Featured Image: Mia Hunt racing for DU. Photo: Adri Meyer/DU Athletics
DENVER — The University of Denver ski team has announced its 2026 team award winners, with freshman Synne Bollingmo (women’s Nordic) and senior Mia Hunt (women’s alpine) earning the program’s Most Valuable Skier honors.
Freshmen Cecilia Pizzinato (women’s alpine) and Yannick Zellweger (men’s Nordic) were named Rookies of the Year. Seniors Adrian Minde Hunshammer (men’s alpine) and Micah Steinberg (men’s Nordic) earned Most Improved Skier honors, while junior Maja Moland (Nordic) and freshman Elisabeth Creighton (alpine) received the Pioneer Award, presented to the student-athletes who best exemplify teamwork, hard work and pride in the University of Denver.
Synne Bollingmo – Women’s Nordic MVP
Bollingmo put together an outstanding freshman campaign, recording five top-10 finishes and two podiums in 12 races. She finished inside the top 15 in 10 of her 12 starts and capped her season by earning first-team All-America honors with a third-place finish in the 7.5K classic interval start at the NCAA Championships on March 12 in Utah.
Her podium marked the first by a Denver women’s Nordic skier at the NCAA Championships since Eveliina Piippo won the 5K freestyle in 2020. It also gave the Pioneers first-team women’s Nordic All-America honors for the second consecutive season after Lea Wenaas finished fourth in the 20K freestyle in 2025.
The Raufoss, Norway, native claimed her first collegiate podium earlier in the season with a third-place finish in the 10K classic mass start at the Denver Invitational in Frisco on Feb. 7.
Mia Hunt – Women’s Alpine MVP
Hunt closed out her senior season with the strongest campaign of her collegiate career, collecting six podium finishes and a pair of first-team All-America honors at the NCAA Championships.
She finished inside the top 20 in 11 of her 12 races, with each of her six top-10 finishes resulting in a podium appearance. Racing in her hometown of Park City, Utah, Hunt earned her first collegiate giant slalom podium with a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships on March 11.
She concluded her career two days later with a runner-up finish in slalom, giving her four podiums and three second-place finishes over her final five races.
Hunt previously received the Pioneer Award in 2025.
Cecilia Pizzinato – Women’s Alpine Rookie of the Year
Pizzinato posted an impressive freshman season with 11 top-10 finishes, four podiums and a trip to the NCAA Championships.
The Courmayeur, Italy, native recorded four top-five results, all in giant slalom, while matching her season-best slalom finish of seventh on four occasions. She also produced a streak of 10 consecutive top-10 finishes between Jan. 14 and Feb. 26 and finished 15 of her 16 races.
Pizzinato earned her first collegiate top-10 finish by placing 10th in giant slalom at the Denver Invitational on Jan. 14 before reaching the podium the following day with a third-place finish at the Colorado Invitational. She later recorded a season-best second-place finish in giant slalom at the Nevada Invitational on Feb. 3.
She narrowly missed the top 10 in her NCAA Championships debut, placing 11th in giant slalom.
Yannick Zellweger – Men’s Nordic Rookie of the Year
Zellweger recorded six top-10 and 10 top-15 finishes across 12 races during his freshman season.
The Fex, Switzerland, native produced three top-five finishes, two podiums and earned his first collegiate victory in the 7.5K freestyle at the Denver Invitational on Feb. 8 after placing fourth in the 10K classic the previous day.
He qualified for the NCAA Championships, finishing 20th in the 7.5K classic and 15th in the 20K freestyle at Soldier Hollow in Utah.
Adrian Minde Hunshammer – Men’s Alpine Most Improved
Hunshammer delivered a career-best senior season, finishing in the top 10 in 11 of the 14 races he completed.
The Skedsmokorset, Norway, native recorded his first four collegiate top-five finishes and earned his first podium with a third-place finish in giant slalom at the Colorado Invitational on Jan. 15. That performance came during a stretch of four consecutive top-10 finishes to open the Colorado portion of the schedule.
He also earned second-team All-America honors after placing eighth in giant slalom at the NCAA Championships.
Micah Steinberg – Men’s Nordic Most Improved
Steinberg finished his senior season with four top-15 results and two top-10 finishes.
The Canmore, Alberta, native recorded a career-best eighth-place finish in the 10K classic at the Denver Invitational on Feb. 7 in Frisco. He opened the season by tying his previous personal best with a ninth-place finish in the 10K classic at the RMISA Invitational during the U.S. Cross Country National Championships in Lake Placid, New York.
Elisabeth Creighton – Pioneer Award
Creighton earned three top-10 finishes and six top-15 results during her freshman campaign, including a podium in her collegiate debut.
The Montreal, Quebec, native tied teammate Mia Hunt for third in slalom at the Denver Invitational on Jan. 12 and finished in the top 20 in each of the seven races she completed.
She qualified for the NCAA Championships as an alternate before suffering a season-ending lower-body injury in giant slalom at the RMISA Championships on Feb. 28 at Bridger Bowl, Montana.
Maja Moland – Pioneer Award
Moland competed in all 13 Nordic races, recording four top-10 finishes and 10 top-20 results.
The Andebu, Norway, native posted back-to-back eighth-place finishes in the 7.5K freestyle and 15K classic at the Utah Invitational before adding two more top-10 finishes at the RMISA Championships with ninth in the 7.5K classic and eighth in the 20K freestyle.
She qualified for her third NCAA Championships and competed at nationals for the second time in her career.
Moland has now received three team awards, having won the Pioneer Award in 2024 and Most Improved Skier in 2025.
Additional Team Honors
Denver also recognized Eve-Ondine Duchaufour as the women’s Nordic MVP, Eemil Juntunen as the men’s Nordic MVP and Adrian Minde Hunshammer as the men’s Alpine MVP for their regular-season performances. The trio received their awards at Denver Athletics’ annual Crimson Carpet Awards in early June.
Duchaufour recorded career highs with four top-five finishes and six top-10 results in 10 races. She earned a career-best runner-up finish in the 7.5K classic at the RMISA Championships before placing fourth in the 20K freestyle.
Juntunen posted seven top-10 finishes during his sophomore season and his first with Denver. He recorded his first collegiate top-five finishes with fourth-place results in the 7.5K freestyle at the Denver Invitational and the 20K freestyle at the RMISA Championships.
Freshman Ruby Serrouya received honorable mention for Nordic Rookie of the Year following a strong international season. She finished third in the 20K freestyle at the Western Canadian Championships and represented Canada at the 2026 FIS Nordic Junior World Championships in Lillehammer, Norway, where she placed fourth in the 20K freestyle and 10th in the freestyle sprint.
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