University of Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame
Chris D. Mikell 1982 - Skiing
Chris Mikell, a 1992 UVM Hall of Fame inductee, was a former NCAA giant slalom champion and Ski Racing magazine Collegiate Skier of the Year in 1979. This two-time first-team All-American was a key member of UVM's first NCAA national championship team in 1980.
He and Hall of Famer Scott Light '80, helped lead the Catamounts to the NCAA men's ski title at Stowe. It was the first NCAA team title in any sport at UVM. In 1979, Mikell won the NCAA giant slalom individual title at Steamboat Springs, Colo. and that spring Ski Racing magazine would name him the nation's top collegiate ski racer. Beginning with the 1980 title at Stowe, UVM's ski team began a stretch where it has been the most consistent - if not dominant - team in the nation.
Starting in 1983 at Bozeman, Mont., the NCAA Championships became a combined men and women's event. Since that time, Vermont has won three NCAA titles (1989, 1990, and 1992), going for its fourth next March at Steamboat where Mikell earned his GS individual title. Chris, a member of the U.S. Shi Team in 1979 and 1980, won 18 carnival events in slalom and/or giant slalom and was All-East for four years.
After graduation, he competed on the Peugeot Professional Racing tour and was named "Rookie of the Year" in 1982.
