The Besh Cup trophy is the most prestigious award of the Besh Cup race series. The award is given to the male and female skiers who earn the most Junior Olympic qualifying points in the J1/OJ age group in ALL SIX races.

About Tom Besh

The Besh Cup race series is named after Alaska skiing pioneer Tom Besh. Tom Besh grew up in Anchorage and was an All-American collegiate skier for Western State University. He was a member of the US Ski Team before turning his focus towards coaching. Besh's accomplishments as UAA's first full-time ski coach are ledgendary, a position in which he served from 1977-90. As head ski coach at UAA for 13 years, his teams produced one national championship, 19 All-Americans and numerous top-10 NCAA Championship finishes. His 1979 women's ski team captured a national ski championship. Besh frequently served as USSA's Alaska Division coach and was an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic Nordic team at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. He was in the formation in many local events, including the Crow Pass Crossing, the Seawolf Triathlon and the Homestead Hill Run. Besh was also a three-time winner of the Seward Mount Marathon race. He moved on to serve as chair of UAA's physical education department, a position he held until his untimely death in an airplane accident in 1993 at the age of 45. (Source: UAA Athletics Hall of Fame)

Besh Cup Trophy Winners

1995
Allison Deines
David Lawrence

1996
Kate Pearson
Robert Whitney

1997
Kate Pearson
John Angst

1998
Sara Rottman
Eric Strabel

1999
Dianna Johnson
Eric Strabel

2000
Lorrell Gower
Zach Hill

2001
Christina May
Andy Liebner

2002
Kassie Rice
Tyson Flaherty

2003
Kassie Rice
Justin Singleton

2004
Tazlina Mannix
Daniel Clark

2005
Elizabeth Quinley
Nate Berry

2006
Aleta Phelps
Reese Hanneman

2007
Jaime Bronga
David Norris

2008
Becca Rorabaugh
Reese Hanneman

2008 Winners Becca Rorabaugh and Reese Hanneman