Alaska Nanooks women's skiier and senior Rebecca Konieczny (West Yellowstone, Mont./Biological Sciences) has been named the CCSA skiers of the week, the conference office announced Wednesday.

Konieczny received the award along with The College of St. Scholastica's Paul Schommer on the men's side after the pair put on displays of selflessness and character at the NCAA Central Region Championships this past weekend, both overcoming personal setbacks to help their teams achieve something special.

Konieczny, entered the weekend on the bubble for one of the region's six NCAA berths. Just outside the top six, the Montana native would need two solid races in order to qualify for nationals. Unfortunately, hectic weather conditions on Saturday led to waxing difficulties and slow skis for Konieczny in the classic race, essentially bumping her out of contention.The senior shook off her personal disappointment, however, and raced solely for her team on Sunday, bouncing back to land a sixth-place finish in the skate event. Finishing the race as the Nanooks' third scoring skier, Konieczny's points proved vital - Alaska held on to capture the women's regional crown by just four points over rivals Northern Michigan.