STATELINE, Nev. — Gunnar Barnwell is taking the next step in his education and ski racing career.

The Whittell High School graduate will be attending Colorado Mountain College in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

On a day where the NFL was drafting its 2021 class, CMC head coach Scott Tanner was busy putting together his roster for the next powerhouse ski team in the Rocky Mountains.

Tanner has coached ski racers in Colorado for the past 25 years initially for Team Breckenridge in Summit County and then for the Steamboat Spring Winter Sports Club. He’s been head coach at CMC since 2018.

While working as head FIS coach at both programs, Tanner coached many future college racers and NCAA All-Americans.

More recently, he coached for the U.S. Ski Team’s National University Team, which was composed of the top collegiate racers in the country.

“I’m looking for athletes who want to continue ski racing at a high level, while earning a college degree,” he said.

Barnwell, a former standout athlete at Whittell and Nevada slalom champion, was selected despite crashing in his last giant slalom event of the year held in Squaw Valley.

Barnwell, however, scored in five out of the six FIS elite races and finished within 2 seconds of several of the CMC competitors.

The week prior to the FIS elite race, Barnwell landed on the podium four separate times in Far West and scored an impressive 50-point result in slalom at Sugar Bowl.

Barnwell will be pursuing a degree in Ski and Snowboard Business.