Cross Country

Maria is originally from Waukesha, WI.  She ran for Waukesha West High School where she was part of 4 DI State Championship running teams and placed in the top 5 of the state meet several times in CC and track.  She was also highly involved in cross-country skiing and won the State Championship as an individual twice.  She went to college at Northern Michigan University where she competed in cross country running and skiing at the NCAA level.  She went to the NCAA DII Championships for cross-country running 4 years in a row.  In 2002 her team was 4^th place at the DII National Championship and her best individual finish was in the low 40’s.  

She was captain of the ski team for 3 years and was part of the only team in NCAA history to sweep the podium (1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd) in both the skate and classic events at the NCAA Skiing Championships.      

Maria graduated from Northern Michigan University in 2007 with a B.S. in Physiology and a Chemistry Minor.  She continued on and completed a Master’s Degree in Exercise Science in May of 2010. She has studied both running and skiing training very extensively at the graduate level and been involved with several research projects.  She got into coaching in 2008.  Most notably, she was a volunteer coach for the Northern Michigan University running teams and the CXC Adaptive ski program in 2010. She has conducted many ski clinics for juniors, masters, and ski coaches around the country, and she writes training plans for several cross country skiers and multi sport athletes. 

After college, she decided to pursue ski racing at the professional level.  She competed for a Community Olympic Development Program called the Central Cross Country Ski Association Elite Team from 2009 until 2011.  After her move to Vermont she joined a Vermont based professional team known as the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (GRP).  Maria has skied to several top 10 finishes at the US National Championships, including a silver medal in 2009

For more information about the Southern Vermont College Cross Country program, contact Coach Stuber at mstuber@svc.edu or call 802.447.4640.

The Southern Vermont College Mountaineers named Billy Obenauer as its assistant cross country coach for the fall 2011 season.  Obenauer is a graduate of SUNY Orange and Warwick Valley High School.  He brings over ten years of coaching experience with him, having coached soccer, baseball, track & field, and basketball at various levels.

While at Warwick Valley, Obenauer participated in the school's varsity cross country, track, and soccer programs.  He was also active in competitive weight lifting.  His most notable achievements in these areas include earning All-County honors in cross country and winning WVHS's “Pound-for-Pound” bench pressing competition for his class three years in a row.

Obenauer's professional career has been one of business management, where he has repeatedly lead different retail outfits, such as The Home Depot and 84 Lumber, to increased sales and profitability in struggling stores.  He credits this success to the leadership skills, value of teamwork, and work ethic that he learned as an athlete.

The inspiration for Obenauer's venture into coaching at the college level comes from not only the profound impact that his cross country coach, Tim St. Lawrence had on his life, but also from the success that teammates such as Mike Potter and Ryan Orner have experienced coaching for Warwick Valley High School and Johns Hopkins University, respectively.

Upon visiting Southern Vermont College, Obenauer was impressed by the friendly and personal environment of the school.  He, along with new head coach Maria Stuber, are looking to return the school's cross country program to the glory that it experienced in the early 2000's.  “We have some athletes with great attitudes on this team,” Obenauer said, “If I can bring just a portion of the inspiration that Coach St. Lawrence brought to Warwick, these kids are really going to turn some heads this year.”