Weinberger, Wolk, Luczak from University of Colorado Pick Up National Postseason Honors

Press Release provided by: The University of Colorado

Featured Image: Magdalena Luczak. Credit: University of Colorado

Head coach Jana Weinberger, former assistant alpine coach Chad Wolk and sophomore Magdalena Luczak were all honored with national coach and skier of the year honors by the United States Collegiate Ski Coaches Association. 

Weinberger was named the National Nordic Coach of the Year, Wolk was named the National Alpine Coach of the Year and Luczak was named the National Women’s Alpine National Skier of the Year.  Weinberger was also named the RMISA Nordic Coach of the Year by the league’s coaches, announced earlier this week.

It’s the first time CU has had either the Nordic or alpine coach of the year since 2015, the last time CU won the NCAA Championship, when Richard Rokos (alpine) and Bruce Cranmer (Nordic) won the honors.  Rokos also won in 2013 and was presented with the honor several other times in his 31-year career but generally declined to accept the award. 

Luczak is the first women’s alpine skier at CU to win National Skier of the Year since Mikaela Tommy did so in 2020.  The most recent skier to take home a national skier of the year award was Filip Forejtek in 2022, winning the award for men’s alpine.  Overall dating back to 2008 with the Coaches Association, FasterSkier and Ski Racing Magazine, she is the 12th skier to win a national skier of the year award in those 17 seasons. 

Weinberger and the Buffs were responsible for one of the more dramatic NCAA Championships in quite some time.  The Buffs, down 57 points midway through the championship and 51 points entering the final day, orchestrated the largest halftime deficit and second-largest final-day comeback in the event’s history while also winning by just two points, the smallest margin in the modern scoring era. 

It was Weinberger’s Nordic Buffs who were responsible for the final day comeback, as the Buffs went from third place and 51 points down prior to the women’s race to within 17 points and second place with just the men’s 20K classic race left.  CU’s Magnus Boee won the men’s race with Will Koch taking third and Johannes Flaaten taking 11th as CU outscored Utah by 19 points in that race to win the meet, 569.5-567.5 over the five-time defending champion Utes. 

CU claimed the mythical Nordic National Championship with 295 points and CU’s men’s point total of 177 points were also tops at the championship.

Wolk came to CU as the assistant alpine coach prior to the 2022 season and after a successful alpine season for the Buffs, he was thrust into the interim head alpine coaching position a mere days before the start of the 2023 season before returning to the assistant coach spot for the 2024 season.  Colorado won six of the 12 individual NCAA alpine championships in his three years, including three in 2024 when Magdalena Luczak won the women’s GS race and she along with Filip Wahlqvist, swept the slalom titles to keep the Buffs within reach on super intense night slalom on Howelsen Hill in Steamboat Springs on the penultimate day of the championships. 

After the season, Wolk was name the Head Coach of the FIS Alpine Program for the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. 

On the strength of her individual NCAA Championship sweep, Luczak was named the National Women’s Alpine Skier of the Year.  One of the more dominating seasons in recent memory, Luczak skied in six collegiate races in 2024 and finished first four times and second twice, earning an overall record of 174-2.  She picked up two first-team All-America honors and was named first-team All-RMISA, as well.