DENVER— The RMISA announced its Nordic discipline MVP awards Thursday, recognizing the top performers across the four Nordic events during the 2026 season. Colorado’s Tilde Baangman and Storm Pedersen joined Utah’s Erica Laven and Montana State’s Simon Chappaz as the conference’s Nordic MVP honorees.
Laven captured the Women’s Classic MVP after winning all four classic races she entered this season. Her 160 points secured the title despite not competing in the fifth race. The Utah standout finished seven points ahead of teammate Sofia Pedersen, who recorded one second-place finish and four fifth-place finishes across the five races. Colorado’s Baangman also remained in contention through the season, earning 145 points with finishes of first, second, and two thirds across the four races she competed in.
In women’s freestyle, Baangman claimed the MVP after posting two victories along with third- and fourth-place finishes in the four freestyle races. She totaled 145 points to win the award by more than 45 points, becoming the only RMISA skier to compete in all four freestyle races and finish in the top 10 in each.
Chappaz secured the Men’s Freestyle MVP following a tightly contested season that came down to the final race. The Montana State skier recorded finishes of second, third and fifth in three of the four races and totaled 116 points to narrowly edge Denver’s Yannik Zellweger, who finished with 113 points. The two entered the final race tied in the standings, and Chappaz’s runner-up finish to Zellweger’s third-place result proved to be the deciding margin.
The men’s freestyle standings featured one of the tightest races of the season, with six skiers still mathematically in contention entering the final event. Five of those skiers finished second through sixth in the race to ultimately determine the final MVP standings.
Pedersen was named the Men’s Classic MVP after closing the season with a late surge. The Colorado freshman finished all five classic races and posted four straight top-five finishes to end the year, including a win and a third-place finish in the final two events. Pedersen separated from the field at the CU Invitational, where his strong finish secured the discipline title.