Star skier Nellie Talbot discusses Bobcat ski season

Since she was young, the ability to ski has been in Nellie Talbot’s blood. Originally from Vail, Colorado, Talbot was on skis before she could walk and was racing by the time she was 5 years old. Now a junior, Talbot has been a repeated highlight for the Bobcat women’s alpine team.

After an amazing freshman season in 2019, the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic hindered training and competition Talbot and her team.

“The pandemic locked away many skiing opportunities, making it hard to travel and to train on snow over the summer and early in the season,” Talbot said. “It also locked our team into a smaller bubble taking away opportunities to train with outside teams.”

Despite these obstacles, the team managed to make light of missed opportunities. “Now that things are getting back to normal, we have been able to get more snow time in the early season, travel to higher-level competitions and bring back collaboration with other teams when applicable,” Talbot said. “We also now can just get back to how ski racing should be and get back some of the core characteristics that Covid restricted us from as a team.”

Talbot was one of the many athletes this year that put Bobcat Athletics on the map. She recorded her third consecutive top-five finish, began the Rocky Mountin Intercollegiate Ski Association championships with the third-fastest run and claimed the Denver Invitational Giant Slalom title. Talbot also competed alongside Kristiane Bekkestad and Riley Seger as First Team All Americans at the NCAA Championships. 

“I am happy that I have finally got back into my groove after a tough season last year. I was able to accomplish my goal of securing the western GS (Giant Slalom) MVP for women,” Talbot said. “I think my hard work through the off-season and supportive teammates have enabled me to perform at the level I wanted to for this season.”

While Talbot has had an impressive season, every skier has a rough run once in a while.  

“Dealing with failure and mistakes is one of the hardest parts of this sport since it happens so regularly. For me I have learned to just move on and leave it in the past … I have also found that leaning back onto my teammates when I am struggling and being grateful for where I am and who I get to call my team has helped me to move past the bad days and runs.”

Even if bad runs are normal, the successes Talbot and other skiers at MSU experienced this year, have only motivated the team to work harder.

“I am extremely proud of Nellie and other team members' accomplishments this season,'' Bobcat Alpine Ski Coach Kris Shampeny said. “It shows how hard they have worked to get to such a high level of performance in their sport.”

This is Shampaney’s first year coaching at the NCAA level, and he has his eyes set on some ambitious goals.

“I knew we had great skiers on the alpine team, and I knew their level and the levels that they could reach from hard work,” Shampaney said. “I think as a team we kept a strong focus on the process details of the day-to-day training with the mindset that if we did this we would see huge accomplishments as a team throughout the season.”

The hard work certainly paid off. On Wednesday, March 30, 13 Bobcats were added to the National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Team, including Talbot. This honor is awarded to skiers who have at least a 3.5 GPA and have competed in at least one regional championship. 

As warmer weather seeps in and ski season comes to a close, Talbot is eager to see the Bobcat ski team conquer once again next winter.

“My future with skiing is a little unknown at the moment but I am looking forward to spending at least the next season here at MSU,” Talbot said. “After I graduate I am hoping to make it back on the national team, or if life takes me elsewhere, then that's that and I am happy for the amazing experiences I got through my skiing career.”