Hunter Eid
UAA’s Hunter Eid of Anchorage has been selected to represent Team USA on one of the sport’s highest stages.
The lifelong alpine skier and South High grad is slated to compete next month at the Winter World University Games, held in Lake Placid, New York.
Eid will be the first Alaskan to ski at the Games in nearly four years; Palmer’s Rya Berrigan did so in Nordic skiing during her time at Western Colorado.
A third-generation Alaskan, skiing is practically in Eid’s DNA. He follows in the ski tracks of his father, Marc, who also competed for UAA, and grandfather, Karl, who created the ski jumping facility at Hilltop Ski Area.
Before he transitioned to the collegiate level, Eid’s career launched on the iconic slopes of Hilltop, skiing for the Mighty Mites. The program later evolved into the Alyeska Ski Club, a team that first sparked his drive for competitive ski racing.
After stacking wins and claiming state titles, Eid eventually joined the Sun Valley ski team in Idaho, where he continued to move up in the U19 and U21 ranks.
Now in his sophomore season for UAA, Eid has continued the momentum, contributing to the Seawolves’ podium sweeps in Canada last month, with a win in the slalom and bronze in the giant slalom.
Joining Eid on the slopes at the World University Games will be his UAA teammates: Caeden Carruthers (Canada), Carmen Nielssen (Norway), Leon Nikic (Croatia), Ainsley Proffit (USA), and Jan Ronner (Austria).
UAA teammate Astrid Stav (Norway) also qualified but will be competing in Nordic skiing. Kendall Kramer, a two-time All-American at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, is among eight women on the U.S. team.
Also representing the U.S. in Nordic skiing will be Anchorage native Alexander Maurer, a sophomore who competes at the University of Colorado. Maurer won the prep Skimeister Award in 2020 for Service High School. Garrett Butts, a Colorado native representing the Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center, was also named to the U.S. squad.
The cross country skiing events will be held on the 1980 Olympics trails at Mt. Van Hoevenberg while the Alpine races will be contested at Whiteface Mountain.
The World University Games are scheduled from January 12-22.