U of U Climbing Team wins Nationals

The Sport Climbing Team from the U of U take the title at Nationals. Photo: Daniel Gajda, courtesy USA Climbing // University of Utah

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — For the fifth year in a row, the University of Utah Climbing Team won the USA Climbing Collegiate National Championships.

Held in Kennesaw, Georgia, the event brought together more than 350 competitors from 105 colleges nationwide to compete in lead, boulder, and speed disciplines at the end of May.

Utah Climbing beat runner-up University of Colorado Boulder by nearly 2,200 points and secured five podium finishes across the advanced and intermediate categories:

• Logan Miner, first in men’s speed (advanced) with a time of 5.59 seconds.
• Anderson Fuhrer, second in men’s lead and second in men’s boulder (advanced)
• Nathan Monte, third in men’s lead (advanced)
• Kaden Poore, third in men’s lead (intermediate)

USA Climbing’s collegiate championship is the highest national competition for college teams. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, where World Cups and Para Climbing World Cups are a sell-out stop-over on the global competition tour, USA Climbing is the governing body of competitive climbing in the U.S. and trains Team USA in Olympic sport climbing,

Then U of U student Sam Watson won a bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics and Brooke Raboutou of Team USA is a Boulder native before moving to train in Utah, she won a silver medal in Paris.

Prior to its move to Salt Lake City, the entity of USA Climbing was headquartered in Boulder, CO.

The U’s on-campus student Rec Center has an extensive and expansive climbing wall.

Sophia Hoermann, a senior at the U majoring in computer science and world languages and cultures, is head coach of the Utah Climbing Team and its incoming president. Hoermann said to Lisa Anderson of Utah Magazine that she attributes the team’s success to the abundant outdoor climbing opportunities near campus and elite training facilities in Salt Lake.

“We get a lot of strong climbers moving to the U for school,” she said. But she believes the team’s inclusive approach also contributes to their success. “We welcome anyone who wants to compete, and we try to make a culture that’s inviting and provides lots of opportunities to learn.”

Not under the official umbrella of the NCAA, the event was organized and governed by USA Climbing. A competitive and recreational club team run by students, Utah Climbing secured its own funds for competitions and sent more than 20 athletes to nationals this year.