Midway, UT - The Nordic team opened up the NCAA Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, UT with the 7.5k classic. The conditions started firm for the men, but warmed quickly and got very soft and slow for the women. 

The standout performance of the day was from senior Lola Villafranco who finished 12 spots above her seed entering the race, moving into 26th. She was battling the toughest conditions of the day, but was up to the challenge. With good pacing and a lot of grit, Lola was able to keep moving up through the field with each lap despite the worsening conditions. This was certainly a career performance for her, finishing as the fourth Division III athlete, ninth overall for eastern schools.  The race was won by Rosie Fordham from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Fordham recently competed in five events at the Cortina Olympic Games for her home country of Australia. 

The men had Ben Lewis finish in 35th, James Underwood finish in 37th, and Andrew Defor finished in 40th. John Steel Hagenbuch of Dartmouth won the race.  Like Fordham, Hagenbuch recently returned to the states after competing in the Winter Olympic Games. 

The final race for the Nordic team is the 20k mass start skate race on Saturday with the women starting first at 8:30, and the men starting at 10:15 Mountain Standard Time. 

Results

Live Stream link