an NCAA individual national champion, placing first in the 15km classic race in 2011. Throughout her career, Albrigtsen was a four-time first team all-American, a second team all-American and a four-time RMISA first team selection.

Albrigtsen graduated in December 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in integrative physiology, and was a research assistant in the Locomotion Laboratory at UC Boulder, researching energetics and the biomechanics of human walking, running and cross country skiing.

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men’s and women’s cross country running and Nordic ski teams, follow @AlaskaNanooksXC on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks XC team page on Facebook.