Mauro Ujetto
On Jan. 23, Lily Hubanks ’25 and Amae Kam-Magruder ’27, both skiers on the St. Olaf Women’s Nordic Skiing team, lined up for a 20-kilometer Mass Start race. As they looked around at their competition, the familiar faces at United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) meets were nowhere to be found. Instead, the people surrounding Hubanks and Kam-Magruder were skiers from five continents, including former and future Olympians. Hubanks and Kam-Magruder were also wearing different race suits, the black and gold of St. Olaf was replaced with red, white, and blue. As they breathed in the thin air of the Italian Alps, Hubanks and Kam-Magruder were in Turin, representing the United States of America at the 2025 International University Sports Federation (FISU) World University Games.
Coaches select skiers for the games — which occur every two years — based on the league they compete in, either the USCSA or the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Team USA brought a USCSA-based team in 2025, and since St. Olaf primarily competes in the USCSA, Kam-Magruder, who won the 15-kilometer Mass Start race at the 2024 USCSA National Championships, and Hubanks, who finished second, were selected.
The skiers arrived in Turin a few days before their first race on Jan. 15. In nightly team meetings, the coaches eased Hubanks, Kam-Magruder, and their teammates into their new environment, which included getting to know each other.
“We competed against some of the other skiers that were with us at Nationals, but I didn’t really know any of them that well,” said Hubanks in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. “So that was really fun just to get to know other people.”
The coaches also used the first few days to try and alleviate some of the pressure the skiers feel.
“[The coaches said] we want you to have the best races you can, but we’re here for a lot of reasons besides racing,” said Hubanks.
Jan. 15 was the first race day: the Women’s 10-kilometer Interval Start. Despite the new environment, Kam-Magruder felt normal.
“Fundamentally, it’s the same as racing [at St. Olaf]. You warm up, you put on your racer, you put on your race face, you go do your race, you pull down. It’s just like the people you’re racing against are different. And the languages being yelled at you are a little different, too. But it feels very, very similar. Just maybe you’re racing for a different purpose,” said Kam-Magruder.
In the 10-kilometer race, Kam-Magruder finished 27th and Hubanks 33rd in a field of 74 skiers. It’s a good start for both skiers.
“We were both really happy with how [our races] went,” said Hubanks.
“Athletes out there have World Cup starts,” said Kam-Magruder. “I expected to be a little bit more on the other side of the finish list, but very pleasantly surprised.”
Over the next week, both Hubanks and Kam-Magruder competed in Sprint qualifying, but neither made it through to the quarterfinals. Kam-Magruder and Hubanks raced together in the women’s 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay, with Kam-Magruder also competing in the Mixed Sprint relay.
Jan. 23 is the 20-kilometer race. In the last race of the FISU games, Hubanks finished 17th, while Kam-Magruder finished 23rd. It was an excellent end to an amazing experience. Racing against other internationally-recognized skiers, Hubanks and Kam-Magruder proved that they could compete.
Returning to St. Olaf’s Nordic Skiing team, Hubanks and Kam-Magruder have developed different attitudes due to their experiences in Turin.
“I was pushed out of my comfort zone [in Italy],” said Kam-Magruder. “I’m a lot more relaxed now because I was very uptight about my racing.”
“[Italy] was a pretty big learning experience for me,” said Hubanks. “It helped me come back with a new mindset of just like, I can do this. I can trust myself and do hard things.”