Completed Event: Skiing versus UNH Day 1 (EISA Championship) on February 21, 2025 , , 1st of 14 (515)
Final
Skiing
vs UNH Day 1 (EISA Championship)
1st of 14 (515)
Spotlight on Rosie Brennan
2/10/2011 11:23:00 AM | Skiing
It was all happening so quickly for Rosie Brennan.
Like most kids growing up in Park City, Utah, she'd been an occasional recreational Alpine skier but she hadn't skied cross country more than a couple of times until 8th grade. And even when she finally picked it up, it was only because her mom, Wiggy, was pushing her to do something in the winter after her gymnastics coach moved out of town and she gave up the sport.
It didn't take long for her to catch on.
Three short years after picking up cross country skiing as a high school junior Brennan was surprising herself and shocking a lot of people in the tight-knit Nordic community by winning a couple of J1 races at Junior Nationals in Truckee, Calif.
Less than a year after that she was accepted early decision at Dartmouth, with every intention of skiing for the Big Green, which won the NCAA championship the spring of her senior year at Park City.
And then this: an invitation to join the U.S. National Team.
What to do? Put off college for a few years and dedicate herself to the dream of the Olympics and success on the world stage the way so many others had before her? Or take a scholarship at one of the big state school powerhouses and risk the chance of never skiing for her country, at least not while she was in school?
It was a tough call, and one that even today she rethinks on occasion. Fortunately for Brennan, however, it didn't have to be one or the other. That's something she came to appreciate on a visit to Dartmouth that got off to a less-than-auspicious start.
“To be perfectly honest I really didn't want to come to Dartmouth when I first started thinking about college,” she said. “And my visit was horrible. It was April and sleeting out and I was thinking, 'Wow, this is not what I was looking for.' “
As a Westerner, she was used to towering peaks, wide-open spaces and powder. Spring sleet and all those pine trees blocking views of hills Easterners called mountains had her wondering what in the world her parents were thinking when they encouraged her to look at Dartmouth. Then she met with coach Cami Thompson and everything changed.
“I had a great meeting with Cami,” she said. “If you go to a state school and you get a scholarship to ski for them you are really there to race NCAA races, and you are there to help them win NCAA championships. While that was important to me I also wanted to develop as a skier for the U.S. I was interested in going to international races and racing some of the higher-level domestic races.
“Cami was really encouraging because she saw all of that as important. She explained that because you are a not a scholarship athlete the coach can focus on some of those other events and help get you to world juniors and whatever else. That was something I was encouraged by.”
Thompson sees that as Dartmouth's somewhat unique niche and hopefully an attraction for elite young skiers.
“The bigger state scholarship schools bring in a few of the best athletes, from wherever, that they think are going to help win championships,” she said. “They carry small teams and expect a full commitment from those athletes. And then there are the smaller schools that have programs just for the love of college skiing.
“I think we are one of the few schools that tries to attract some of the best athletes and actually encourages them to think outside of skiing in college, and to pursue going to World Juniors, the U-23 Championships or World University Games, or to ski with the National Team.
“It doesn't always make for the best results but we happily send those athletes out somewhere else like we did this year with Ida Sargent. I think that is how we attract some of the best athletes.”
Athletes like Rosie Brennan, a four-time NCAA All-American who last year could claim a second place in the NCAA Classical and a 16th place in the U-23 World Championship Sprint despite a knee injury that made training painful and would require surgery after the NCAA's.
Although she lost her place on the US Team after her first two years at Dartmouth, Brennan is the rare elite skier on track to graduate college four years after finishing high school. While she'd eventually like to teach and coach, she is looking forward to finally putting all her energies into skiing after collecting her diploma this spring.
“I've learned a lot about myself and grown up a lot at Dartmouth, and that can only help my racing,” she said.
Her coach is confident that the skier who took a chance on Dartmouth has a bright future.
“It's been a long recovery from surgery after NCAA's last year but it is great to see her starting to come around,” said Thompson. “This may not be this season where she races the best she will ever race in her life, but I think she will continue to get faster as the season goes on.
“It will put her in a good position for next year, when she won't have school anymore and she can just focus on skiing. She is fairly young as an endurance athlete so she still hasn't reached her potential as an athlete.”
Like most kids growing up in Park City, Utah, she'd been an occasional recreational Alpine skier but she hadn't skied cross country more than a couple of times until 8th grade. And even when she finally picked it up, it was only because her mom, Wiggy, was pushing her to do something in the winter after her gymnastics coach moved out of town and she gave up the sport.
It didn't take long for her to catch on.
Three short years after picking up cross country skiing as a high school junior Brennan was surprising herself and shocking a lot of people in the tight-knit Nordic community by winning a couple of J1 races at Junior Nationals in Truckee, Calif.
Less than a year after that she was accepted early decision at Dartmouth, with every intention of skiing for the Big Green, which won the NCAA championship the spring of her senior year at Park City.
And then this: an invitation to join the U.S. National Team.
What to do? Put off college for a few years and dedicate herself to the dream of the Olympics and success on the world stage the way so many others had before her? Or take a scholarship at one of the big state school powerhouses and risk the chance of never skiing for her country, at least not while she was in school?
It was a tough call, and one that even today she rethinks on occasion. Fortunately for Brennan, however, it didn't have to be one or the other. That's something she came to appreciate on a visit to Dartmouth that got off to a less-than-auspicious start.
“To be perfectly honest I really didn't want to come to Dartmouth when I first started thinking about college,” she said. “And my visit was horrible. It was April and sleeting out and I was thinking, 'Wow, this is not what I was looking for.' “
As a Westerner, she was used to towering peaks, wide-open spaces and powder. Spring sleet and all those pine trees blocking views of hills Easterners called mountains had her wondering what in the world her parents were thinking when they encouraged her to look at Dartmouth. Then she met with coach Cami Thompson and everything changed.
“I had a great meeting with Cami,” she said. “If you go to a state school and you get a scholarship to ski for them you are really there to race NCAA races, and you are there to help them win NCAA championships. While that was important to me I also wanted to develop as a skier for the U.S. I was interested in going to international races and racing some of the higher-level domestic races.
“Cami was really encouraging because she saw all of that as important. She explained that because you are a not a scholarship athlete the coach can focus on some of those other events and help get you to world juniors and whatever else. That was something I was encouraged by.”
Thompson sees that as Dartmouth's somewhat unique niche and hopefully an attraction for elite young skiers.
“The bigger state scholarship schools bring in a few of the best athletes, from wherever, that they think are going to help win championships,” she said. “They carry small teams and expect a full commitment from those athletes. And then there are the smaller schools that have programs just for the love of college skiing.
“I think we are one of the few schools that tries to attract some of the best athletes and actually encourages them to think outside of skiing in college, and to pursue going to World Juniors, the U-23 Championships or World University Games, or to ski with the National Team.
“It doesn't always make for the best results but we happily send those athletes out somewhere else like we did this year with Ida Sargent. I think that is how we attract some of the best athletes.”
Athletes like Rosie Brennan, a four-time NCAA All-American who last year could claim a second place in the NCAA Classical and a 16th place in the U-23 World Championship Sprint despite a knee injury that made training painful and would require surgery after the NCAA's.
Although she lost her place on the US Team after her first two years at Dartmouth, Brennan is the rare elite skier on track to graduate college four years after finishing high school. While she'd eventually like to teach and coach, she is looking forward to finally putting all her energies into skiing after collecting her diploma this spring.
“I've learned a lot about myself and grown up a lot at Dartmouth, and that can only help my racing,” she said.
Her coach is confident that the skier who took a chance on Dartmouth has a bright future.
“It's been a long recovery from surgery after NCAA's last year but it is great to see her starting to come around,” said Thompson. “This may not be this season where she races the best she will ever race in her life, but I think she will continue to get faster as the season goes on.
“It will put her in a good position for next year, when she won't have school anymore and she can just focus on skiing. She is fairly young as an endurance athlete so she still hasn't reached her potential as an athlete.”
Players Mentioned
XC
/ SkiingJohn Steel Hagenbuch - 2025 7.5K Classic National Champion
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Jasmine Drolet after Winning National Championship in 20K Classic, Mar. 9, 2024
Saturday, March 09
John Steel Hagenbuch after Winning National Championship in 7.5K Freestyle, Mar. 7, 2024
Thursday, March 07
