CU ski team wins title in memory of Spencer Nelson

Peter Nelson watched the CU ski team nab its 18th title in Stowe, Vt., on Saturday.

The University of Colorado's crown was dedicated to his 20-year-old son, Spencer, who died in a tragic fall while hiking the Maroon Bells near Aspen late last summer. Spencer Nelson was a sophomore on the team whose talent, dedication and spirit have not been forgotten.

“It was our goal to do this for Spencer from the beginning, and we were consistently accomplishing that goal throughout the season,” CU head coach Richard Rokos said. “Every single run, every single meet, everybody kept it in their minds. In the end, we accomplished it and it was the biggest satisfaction to follow through. It was a high goal from the start to want to do this for him and his family.”

The golden Buffaloes supplanted the University of Denver, which has won the last three titles in the sport. Colorado defeated runner-up University of Utah by 80.5 points, the fifth widest margin of victory in NCAA ski history.

The ski team brought the first NCAA title to Boulder in 1959 under the direction of then-coach Bob Beattie, who lives in Woody Creek.

"This is CU’s sixth title in skiing since the sport went coed in 1983, all under Rokos, as the Buffaloes previously won titles in 1991, 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2006; Colorado had won 11 NCAA men’s and one AIAW women’s titles before the genders merged. Overall, it is the school’s 24th national championship, including three in men’s cross country (2001, 2004, 2006), two in women’s cross country (2000, 2004) and one in football (1990)," according to David Plati, the University of Colorado's associate athletic director.

The six national titles under Rokos leaves the coach one behind Bill Marolt, who coached the ski team to seven consecutive championships from 1972-78. Marolt hired Rokos in 1990.

“In my career personally, this is the most outstanding of my 21 years," Rokos told the university's website CUBuffs.com. "Spencer’s death put a cover on the season, we all felt awful and lots of people realized, it moved their spiritual thinking to a different level, this was an unbelievable experience for everybody. We dedicated the season to Spencer and we achieved that goal. So it’s a lesson that if you work hard, you can achieve those goals."

River Name / Location	Stream flow, ft3/s	Gage height ft
Gore Creek
At Upper Station, Near I-70 Twin Bridges	n/a	4 ft
Booth Creek	n/a	4 ft
Abv Red Sandstone Creek At Vail	190	6 ft
At Mouth Near Minturn	225	7 ft
Beaver Creek
At Avon	21	2 ft
Lake Creek
Near Edwards	79	1 ft
Cross Creek
Near Minturn	98	4 ft
Homestake Creek
At Gold Park	127	5 ft
Eagle River
East Fork Eagle River Near Climax	n/a	2 ft
At Red Cliff	30	3 ft
Near Minturn	234	4 ft
Wastewater Treatment Plant At Avon	671	5 ft
Below Gypsum	826	5 ft
Colorado River
Near Kremmling	402	4 ft
Near Dotsero	1,620	3 ft
Below Glenwood Springs	3,080	5 ft
Near Cameo	3,740	6 ft
Below Grand Valley Div Nr Palisade	2,160	5 ft
Near Colorado-utah State Line	4,120	4 ft
Near Cisco, Ut	4,100	3 ft
At Lees Ferry, Az	12,100	9 ft
Near Grand Canyon, Az	12,000	9 ft
Yuma Main Canal Ww At Yuma, Az	987	10 ft
Roaring Fork River
Abv Lost Man Cr Near Aspen	n/a	n/a ft
Ab Difficult C Nr Aspen	53	1 ft
Near Aspen	78	1 ft
Near Emma	476	6 ft
At Glenwood Springs	1,160	3 ft
Hunter Creek
Near Aspen	57	2 ft
At Aspen	49	4 ft
Frying Pan River
Near Ruedi	111	2 ft
Crystal River
Abv Avalanche Crk, Near Redstone	610	2 ft
Arkansas River
Ef Arkansas R At Us Highway 24, Nr Leadville	46	3 ft
Near Leadville	85	5 ft
Below Empire Gulch Near Malta	156	3 ft
Below Granite	453	4 ft
Near Nathrop	451	4 ft
At Parkdale	464	3 ft