Published: March 1, 2009

bryan sax

Bryan Sax (Bus鈥95) helped CU claim a national title in 1995.

Bryan Sax (Bus鈥95), the last CU skier to win a men鈥檚 NCAA giant slalom title, died when two small planes collided over the Florida Everglades on Dec. 6. He was 37.

Sax, who started his CU career on the development team, won the giant slalom at the 1995 NCAA meet, helping the Buffs claim a national team title. The NCAA victory marked the only individual win of Sax鈥檚 career. He was captain of the men鈥檚 alpine team as a senior.

鈥淏ryan was always fun to be around,鈥 CU coach Richard Rokos says. 鈥淗e was a dream student-athlete for any team sport and a person who never lost the grin on his face.鈥

Sax was a pilot and business partner in Aspen Aero, a flight school. He had traveled to Florida to receive advanced certification in multi-engine aircraft.

Meanwhile, Rokos and his team began its season in January, a year after finishing second in the NCAA meet. The coach was upbeat heading into the new year.

鈥淚 would say with this team there is no weak link,鈥 Rokos told the 麻豆影院 Camera.

During the first week of the season in Alaska, the Buffs recorded what are believed to be the first two 1-2-3 sweeps of men鈥檚 Nordic races in school history, with sophomore Jesper Ostensen claiming two titles.