CMC Skiers Set to Transfer to D1 Programs

Nicola Rountree-Williams photo: Janice Morgan

The Eagles ski team has a history of being a steppingstone for elite athletes seeking to transfer

Before joining Colorado Mountain College’s alpine ski team in Steamboat Springs, many of the most successful skiers faced rejection from Division 1 universities. Their CMC experience, however, has proven to be much more than a consolation prize. It has allowed students of all backgrounds to transfer after building up their academic and competition skills at CMC

For example, CMC Sophomore Nicola Rountree-Williams was not only accepted to Denver University this fall but was offered the highest merit scholarship available to transfer students.

“The team is fantastic,” Rountree-Williams says of the DU women’s alpine team. “In many ways, they are the strongest team in the United States.”

The Vail Valley native started at CMC after a few years competing for the U.S. Ski Team. Having yet to complete high school while competing in Europe and instead earning just her GED, Rountree-Williams was rejected from DU when she applied two years ago.

Roundtree-Williams’ reconstruction

“I wasn’t that appealing as a college athlete at that time,” Rountree-Williams recalls. “I didn’t have a lot of confidence in my school or my skiing. Racing in the Europa Cup, I got into this rut where I thought I couldn’t compete with the top girls unless I had a perfect run. I didn’t have any recovery skills. If I got in trouble, I went limp and flopped out of the course. I had moments of speed, but you need consistency. I went to CMC because I felt I needed to be rebuilt.”

Two years later, Rountree-Williams now feels rebuilt and towering. She made the president’s list her freshman year and the dean’s list this year. She’ll pursue a degree in Psychology at DU, transferring with a 3.99 grade point average. On the ski front, she has nailed her goal of consistency and then some. She notched numerous top fives in slalom and GS on the university circuit. She won a handful of stacked FIS races, including this season’s notoriously competitive Holiday Classic slalom at Howelsen Hill. She credits CMC Head Coach Scott Tanner for helping “deconstruct” her approach to racing and her experience at CMC with salvaging her future.

“We melted down all the facets of my ski racing,” she says. “That made it so I could build another layer of skiing skills on top. I want to show everyone how hard I worked and how CMC helped me so much. They kind of saved my career.”

Fellow sophomore Isaac Mozen has charted a similar journey at CMC. The Olympic Valley, Calif., native started at the college as a 21-year-old freshman after a three-year academic hiatus..

“In high school, I did not get the best grades. I was put on academic probation. Going to CMC was the perfect opportunity to ease back into school and still be able to ski because CMC Steamboat has the best college training. The team has been great. Having these great people around you with similar goals lifts up the team spirit and helps me thrive toward the goal. The goal is to transfer to a D1 school.”

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Mozen heading home

Discovering for the first time in his life that he is a good student, Mozen has earned straight As at CMC and made both the president’s and dean’s lists. Struggling through a back injury last winter, he wrapped up this university season with some of his best results, skiing from starting No. 51 to 23rd place in giant slalom and from 33rd to 20th in slalom at the final race in Big Sky, Montana. Next fall, he’ll attend the University of Nevada at Reno, which has recently resurrected its D1 Alpine Team. He’ll pursue a degree in Economics, Finance, or International Relations.

“Reno was always No. 1. I like the guys there and it’s nice to be going home after a lot of years away,” Mozen says, adding that his two years in Steamboat instilled confidence in every aspect of his life, not only skiing and academics. “I don’t wish it happened any differently. I’m really excited to see what my future looks like.”

While CMC offers four-year degree programs, college leaders whole-heartedly support and encourage student-athletes to use their time at CMC as a steppingstone toward bigger, more competitive universities.

Previous transfer success stories include Ainsley Proffit, who attended CMC for one year before transferring to the University of Alaska, where she earned all-American honors this season. Will Cashmore could also transfer to UAA after building back his ski and school skills at CMC. Nick Unkovskoy also transferred from CMC to the prestigious program at Middlebury College. Jack Reich rediscovered his racing prowess at CMC and then transferred to CU-Boulder, earning a letter and making the National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Team.

CMC embraces the challenge

“Colorado Mountain College at Steamboat is unique compared to other universities. We’re small and personal. Classroom sizes and student-to-teacher ratios are tight. All of this helps students be successful, especially ski athletes,” says CMC Steamboat Vice President and Campus Dean JC Norling. “A lot of them come from an elite skiing background. In these cases, they’ve taken two or three years off from school, and when they come back to college, they’re somewhat anxious.

The academic part is scary for them. But once they get going, they realize there’s a lot of support and they find that they excel. That translates to all aspects of their lives. Coach Tanner is helping these athletes with life skills and planning. No one is going to ski race their whole life, so it gives them a foundation. Some athletes can refine that and transfer to big name, Division 1 programs. They find their way from there and that’s okay. We want people to grow with that trajectory.