Katharine Ogden (SMS/USST) racing to an 11-second win in the women’s 5 k freestyle FIS race on Friday in West Yellowstone, Mont. (Photo: Ian Harvey/Toko)
The first official cross-country ski races of the season in the Lower 48 were held Friday in West Yellowstone, Mont., and for the first time in a long time, they weren’t U.S. SuperTour races.
But they were International Ski Federation (FIS) sanctioned and once again a big part of the West Yellowstone Ski Festival, which has been known to attract 3,500 skiers and has been an early season tradition for more than 30 years.
Paddy Caldwell, of the U.S. Ski Team’s D-team, Dartmouth College and the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) T2 Team, won the men’s 10-kilometer freestyle on Friday at the Rendezvous Ski Trails. He bested nearly 90 in the men’s race, putting down the fastest time in 20:32.4 minutes, which was 26.7 seconds ahead of runner-up Rogan Brown, of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF). Mads Strøm, a Norwegian-born University of Colorado-Boulder (CU) senior and two-time NCAA champion, placed third, 31.1 seconds behind Caldwell.
Just 0.2 seconds off the podium, Sun Valley’s Jack Hegman placed fourth (+31.3), and Ben Lustgarten, of theCraftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP), was close behind in fifth (+32.4), as was Silas Talbot, of the Bridger Ski Foundation (BSF) Elite Team, in fifth (+37.4).
Rounding out the top 10, Karsten Hokanson (Montana State University) placed seventh (+53.6), Patrick Johnson (Far West) was eighth (+56.7), and Norway’s Petter Reistad (CU) and Welly Ramsey (Farmington Ski Club) tied for ninth (+57.6). Oscar Ivars (University of Utah) took the next spot in 11th (+1:01.5).
In the women’s 5 k freestyle, Katharine Ogden, another U.S. Ski Team (USST) D-team member who trains with SMS, took the win. She beat out CU’s Petra Hyncicova, originally from the Czech Republic, by 11.8 seconds with a winning time of 11:45. One of Ogden’s training partners, Erika Flowers (SMST2) placed third (+13.3).
Craftsbury’s Liz Guiney took fourth (+19.4), Jennie Bender (BSF) was fifth (+22.4), Mary Rose (SVSEF) sixth (+27.0), Anne Hart (SMST2) seventh (+32.8), Christina Rolandsen (CU) eighth (+34.7), Kaitlynn Miller (CGRP) ninth (+36.5), and Hannah Halvorsen (Sugar Bowl Elite Team/USST D-team) 10th (+36.8) in a tighter women’s field, which included 76 finishers.
FIS racing continues at the Rendezvous Trails on Saturday, with 5/10 k classic races scheduled.
In related news, the first SuperTour races of the season — which were supposed to take place next weekend, Dec. 3-4 — were canceled. At the top of the Bridger Ski Foundation’s SuperTour event page, it now reads: “Bozeman SuperTour Cancelled: Due to lack of snowfall the races are not able to be run.” The SuperTour opener doubled as the first races of the Canadian NorAm season as well.
Just like in the U.S., Cross Country Canada (CCC) intended to use Bozeman as part of its selection races for 2017 World Championships and the Continental Cup leader (COC) World Cup spots. Now instead of considering an athlete’s best three results out of seven race days, CCC will consider three out of five.
“Bozeman was part of our NorAm COC series selection process; however now that Bozeman is cancelled it’s not in the picture,” CCC High Performance Director Thomas Holland wrote in an email to FasterSkier on Friday night.
“Are you ready for some more West Yellowstone fun? ‘Cuz we’re hosting the SuperTour next weekend December 3 & 4,” the post read. “Saturday Freestyle Sprints, Sunday 15k/10k Classic; 5k U16 Classic. Registration site is in progress but will be on ysfraces.athlete360.com. And can you volunteer? Send us a message at info@skirunbikemt.com to give us your info. Thanks!”
“The altitude at West Yellowstone is too high to use it as a selection race for the Canadian team – will not count for the FIS COC series,” Holland wrote.
We’ll post more information as it becomes available.
(From left to right) BSF skiers Silas Talbot, Jennie Bender, Paul Everett, Logan Diekmann, and Max LaChance during a rollerski in Bozeman, Mont. (Photo: Austin Caldwell)
The pale wood grain of a wax trailer’s interior walls and the sound of a power-tool firing up can only hold one’s attention for so long, especially if that someone has the coaching gene. As the grandson of John Caldwell, a former U.S. Ski Team (USST) head coach, and son of Sverre Caldwell, the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) nordic director and head coach, it may be no surprise that John — who goes by his middle name of Austin — Caldwell, also heard the call to coach.
After spending this past winter working for Caldwell Sport as a wax technician, Austin, a 24-year-old Dartmouth grad, wanted a challenge and change. Not only in his work, to include a greater focus on interactions with athletes, but in his whereabouts as well.
“I really enjoyed working with Zach and Amy [Caldwell] wax-teching last year,” Austin said on the phone while in Bozeman, Mont. “But part of me wanted to spread my wings a bit and try some new place outside of the east and outside of Vermont where I’ve lived all my life.”
Austin, Sophie and Isabel Caldwell (l-r) during their Christmas visit to Europe in 2013 to see Sophie race on the World Cup circuit. (Photo: Sophie Caldwell/sophiecaldwell.blogspot.com)
Growing up in Peru, Vt., alongside his two sisters Isabel and Sophie Caldwell (the latter of which is a USST member), skiing was not just what Austin spent his spare time doing. It was the family mealtime topic of choice; it was how vacations were spent with relatives — his uncle Tim Caldwell, a four-time Olympian, and cousins are all avid nordic skiers as well.
Surrounded by skiing his entire life, Austin did not want to give it up anytime soon. When the head coaching position for the Bridger Ski Foundation (BSF) elite nordic program opened up and his cousin, Anya Caldwell-Bean, BSF’s U18/U20 junior coach, told him of the opening, he saw an opportunity to not only stay involved with skiing, but further himself and his experiences in it.
“I loved wax-teching last year, that was really fun, but I also enjoyed coaching in the past for junior skiers,” Austin said. “My dad is a coach and I’ve always been interested in coaching … so now I get to coach and wax tech.”
Stepping into his new role and responsibilities as the head coach for the BSF elite team — his first coaching position of this caliber — Austin is aware of the challenges that rest ahead for himself and his athletes. Prior to this year, his work with athletes involved coaching juniors last year in Putney, Vt., and at SMS youth summer camps over the past five years.
“I have gained most of my understanding of coaching from my relationships with Sverre, Ruff Patterson, and Zach and Amy Caldwell,” Austin wrote in an email, referring to his father, college coach, and first cousin once removed (and his wife), respectively. “Those four have been great mentors and in the process they have taught me almost everything I know about skiing.”
Bridger Ski Foundation (BSF) 2016/2017 Roster:
Elite Team Jennie Bender
Silas Talbot
Nick Power
PG/Collegiate
Paul Everett
Max LaChance
Nick Matelich Summer Collegiate
Noah Anderson
Logan Diekmann
Currently eight athletes will work with him during the summer and throughout the season. Three athletes, Jennie Bender, Silas Talbot and Nick Power comprise the elite team, and five others make up the post-graduate crew, with a few of them heading to college in the fall and being replaced with new post grads for the upcoming school year.
“We’ll have some kids taking classes and then partway through the winter, people will be going different ways depending on how they do [during the season],” Austin explained. “So that will be, as far as managing at that point, that will be one of the bigger challenges.
“But I think it’s something all teams face,” he added. “Just having kids at different levels and different age groups as well.”
On a personal level, Austin admits one of his biggest adjustments so far has been learning Bozeman’s trails and rollerskiing roads, as well as not getting the team or team van lost in Montana’s mountains.
“For me, I guess the biggest challenge that everyone has been helping me with is finding my way around Bozeman and finding new routes for rollerskiing,” Austin said. “Every week I’ve been trying kind of to add a new place to rollerski … because it’s important to switch it up.”
“I plan on staying in the ski world for as long as I can, so far BSF and Bozeman have been great and I plan on remaining here for the coming years.” — Austin Caldwell on becoming BSF’s elite head coach
But even if navigating Bozeman has been a bit of a learning process during the beginning stages of his coaching career, the city and a well-established elite program were two of the draws that pulled Austin to apply and eventually take the position.
“Having a strong program in place and being in Bozeman were the two main factors [why I considered working with BSF],” Austin said. “I also talked with Dragan [Danevski, BSF’s head coach and program director] and with my cousin Anya and it just seemed like it would be a good fit.”
With the goal to remain involved with skiing for as long as possible, Bozeman and BSF struck Austin as the ideal program and place to be a part of.
“I plan on staying in the ski world for as long as I can, so far BSF and Bozeman have been great and I plan on remaining here for the coming years,” he wrote in an email.
Danevski respectfully declined to comment on Austin’s hiring. In the last two years, the BSF elite team has weathered several coaching transitions, most recently with the departure of Bernie Nelson — the team’s coach since the fall of 2014.
In his first season as an elite head coach and with eight athletes to oversee, his greatest ambition involves pushing his athletes to their full potential. Talbot, 23, Austin’s former classmate, co-captain and fraternity brother at Dartmouth College, and now an athlete for the BSF elite team, saw the transition to having Austin as a coach as uniquely strong.
“For myself, it has been hugely beneficial to have Austin coaching because he knows my athletic background so well,” Talbot, originally from Anchorage, Alaska, wrote in an email. “He already knows my strengths and weaknesses (which are especially prevalent in the dryland season), and so there is no need to build up the trust and/or understanding between us from scratch. In short, having someone I know well as a coach makes the adjustment to the new program — something that for many after college is a tough step — much easier.”
Bridger Ski Foundation elite and post-graduate athletes during a classic rollerski in Bozeman, Mont. From left to right: Max LaChance, Nick Power, Logan Diekmann, and Silas Talbot. (Photo: Austin Caldwell)
Entering her fourth year on the BSF elite team, Bender also found Austin a positive addition to BSF and the greater Bozeman area.
“Austin waxed for me during the last few World Cups at the Canadian Tour this past March, and I was instantly impressed with his professionalism,” Bender wrote in an email. “Austin taking the head Elite/PG coach position is a great attribution to not only BSF, but to the Bozeman ski community as a whole.”
So far, Austin too, cannot ask more of his athletes and training group. The higher level of focus and preparation he finds evident with the BSF elite and PG level athletes gives him confidence in the season and performances to come.
“I think the key to success is having a group that motivates each other and pushes each other,” Austin said. “And I’m very excited about this training group we have going into the summer. They’re all working very hard and they’ve come together really well. It’s like they’ve been training together a lot longer than three weeks … everyone in this group is always trying to push the limits and do everything they can do to get better.”
The men’s podium in the 20 k freestyle mass start at the 2014 NCAA Championships in Soldier Hollow. (Photo: http://bertboyer.zenfolio.com) All proceeds from photo sales will be directly donated to NNF.
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Come Wednesday, the 148 best collegiate skiers in the U.S. will descend upon Lake Placid for the 2015 NCAA Skiing Championships. Hosted by St. Lawrence University, NCAA’s will serve as the premier collegiate races of the season as skiers aim for both individual and team success. The last time Lake Placid hosted the Championships was 33 years ago in 1982, when the national races were only for men.
The nordic portion of NCAA’s will take place on the trails of the Mt. Van Hoevenberg, the site of the cross-country events in the 1980 Olympic games. The first day of competition on Wednesday will comprise of the 5- and 10-kilometer women’s and men’s freestyle interval starts, while Friday will feature the 15/20 k classic mass starts. Conditions should be pristine in the Adirondacks as recent weather has provided ample snow and below average temperatures.
The 2015 NCAA Championships will have similar team favorites in 2014. At last year’s championships in Park City, Utah, the University of Denver dominated the nordic races to win the overall team title. With several departures from the Pioneers’ squad, however, other schools from the west and east will look to capture the trophy.
The University of Colorado enters the NCAA’s as the top-ranked team from the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA). The Buffs earned the most combined points throughout the season and were recently crowned the RMISA regional champions. If that wasn’t enough to boost their pre-championships confidence, their history in the east certainly will. Colorado has won the last two national collegiate titles in the east in 2011 and 2013.
Utah and Denver followed close behind in the 2015 RIMSA points rankings and will likely be Colorado’s top competition in New York, while the University of Vermont will look to extend its Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) dominance to the national stage. The last time Vermont won the NCAA team title was in 2012 in Bozeman, Mont.
University of New Hampshire’s Annika Taylor races in the 2013 NCAA Championships.
The East:
If there are two skiers from the EISA to know before the start of NCAA’s, they are Middlebury College’s Heather Mooney and University of New Hampshire’s Annika Taylor.
With five wins apiece in the 2014/2015 season, Mooney and Taylor have shut out the rest of the eastern competition from the top of the podium. While their fight for eastern dominance will continue in Lake Placid, it remains to be seen how they will match up with the western and central women.
The Middlebury College women’s nordic team has qualified a full team for the first time in many years, including Mooney, Kelsey Phinney and Stella Holt. The trio has won many women’s nordic competitions throughout the season and will look to do the same in Lake Placid. If the recent EISA Regional Championships results are any indication — where Mooney and Phinney finished second and third, respectively, in the 15 k classic mass start — the Panthers are well on their way to their goal.
Paddy Caldwell (Dartmouth College) finishes the men’s 15 k freestyle in fourth place at the 2015 Cross Country Championships in Houghton, Michigan.
If the eastern women have been defined by two individuals, the region’s men are characterized by dueling schools — Vermont and Dartmouth. The Vermont trio of Rogan Brown, Jørgen Grav and Jack Hegman ended the eastern season ranked second, third and sixth, while Paddy Caldwell, Fabian Stocek and Silas Talbot took the first, fourth, and fifth spots.
Caldwell, who spent a large chunk of the season in Europe at the U23 World Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, enters as one of the favorites at NCAA’s. Last year, his best finish was fifth in the 20 k freestyle mass start. Talbot’s best finish at 2014 NCAA’s was 11th in the 20 k freestyle.
Brown’s best finish at the same championships was 13th in the 20 k freestyle, while Grav’s was 20th in the 10 k classic.
The West:
Rune Malo Ødegård of CU races to first in the 10 k individual classic at the 2014 NCAA Championships in Soldier Hollow. (Photo: http://bertboyer.zenfolio.com) All proceeds from photo sales will be directly donated to NNF.
If Caldwell wants to step atop the NCAA podium, he’ll have to overcome the RMISA frontrunners from the University of Colorado, Rune Malo Ødegård and Mads Ek Strøm. With the exception of one race, the two have alternated on the top rungs of the 2014/2015 RIMSA podium in every single competition. By the end of the regular season, Ødegård won five of 10 races while Strøm won four.
Ødegård is no stranger to NCAA’s as the Norwegian won two national titles in 2013 and 2014. His wins made NCAA history, as he is the first collegiate skier to repeat as an individual national championship in the classic discipline. Strøm earned his national title in the 20 k freestyle mass start in 2014.
While the two Buffs are the RMISA favorites, there are several other standouts to watch in this week’s races. German Moritz Madlener of DU and enters Lake Placid as the third-ranked westerner after earning bronze in four western qualifiers. The University of Utah’s Niklas Persson is another potential top finisher. The Ute finished third at 2014 NCAA’s in the 10 k classic. Mats Rudin Resaland of the University of New Mexico is also another top contender, and will look to improve on his bronze from last year’s 20 k freestyle.
The University of New Mexico’s Emilie Cedervarn is the top-ranked western woman after winning the last four RMISA races of the season. The Utes’ Veronika Mayerhofer is close behind for total wins in the west with three. Denver’s Sylvia Nordskar will look to repeat her podium performances from 2014 NCAA’s where she placed second and third. The Norwegian only raced the first four RMISA races this season. She won both the races in the Utah qualifiers and placed first and second at the Colorado invite before taking a six-race hiatus.
Other skiers to watch from the West are the Buffs’ Petra Hyncincova and the Utes’ Sloan Storey.
Central:
Kyle Bratrud of Northern Michigan University racing to 52nd in the men’s 15 k freestyle at 2015 World Championships in Falun, Sweden.
Kyle Bratrud of the University of Northern Michigan is the favorite from the central region after a successful season that saw him win the 15 k freestyle at the 2015 U.S. nationals and compete at the U23 World Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, followed by senior World Championships in Falun, Sweden.
Bratrud will look to overcome the fatigue of weeks of international racing and travel to fight for a spot on the NCAA podium. In 2014, he was the top American in the 10 k classic in sixth overall.
Joining Bratrud in the quest for collegiate success will be teammates Fredrik Schwenke and Erik Soderman. If the UNM trio can repeat their impressive performances from U.S. nationals, they have the possibility of leading the men’s nordic at NCAA’s. Last year, the men finished third overall in the 10 k classic and helped their coach, Sten Fjeldheim, earn 2014 national coach of the year.
Logan Hanneman of the University of Alaska – Fairbanks is another strong skier to watch from central.
Despite the graduation of Rosie Frankowski, the central women have a chance at top performances from NMU’s Jordyn Ross and Michigan Tech’s Deedra Irwin, among others. They will look to build on the region’s successful 2014 Championships to gain more starting spots in future national events.
Live timing will be available at BartTiming.com. FasterSkier will be on site for both days of nordic racing, so stay tuned for recaps from Wednesday and Friday.
An NCAA banner hangs at the 2013 NCAA Skiing Championships in Vermont. The 2014 Championships are set to begin Wednesday in Park City Utah. Photo: Flyingpointroad.com (All proceeds benefit NNF)
FasterSkier’s coverage is made possible through the generous support of Madshus.
One-hundred and forty-eight. That’s the number of skiers who have descended upon the ski town of Park City, Utah, to participate in the 2014 NCAA Skiing Championships. The championships will be hosted by the University of Utah, who last had the honor in 2000. The four day event, which consists of two alpine and two nordic races, begins Wednesday and continues through Saturday.
The cross country portion of the event will take place at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, the site of the 2002 Olympic Games and many national events, including the 2014 U.S. Cross Country Championships.
The weather in Utah looks to be warm and wet with highs in the mid 40s to lower 50s and precipitation expected on Thursday and Friday, making for tricky waxing and racing conditions.
Given the nature of course, sloppy conditions, the field, and the stakes, the competition is set to be fierce. Several schools will be in the hunt for the title of america’s fastest skiing school, but only one will walk away with the championship title.
Last year at the 2013 NCAA Championships in Ripton, Vt., it was the University of Colorado that came out on top followed by the University of Utah and the University of Vermont. Colorado’s chances in Utah seem a more slim in 2014, as they were unable to win a collegiate weekend all season. However, with a strong showing for men’s nordic, the Buffs may be able to make up for their other weaknesses.
The University of Utah is hungry to break a three-year-streak of finishing second at NCAAs. After winning last weeks Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) Championships, Utah goes into this week’s races with confidence and energy. Having the home advantage should certainly help Utah as well. However, if they want the title that’s slipped out of their hands the past three years, they’ll have to rely less on their alpine team and see better results from their nordic squad.
It would be asinine to discount the University of Vermont, whose skiers have been looking especially strong this year. In the 2012 Championships they demonstrated that they could tackle western altitudes with ease in Bozeman, Mont. And with Soldier Hollow looking to be warm and wet this week, the conditions may favor eastern skiers who are used to rough easter weather.
The East
The eastern skiers are as strong as ever this year with the undefeated University of Vermont setting its sites on another NCAA victory. The 2012 champions have a strong team in both alpine and nordic which has contributed to their uncontested dominance this season.
Anja Gruber (University of Vermont) racing to fourth in the 10 k classic mass start at Soldier Hollow for her best U.S. nationals result by more than 20 places. (Photo: Bert Boyer/http://bertboyer.zenfolio.com/) All proceeds from photo sales will be directly donated to NNF.
The east finds its greatest strength in its women. Anja Gruber, a native of Germany, has been UVM’s shining star this year, and finishes the regular season as the top-ranked skier in the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA). Last year’s NCAA 5 k classic champion, she placed fourth at the 2014 U.S. nationals at Soldier Hollow on the same course where the NCAAs are being held. Throughout the season the senior has been a top contender in the EISA circuit, consistently winning all but one classic race and finishing in the top three in every freestyle race.
UVM’s talent doesn’t stop there, with sophomores Linda Danvid-Malm of Umea, Sweden and Stephanie Kirk of Anchorage, Alaska, showing that Gruber isn’t the only catamount with claws. Danvid-Malm has been dominant in freestyle, winning three out of six EISA races this season. Kirk, who competed in Italy as part of the U23 World Championships, has been a consistent performer as well highlighted by a spectacular win in the 15 k skate mass start at the EISA Championships at Middlebury College last weekend.
Annie Hart of Dartmouth College has been the only real threat to Vermont’s dominance all season, having been the only non-UVM woman in the east to win a scored collegiate race this season. Consistently on the podium in classic races, Hart finally saw her hard work pay off at the EISA championships when she won the 5 k classic. With the same event being held on Thursday, Hart is hungry for a national championship title. Corey Stock, also of Dartmouth, has had a decent season as well, ranking fifth in the eastern points standings.
While not as dominant as their women, the UVM men shouldn’t be taken lightly. Their lead skier, Scott Patterson of Fairbanks, Alaska, has won three of the six collegiate races he’s participated in this season. Patterson made the headlines earlier this year when he riskily tried to break away from the men’s field in the 30 k mass start. Unsurprisingly, the move failed on the national level, but a similar move with in a collegiate field may be what Patterson needs to secure a title..
Sophomore Jorgen Grav is another UVM skier to watch in Soldier Hollow. The Oslo, Norway native finished fifth in the EISA rankings, followed by teammate Rogan Brown of Durango, Colo., in sixth.
Silas Talbot of Dartmouth racing in the 2013 NCAA Championships at Middlebury, Vermont.
Two Dartmouth College skiers have the chance to dethrone the dominant catamounts. Paddy Caldwell and Silas Talbot have both been atop the results this year both winning multiple carnival races. Caldwell skied to a convincing win in the men’s 20 k freestyle at the ESIA Championship and was named 2014 rookie skier of the year for the region.
A notable emission from this year’s NCAA Championships will be Ben Lustgarten of Middlebury College. Lustgarten had a spectacular year which started with strong skiing at the 2014 U.S. National Championships, continued with racing at the U23 World Championships, and finished with a win in the 10 k classic (by 50 seconds!) at the EISA Championships. Lustgarten would have been a top contender in Soldier Hollow this year but due to an knee injury he sustained in the 20 k mass start at the EISA Championships the senior will be on the sidelines.
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The West
Unlike the east, there has been no clear contender for the top spot in the west. At the beginning of the season it looked as if the University of Denver might be ready for another NCAA Championship, but by the time the RMISA Championships was over last week, Denver had finished fourth, roughly 60 points behind the winner, the University of Utah. Despite the end-of-season falter, Denver still held the top spot in the regular season standings demonstrating their potential.
Sylvia Nordskar of the University of Denver racing in West Yellowstone, Montana earlier in the 2013/2014 season.
Sylvia Nordskar of Bærum, Norway, is the most-likely woman from the West to capture an NCAA title. The University of Denver freshman has either won or placed second in every collegiate race that she has competed in this season and has no signs of stopping.
Senior Makayla Cappel, a Sun Valley native skiing for Denver, became a late-season standout after winning the 5 k classic and taking third in the 15 k freestyle mass start at the RMISA Championship in Minturn, Colo. After dealing with illness upon her return from the World University Games in Italy, Cappel recovered from a slow start to her season to rocket herself onto the first team All-RMISA. Rounding out the Denver women is Silje Benum, who has also had many top finishes this season.
Only two non-Denver skiers have been able to top Nordskar this season. The first is Marine Dusser of the University of Alaska Anchorage, who was third in the women’s 15 k in 2013 and has had several wins in the RIMSA circuit this year. The second is Slovenian Eva Severrus of the University of New Mexico, a freshman who has helped New Mexico improve its standings in the west.
Sloan Storey of the University of Utah is another western woman to watch. Storey joined the U.S. contingent at the Junior World Championships in Italy earlier this year and made first team All-RMISA after and exemplary collegiate season.
Rune Ødegaard racing in the West Yellowstone Super Tour.
Like its women’s team, the Denver men were the top team in the west during the regular season. The trio of Moritz Madlener, Pierre Guedon and Trygve Markset made the Pioneers proud in 2014 and hope to continue the trend into the NCAA Championships. However, they’ll need to have a better performance than they did at the RMISA Championships, where they garnered only 46 points compared to the University of Colorado’s 93.
Norwegians Rune Ødegård and Mads Strøm, a junior and freshman, have been the top skiers from Colorado throughout the latter half of the 2014 collegiate season. After sitting out the first two weekends of collegiate racing the duo has consistently been in the top five. Ødegård won last year’s 10 k classic at the 2013 NCAA Championships and looks to continue that success into 2014.
The University of Utah men have shown that the best skiers in the west aren’t just based in Colorado. Niklas Persson, Oscar Ivars, and Noe Bellet have all performed well this season, garnering spots on the second team All-RMISA. However, all three will need to up their game if they want to outpace the Catamounts and the Buffs.
Colorado, Denver, and Utah have had steady competition from the 2013 RMISA skier of the year, Lukas Ebner of the University of Alaska Anchorage. The senior, who hales from Germany, hopes to build on a season that has included multiple podiums.
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Central
The Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) has traditionally trailed the east and west in terms of results at past NCAA Championships, which is reflected in the small numbers of qualifiers from the region. Despite that fact, there are several top performers who have a chance at an NCAA podium in Utah.
Rosie Frankowski of Northern Michigan University in the 20 k freestyle mass start at U.S. Nationals at Soldier Hollow.
RosieFrankowski, a senior of Northern Michigan University, has had an excellent season and looks to continue her speed into her time in Utah. Frankowski finishes her regular season as the top skier in the CCSA.
Freshman Nicole Bathe of University of Alaska Fairbanks has turned out to be quite the powerhouse in classic races. Bathe has had excellent start to the season after finishing third in the classic sprint at the 2014 U.S. Cross Country Championships.
Fellow Fairbanks teammate Logan Hanneman looks to be the top male competitor for the CCSA in Utah. The junior finished fifth in the freestyle sprint at U.S. Nationals earlier this season.
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Whether Colorado can reclaim its title, Utah can snap its second place curse, or Vermont use the sloppy conditions to their advantage, the NCAA Championships will be an exciting display of talent from the fastest skiers in the country.
The 5 k and 10 k classic will take place this Thursday at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. MST. The Championships will conclude with the 15 k and 20 k freestyle mass starts on Saturday, also at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m, MST. Watch the action unfold live on the NCAA site and check FasterSkier for reports.
The men’s 10 k classic individual start podium on Thursday at the 2013 NCAA Skiing Championships in Ripton, Vt. University of Colorado sophomore Rune Ødegård in first (c), Mats Resaland of UNM in second (r), and Viktor Brannmark of UAA in third.
RIPTON, Vt. – For Colorado University sophomore Rune Ødegård, two laps around the Rikert Nordic Center’s five-kilometer course on Thursday didn’t seem too threatening.
Conditions were tricky for the 10 k classic individual start at the NCAA Skiing Championships with most teams opting for some combination of klister and hard wax. Ødegård reasoned if he started fast and refused to let off, he had as good a chance of anyone at winning.
University of Colorado-Boulder sophomore Rune Ødegård racing to an NCAA title in Thursday’s 10 k classic individual start at Rikert Nordic Center in Ripton, Vt.
Compared to training in Boulder, coming down more than 5,000 feet in elevation would definitely help. The 23-year-old Norwegian had raced at sea level a few months ago in late December, returning back to Europe for some tune-up FIS races in Östersund, Sweden. There, he placed 19th in the 15 k freestyle individual start and 23rd in the 15 k classic.
Hailing from the small coastal town of Molde, Norway, Ødegård wasn’t exactly familiar with Vermont’s Green Mountains, but he had a sense of what the air would feel like on his lungs. So he decided to go hard from the get-go.
“I felt like this course is pretty fast,” he said. “You get some rest in the downhills and when you have strong guys behind you, you want to give them a little tough back splits that they’re behind. It makes it tougher for them. That was definitely part of the plan to go out hard and try to get myself a little bit of respect.”
Fifth in the 10 k freestyle individual start at last year’s NCAA Championships and seventh in the 20 k classic mass start, Ødegård was also out to get a little redemption. He did so winning Thursday’s individual classic race, the first of two at the 2013 nordic championships, with a time of 26:00.2.
Fellow Norwegian Mats Resaland of the University of New Mexico was second, 5.2 seconds back, and Sweden’s Viktor Brännmark (University of Alaska-Anchorage) placed third (+28.3).
Mats Resaland of the University of New Mexico en route to placing second in Thursday’s 10 k classic individual start at the 2013 NCAA Championships in Ripton, Vt.
“I had a dream about winning,” Ødegård said. “I felt like podium would be realistic, and that was what I was aiming for. I definitely wanted to get one win on the week so now I have that one and I can relax for Saturday and do my very best in that race.”
But for now, he’ll soak up the victory. The brother of Unni Ødegård, a six-time All-American who skied for CU (and made the first team five times) from 1998-2000, he said this result was exactly what he was shooting for ever since the 2012 championships in Bozeman, Mont.
“Last year I really screwed up at NCAAs so this is what I’ve been focusing on, getting back in shape to really peak now,” Ødegård said. “It seems like it it’s working.”
The 35th of 40 starters, Ødegård knew some of the best skiers were behind him, including the University of Vermont’s Scott Patterson and Miles Havlik of the University of Utah. Havlik ended up crashing on a technical downhill with variable conditions and tied Patterson for sixth (+46.0).
“When they all fell on the downhills it makes it a little bit easier for me,” Ødegård said.
Even so, he said he faded late in the race. “I was gaining a little bit on the second lap compared to the first one,” he said. “But I lost a little bit at the end, I was super tired going into the finish.”
Viktor Brännmark of the University of Alaska-Anchorage racing to third at the 2013 NCAA Championships 10 k classic individual start on Thursday in Ripton, Vt.
Relying on a similar tactic, Brännmark, a 20-year-old Swede who moved to Alaska to ski for UAA this season, surpassed his goal of a top 10 at NCAAs and made the podium.
“My coach told me to open relaxed but I just hammered in the start,” he said.
About 1 ½ kilometers in, Brännmark heard he was leading by 10 seconds. But he had to keep in mind that he started ninth.
“I caught a lot of guys, but I didn’t know how good I was actually skiing because all the best guys started last,” he said. “We’ve been racing at altitude the whole season, [which] I’d never done before until I came here to the U.S. so I knew that if you get tired here you can keep pushing it, you don’t die. I knew I could do something like this down here.”
For him, third in that particular race was about all he could ask for, except for getting beat by two Norwegians. Resaland, an UNM sophomore who won the 15 k classic mass start at the Bozeman SuperTour in early December, has consistently made the top 10 on the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) circuit this year.
Brännmark led three UAA skiers in the top nine (including Lasse Molgaard-Nielsen in eighth and Lukas Ebner in ninth) to help the Seawolves post the highest score of in the event with 108 points.
“I’ve never really done a good classic individual start before so this is unbelievable,” Brännmark said. “I’m so happy right now. … It’s been a crazy experience.”
Middlebury College captain Ben Lustgarten, a junior from Burlington, Vt., was the top American in fourth (+32.4). Silas Talbot, a sophomore at Dartmouth College, also made first-team All-American honors in fifth (+36.6).
“Home-course advantage definitely helped,” Lustgarten said of his NCAA debut. “The cheering was unbelievable. It got me up those climbs.”
Starting 30th, Lustgarten said he was getting ranging splits, some about being the top 10 and others saying he was in contention for second.
“I didn’t really know which one to believe, like ninth place, second place, but I was just trying to go as hard as I can,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking out there too much.”
He learned at the Middlebury Carnival that going out too hard on Rikert’s new 5 k course could backfire. “I went out a little easier to try to save it and just hit the last lap about as hard as I could,” he said. “It worked. … I’m ready for Saturday. I can’t settle; I gotta go for it again.”
Rounding out the top 10, Erik Soderman of Northern Michigan University – last year’s NCAA champion in the 10 k freestyle individual start – was 10th (+56.3).
Racing resumes Saturday with the women’s 15 k and men’s 20 k freestyle mass starts.
The OJ girls 5 k podium at 2012 Junior Nationals in Soldier Hollow on Friday: 1. Rachel Hall (NE/Middlebury), 2. Mary Kate Cirelli (NE/Green Mountain), 3. Elizabeth Simak (MW/F.A.S.T.)
All 2012 Cross Country Junior Nationals coverage is brought to you through the generous support of The Memory Clinic, in Bennington, Vt., committed to caring for the mind since 1987. Currently conducting clinical research on the Alzheimer’s disease vaccine.
MIDWAY, Utah – Altitude, schmaltitude.
That’s probably what the New England racers have been thinking all week, as the crew has won 11 of 18 races at the 2012 Cross Country Junior Nationals.
Rachel Hall of New England/Middlebury nears the top of Hermod's Hill at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, on Friday. Hall won the OJ girls 5 k classic individual start.
Friday was no exception for those in the snowflake-speckled green and blue suits, racing higher than home at Soldier Hollow (nearly 5,500 feet above sea level). New England topped the podium in four of six classic individual starts, and its girls earned a championship in every age category.
For Rachel Hall of Middlebury College, the OJ victory in the 5 k classic race was her first in four years at Junior Nationals. She placed third in Wednesday’s 10 k freestyle mass start, which was a personal best at the time. Learning from that experience, she went for it on Friday.
It didn’t matter that Hall typically trained at an elevation below 2,000 feet in southern Vermont. The 18-year-old knew she could handle one lap around Soldier Hollow.
In a staggered start mixed with J1 racers, Hall was the fastest OJ around the modified Olympic course in 14:43.5. She edged New England teammate Mary Kate Cirelli (Green Mountain Valley School) by 6.2 seconds. Elizabeth Simak of the Midwest and F.A.S.T. Performance Training placed third (+9.5).
“My skis were awesome,” Hall said. “I tried to ski fast over the tops of the hills and work the flats. Everything went well.”
Aware of her lead based on splits around the course, Hall said she tried to ski relaxed and even took in the scenery, noting how beautiful it was.
But when it came to the last hill, she put her head down and powered through the lengthy climb. Mentally, she had everything going for her. She felt good, was confident in her improved classic technique and loved the 5 k distance. Also, her lungs didn’t hurt as badly as in the 10 k.
“I didn’t feel altitude as much,” she said. “It’s shorter. I think that helped New England.”
On Monday, the team won five of six sprint finals.
“It’s later in the week and we’ve been proving we’re still strong,” Hall said. “We’ve shown in distance races we have that top notch.”
Also in the top 10: Felicia Gesior (GL/Northern Michigan) finished fourth, Sarah Cresap (AK/APU) was fifth, Annie Liotta (AK/Alaska Winter Stars) was sixth and Paige Schember (MW/F.A.S.T.) was seventh. Rachel Mason (GL/MTU) placed eighth, Nicolette Amber (MW/CXC) was ninth, and Hannah Boyer (AK/NSCF-FXC) was 10th.
Talbot Wins 10 k
Two days ago, Silas Talbot dogged it a little in the 15 k. The Dartmouth College freshman said he probably approached the mass start too conservatively and had to catch several people as a result.
Dartmouth and New England skier Silas Talbot (l) passes Cal Deline (RM/SSC Vail) on his second and final lap in 10 k classic interval start at Junior Nationals on Friday. Talbot won the OJ race at Soldier Hollow.
Fortunately, saving some for the end worked for the New Englander as he finished third in the mass start for his best-ever Junior Nationals result in five years. Talbot went two notches higher on Friday, winning the OJ boys 10 k classic race in 25:45.5.
He beat Wednesday’s 15 k freestyle winner, Ben Saxton (Midwest/Minnesota Valley Ski Club) by 20 seconds. After Saxton as the runner-up, Sam Reed (New England/University of New Hampshire) was third (+30.0).
“That went really well,” Talbot said. “I decided to take it out hard. I had a really aggressive start up the first hill and kept going. The splits I was getting were good, and I ended up first.”
After getting a taste for the podium on Wednesday, Talbot wanted more.
“[I] wanted to get to that next level today,” he said. “I figured the way to do that was to start strong and control the race, hopefully not die.”
With granulated conditions that held up despite 40-degree temperatures, Talbot said the snow was a little slower than on previous days, but was great for classic racing with several hard hills and enough places to recover.
He went hard climbing out of the hollow and felt the burn the second time around. To keep up his tempo, Talbot said he focused on his rhythm and later held on while ascending the infamous Hermod’s Hill on the backside.
After Talbot and Reed picked up two of the top three spots for New England, Rocky Mountain had three racers in the top 10. Mike Vigers (SSC Vail) led the way in fourth (+32.5), Tucker McCrerey (Summit) was seventh, and Charlie Von Thaden (Steamboat Springs) was ninth.
Also in the top 10: Kevin Bolger (IM/Sun Valley) placed fifth, Austin Meng (FW/Auburn) was sixth, Alexander Mahoney (Canada/Rocky Mountain Racers) was eighth and Sawyer Kesselheim (IM/Bridger) finished 10th.
OJ boys 10 k podium at Junior Nationals: 1. Silas Talbot (NE/Dartmouth), 2. Ben Saxton (MW/Minnesota), 3. Sam Reed (NE/UNH)
Ben Saxton (l) of Midwest/Minnesota Valley Ski Club edges Canadian Daviod Palmer (Black Jack) at the finish of the OJ 15 k freestyle mass start at the 2012 Cross Country Junior Nationals at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, on Wednesday.
All 2012 Cross Country Junior Nationals coverage is brought to you through the generous support of The Memory Clinic, in Bennington, Vt., committed to caring for the mind since 1987. Currently conducting clinical research on the Alzheimer’s disease vaccine.
MIDWAY, Utah – A lone Canadian more than 30 seconds ahead of the pack, Daviod Palmer seemed untouchable at some points of the OJ boys 15-kilometer race at the 2012 Cross Country Junior Nationals on Wednesday.
Either that or just plain risky.
Daviod Palmer (Canada/Black Jack) leading Wednesday's 15 k freestyle mass start, at least 30 seconds ahead of any OJ competitors. Palmer went on to place second after losing a sprint to the finish with Ben Saxton (MW/Minnesota).
An 18-year-old from Black Jack Ski Club in Rossland, British Columbia, Palmer jumped out to an early lead in the freestyle mass start at Soldier Hollow, cruising ahead with at least 10 kilometers to go.
Some might have wondered what he was doing. He had two laps left, and all that time to lose the lead.
Meanwhile, Ben Saxton of the Midwest/Minnesota Valley Ski Club hung on with about seven others, trying to chase Palmer without blowing up. Saxton didn’t think Palmer was out of reach, and he proved he wasn’t on the last downhill before the finish.
On the corner before the stadium, Saxton came up on Palmer’s heels. The Canadian must have felt it because the two sprinted down the straightaway, and Saxton threw himself over the line.
When he picked his head up, Saxton realized he did it. He edged Palmer and won the OJ title outright.
“I knew he was Canadian, but never want to win a race by default,” Saxton said after winning the photo finish by 0.3 seconds in 41:50.3. “I just went my hardest. It was a wicked race. I loved it.”
Palmer said he had fun as well; he just didn’t have much left on the last climb.
Ben Saxton (l) leads a chase group at the start of the last lap in the OJ 15 k freestyle mass start at the 2012 Junior Nationals at Soldier Hollow on Wednesday.
“I just felt that it was time to pick up the pace on the second lap so I just went my own pace,” Palmer said. “I was getting pretty tired on that last hill, but it was super fun.”
Saxton seized his opportunity on the long climb after taking most of the hills easy throughout the race. Recognizing his skis’ speed on the first lap, when he sped by the others on a major descent, Saxton reevaluated his game plan.
“From then on, I tried to take it easy on the uphills and hammer down,” he said. “I knew I could make a move. I wasn’t expending a ton of energy up there.”
Dartmouth freshman Silas Talbot finished third (+14.5) for New England after skiing outside the top 20 at the beginning of the race. He picked off competitors as he plugged along, eventually catching the chase group and challenging its contenders.
“I knew I was going to take it out pretty conservatively and I maybe took it out a little too conservatively,” Talbot said after notching his first podium in five years at Junior Nationals. “[I] got dropped by the lead pack on the second lap and had to close that gap. … I just dug deep and pushed it over the top of the hill. Coming into the finish I just had that next gear and was able to kick it in.”
Sawyer Kesselheim (IM/Bridger) came through in fourth (+19.2), and Tucker McCrerey (RM/Summit) was fifth (+29.7).
Also in the top 10, Kyle Bratrud (MW/Minnesota) was sixth, Jordan Fields (NE/Woodstock) was seventh, Kevin Bolger (IM/Sun Valley) finished eighth, Austin Meng (FW/Auburn) was ninth and Alexander Mahoney (Canada/RMR) placed 10th.
Elizabeth Simak (l) and Sarmila Ahmed (second from left) lead at the beginning of the last lap in the OJ girls 10 k freestyle mass start at the 2012 Junior Nationals on Wednesday.
Ahmed Advances on Descent
Elizabeth Simak came this close to locking up a Junior Nationals title. At least her teammate got it instead.
Elizabeth Simak (MW/F.A.S.T.) at right leads a pack of OJ girls up Hermod's Hill, the last big climb of the 10 k freestyle mass start course at Junior Nationals on Wednesday.
The OJ girls 10 k freestyle mass start might as well been a sprint given the way it turned out for the frontrunners. After Simak (Midwest/F.A.S.T. Performance Training) led for most of the two-lap race, she fell victim to her own exhaustion.
“Coming around corner, I kind of freaked out on the hill,” she said of the steep and sweeping descent before the finish at Soldier Hollow. “My legs were so dead. I snapped my pole between my legs. A New England coach handed me a pole and my teammate blew by me.”
Sharmila Ahmed (MW/Go Training) avoided her scrambling teammate and took the lead with a few hundred meters remaining. Fifth after the first loop, she had positioned herself in second on the final descent, and it made the difference.
Ahmed won the OJ championship in the last race of the day in 32:18. Despite softening conditions with temperatures reaching the high 30s, Ahmed kept up her speed to win by 11.9 seconds. Simak recovered and finished second to put the Midwest in the top two.
“I’ve never gotten a top ten in a distance race,” Simak said. “I really wanted to podium. I just got excited and went, just wanted to go my hardest. You know, it sucks not to win, but my teammate is a really good skier and I’m really happy for her.”
Simak and Ahmed initially pulled away from the pack together at the beginning of the second lap. They figured they were already halfway done and could go harder.
“We went for it then, kept switching off, talking to each other,” Ahmed said. “Over on the bridge, Simak pulled away. She was going for it; that was one of the best sprints I’ve ever seen.”
Ahmed chased her teammate to the top of Hermod’s Hill. Although she said she was gaining on the downhill, Ahmed wasn’t sure what happened.
Sharmila Ahmed (c) of Midwest/Go Training celebrates her OJ 10 k freestyle mass start at the 2012 Junior Nationals at Soldier Hollow. Elizabeth Simak (MW/F.A.S.T.) was second (l) and Rachel Hall (r) of NE/Middlebury was third.
“I was really confused,” she said. “I don’t know, I just went. It’s crazy.”
About four seconds after Simak crossed the line, Rachel Hall (NE/Middlebury) finished in third (+16.4) and immediately collapsed alongside Simak. The two had to be picked up and/or dragged away from where they fell just beyond the finish.
Hall recovered soon after and was excited about her first podium in four years at Junior Nationals.
“The lactate didn’t really hit you until the second lap so I just tried to gradually work into it so I didn’t explode,” Hall said.
When the two leaders broke away, she helped set a manageable pace with her New England teammates Isabelle Pelletier (Stratton) and Mary Kate Cirelli (Green Mountain). Together, they formed a chase group, and Pelletier and Cirelli finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
“I felt like I was catching number two, but not enough,” Hall said. “The finish was so slushy that it was hard to sprint to the end.”
Also in the top 10, Emily Stitt (NE/Green Mountain) was sixth, Alice Flanders (MW/Sisu) was seventh, Paige Schember (MW/F.A.S.T.) was eighth, Claire Galvin (MW/Go Training) was ninth and Rachel Mason (GL/MTU) finished 10th.
![Katharine Ogden (SMS/USST) racing to an 11-second win in the women's 5 k freestyle FIS race on Friday in West Yellowstone, Mont. (Photo: Ian Harvey/Toko)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/11/Ogden_1.jpg")
![From left to right: Silas Talbot, Jennie Bender, Paul Everett, Logan Diekmann and Max LaChance during a roller ski with BSF in Bozeman, Mont. (Courtesy Photo)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/07/20160716_093519-e1469065196696.jpg")
![Austin, Sophie, and Isabel Caldwell (l-r) during their Christmas visit to Europe in 2013 to see Sophie race on the World Cup circuit. (Photo: Sophie Caldwell/sophiecaldwell.blogspot.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/07/DSC_0028.jpg")
![Austin Caldwell on the World Cup circuit last season. (Photo: Sophie Caldwell/sophiecaldwell.blogspot.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/07/IMG_7910.jpg")
![From right to left: Max LaChance, during a classic roller ski with BSF in Bozeman, Mont. (Courtesy Photo)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/07/DSC01584-e1469065210458.jpg")
![The men's podium in the 20 k freestyle mass start at the 2014 NCAA Championships in Soldier Hollow. (Photo: http://bertboyer.zenfolio.com) All proceeds from photo sales will be directly donated to NNF.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/03/Mens-full-podium.jpg")
![University of New Hampshire's Annika Taylor races in the 2013 NCAA Championships.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/03/IMG_0215.jpg")
![Patrick Caldwell finishes the men's 15 k freestyle in fourth place at the 2015 Cross Country Championships in Houghton, Michigan.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/01/Cadlwell2.jpg")
![Rune Malo Ødegård of CU races to first in the 10 k individual classic at the 2014 NCAA Championships in Soldier Hollow. (Photo: http://bertboyer.zenfolio.com) All proceeds from photo sales will be directly donated to NNF.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/03/Oedegaard-11.jpg")
![Kyle Bratrud of Northern Michigan University racing to 52nd in the men's 15 k freestyle at 2015 World Championships in Falun, Sweden.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/02/Bratrud-1st-lap.jpg")
![Photo: Flyingpointroad.com (All proceeds benefit NNF)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/03/NCAA-Championships-Rikert.jpg")
![Anja Gruber (University of Vermont) racing to fourth in Saturday's 10 k classic mass start at Soldier Hollow for her best U.S. nationals result by more than 20 places. (Photo: Bert Boyer/http://bertboyer.zenfolio.com/) All proceeds from photo sales will be directly donated to NNF.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/01/Gruber.jpg")
![Silas Talbot (DAR)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/03/IMG_9801.jpg")
![Sylvia Nordskar (University of Denver), fourth](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/12/IMG_1309.jpg")
![Rune Oedegaard (CU) 8th place classic](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2011/11/oedegaard-classic-1-web.jpg")
![Rosie Frankowski of Northern Michigan University in the 20 k freestyle mass start at U.S. Nationals at Soldier Hollow.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/01/rosie-frankowski-start-of-lap-2.jpg")
![The men's 10 k classic individual start podium on Thursday at the 2013 NCAA Skiing Championships in Ripton, Vt. Colorado University's Rune Oedegaard in first (c), Mats Resaland of UNM in second (r), and Viktor Brannmark of UAA in third.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/03/Mens-Podium.jpg")
![Colorado University-Boulder junior Rune Ødegård racing to an NCAA title in Thursday's 10 k classic individual start at Rikert Nordic Center in Ripton, Vt.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/03/Mens-OEDEGAARD.jpg")
![Mats Resaland of the University of New Mexico en route to placing second in Thursday's 10 k classic individual start at the 2013 NCAA Championships in Ripton, Vt.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/03/Mens-RESALAND.jpg")
![Viktor Brännmark of the University of Alaska-Anchorage racing to third at the 2013 NCAA Championships 10 k classic individual start on Thursday in Ripton, Vt.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/03/Mens-BRANNMARK-2.jpg")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/03/oj.girls_.5kpodium.jpg" "2012 Junior Nationals OJ girls 5 k podium: Rachel Hall, Mark Kate Cirelli, Elizabeth Simak")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/03/oj.girls_.winner.jpg" "Rachel Hall")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/03/oj.talbot1.jpg" "Silas Talbot")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/03/oj.boys_.10kpodium.jpg" "OJ boys 10 k podium at Junior Nationals: 1. Silas Talbot (NE/Dartmouth), 2. Ben Saxton (MW/Minnesota), 3. Sam Reed (NE/UNH)")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/03/ojboys.final_.jpg" "Ben Saxton, Daviod Palmer")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/03/oj.palmer.leads_.jpg" "Daviod Palmer")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/03/oj.chase_.2.jpg" "Junior Nationals OJ boys chase pack mass start")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/03/ojgirls.2ndlap.jpg" "OJ girls mass start, Junior Nationals")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/03/oj.hermode.jpg" "Simak and the chase group, OJ freestyle mass start, Junior Nationals")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/03/ojgirls.podium.ms_.jpg" "OJ girls freestyle mass start, Junior Nationals")