Luka Riley

Position:
Nordic
Height:
6-4
Weight:
null
Class:
Junior
Hometown:
Boulder, Colo.
High School:
Fairview
Prev School:
Boulder Nordic

National All-Academic Ski Team (2023)
4.0 Club (2023)
Letterwinner (2023)

At Colorado: 2023 (Freshman)—Riley had a solid first season as a Buff, missing the middle part of the season while competing for the US at the Junior World Championships. He finished all eight races he participated in with four top 20 finishes, three of the four coming in freestyle races. He had three top 16 finishes in his first four races at the US National Championships and Montana State Invitational before missing the CU and DU meets. He rebounded in Alaska with one top 20, taking 17th in the 10K classic race as part of the UAA Invitational. He lettered for the Buffs and also got it done in the classroom by making the 4.0 Club for CU and earning a spot on the National All-Academic Ski Team, as well.

Prior To College—He skied for Boulder Nordic from 2018-22 and also skied with Rocky Mountain Nordic. For Boulder Nordic, he holds the team record on the 3K time trials. He had two top 10 finishes at the Junior National Championships in 2022, taking sixth in the 10K freestyle and seventh in the 15K classic race.

High School—He graduated from Fairview High School in Boulder, Colo., in 2022.

In The Classroom—He is interested in majoring in Integrative Physiology at Colorado. In high school, he earned an outstanding performance award in Spanish 4.

Personal—Luka Riley was born Dec. 6, 2003, in Anchorage, Alaska and calls Boulder his hometown. His parents are Peter Riley and Marinka Kartalija, his dad is a critical care and pulmonary physician and his mom is an infectious diseases physician. He has one younger sister, Martina, who races with Team Summit. He says growing up in a medical household has made him fascinated with pursuing a degree in the scientific field. Hopes to go into research in the medical field after his skiing days are done. He likes to play guitar, mountain bike, play th keyboard, climb and downhill ski in his free time. He can speak Croatian. He taught kite-boarding during the summer. He has volunteered helping build the trail system around Boulder.

Why Colorado?—”I've lived in Boulder for the past 4 years and I love the location and the culture of Boulder. Having great trails and roads nearby has made this town a training haven.”