Elena Exenberger

Position:
Alpine
Height:
5-6
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Mittersill, Austria
High School:
Bundesgymnasium und Sportrealgymnasium Saalfelden
Prev School:
Austrian National Team

World University Games Participant (2023 Lake Placid)
National All-Academic Ski Team (2023, 3.5 GPA)
CSC Academic All-District (2023, At-Large Team)
Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll (2023)
CU Athlete of the Week (2/26/23)
Two-Time NCAA Championship Qualifier (2022, ‘23)
Two-Time Letterwinner (2022, ‘23)

At Colorado: Career—Exenberger has started 25 career races with 20 finishes through her sophomore season and has four top 10, two in giant slalom and slalom, and 10 top 20 finishes, five in each discipline.

2023 (So.)—Exenberger finished 10 of 13 races through the NCAA Championships for the Buffaloes and had a solid season with three top 10 performances and she was in the top 20 in each of her 10 finished races. She had one of the more clutch performances in Alaska as the final regular season meet and the RMISA Championships took place there. She finished sixth in one GS and ninth in two slalom races to improve enough to secure herself a spot at the NCAA Championships, ensuring the Buffs could field a full 12-skier team and eventually finish in second place, holding the lead at the midpoint of the championship. She had just one top 10 finish in her career prior to Alaska, and there finished three of four races, all in the top 10, picking up CU Athelte of the Week honors for her efforts. On top of qualifying and competing at NCAAs, she earned her second letter and took care of business in the classroom earning mention on the National All-Academic Ski Team, the CSC Academic All-District team and the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll. She also took part in World University Games in Lake Placid in January.

2022 (Fr.)—Exenberger joined the Buffs for the spring semester ahead of her true freshman season. She skied in all 12 races for the Buffs and finished nine, all in the top 20 with on top 10 performance, which came in GS. After not finishing two of her first four races, she went on to finish seven straight before the final race of the season. Her top GS performance was eighth place at the Utah Invitational at Park City and her top slalom finish was 14th at the Denver Invitational at Loveland. She didn’t finish lower than 17th and eight of her nine finishes came between 12th and 17th place. She scored for the team seven times picking up 136 points on the season. She qualified but did not participate at the NCAA Championships but did earn her first letter.

Prior To CU—Exenberger came to CU from the Austrian National Team. She has 13 continental cup starts under her belt, all on the European Cup Tour, with two top 10 and a top five finish, both coming at Hippach, Austria, in 2020, where she took fifth and seventh in two GS races. She has 20 starts at National Championships in Austria, Germany, Italy and Liechtenstein with three top 10 and one top five, taking fourth in a GS in Maria Alm, Austria, in Feb. 2020. She was also 10th in the slalom at St. Michel im Langau, Austria, in Dec. 2020. Her first top 10 at a National Championship was an eighth place finish in 2018 at Sankt Johann-Alpendorf, Austria. In all, she has 140 starts in FIS races in her career dating back to 2016 with 61 finishes in the top 30, 21 top 10 performances and six podiums, including two wins, three runner-up finishes and a third place. Her wins came in a GS race at Chamrousse, France, in 2018 and in a slalom at Oberperfuss, Austria, in 2020.

High School—Exenberger attended Bundesgymnasium und Sportrealgymnasium Saalfelden in Saalfelden, Austria, graduating in 2020.

In The Classroom—Exenberger is undecided on a major at Colorado.

Personal—Elena Exenberger was born Dec. 13, 2000, in Mittersill, Austria. Her parents are Monika and Helmut Exenberger. She has an older sister, Celine. Her hobbies include skiing, tennis, golf and hanging out with friends.

Why Colorado?—”I heard it’s the best!”