Rehemaa, Hardy named Ski Racing college skiers of the year

Rehemaa, Hardy named Ski Racing college skiers of the year{mosimage}Ski Racing magazine 2005-06 awards
College skier of the year
Female: Jana Rehemaa
Age: 26 Hometown: Tartu, Estonia College: University of Colorado, senior

Jana Rehemaa came to the University of Colorado in 2003, the same year her cousin, Katrin Smigun, matriculated at Utah. While Smigun won everything, Rehemaa was a consistent fourth-place finisher. The next year, she finished just off the podium again in both NCAA races. An eligibility snafu kept her off the Buffaloes roster last year, but she came back with one goal: win two national collegiate titles. After racing several World Cups in an attempt to make the Estonian Olympic team (along with cousin Kristina Smigun), she returned to Boulder in time for the Colorado Invitational. Tired from her travels, she finished second in both freestyle and classic. But that was the last time she saw anything but the highest step on the podium. At NCAAs, she fought off fatigue and skied away from her rivals in the final kilometers of both races and added two more NCAA titles to the family trophy cabinet.

College skier of the year
Male: Greg Hardy
Age: 22 Hometown: Stratton, Vermont College: University of Vermont, sophomore

No one dominated college skiing this year more than Greg Hardy. He carried the momentum from last season’s double medals at NCAAs — a gold in GS, bronze in slalom — into the 2005-06 season. Although he didn’t score any hardware at 2006 NCAAs, he won seven of 12 EISA races — both slalom and GS — and led the EISA rankings in both disciplines. He was never less than a half-second ahead of the runner-up, making it clear his goal is to regain a spot on the U.S. Ski Team. But he’s more relaxed about his goal, and it showed in his skiing. “I’d love to make the U.S. Ski Team again,” he said at the UVM Carnival, “but it’s not the end of the world if I don’t. It’s just all about a passion for ski racing, that’s what I’m realizing.”