Completed Event: Skiing versus 20K Freestyle (M) on March 8, 2025 , , 1st
Final Score
Skiing
1st
vs 20K Freestyle (M)
Wednesday, March 5
Lyme Center, N.H. / Dartmouth Skiway
6:30 a.m. MT
University of Utah
vs
Slalom
Photo by: Eli Rehmer/Utah Athletics
Utah Third After Opening Day at NCAA Championships
3/5/2025 12:40 PM | Skiing
Herland, Strand earn Second Team All-American honors
LYME CENTER, N.H. – The Utah Ski Team began the 2025 NCAA Ski Championships on Wednesday with slalom races at the Dartmouth Skiway. The Utes are tied for third place with 87 points, sharing the spot with Vermont. Colorado (148) and Denver (107) are ahead of Utah entering Thursday's 7.5K classic races.
Though the teams were faced with sprinkling rain early on a cloudy New England day, the wet weather cleared up for the second run as the Utes claimed a pair of All-American second-team honors. Johs Braathen Herland took seventh place in men's slalom and teammate Simen Strand was eighth. It is the sixth time Strand has received an All-American nod and the first for Herland.
The original race schedule for the NCAA Championships had giant slalom taking place today and slalom on Friday. But with the weather in mind, the alpine disciplines were flipped; giant slalom will now take place on Friday. Nordic competitions are unaffected by the schedule change.
"We went into today thinking of it as an opportunity," said head alpine coach JJ Johnson. "We are a little bit stronger in GS, but still our slalom has been great. We had a couple mishaps, but still some good skiing. Slalom is tough. Johs was still real good and the other two boys were in a bit of a deficit but they banded together. Simen was second on the second run. Those moves were huge and helped us keep tight with the rest of the teams. The girls kept fighting. Claire just had a little mistake on the first run. But they are skiing well."
Men's Race
All of Utah's men's scoring came in the top-15, tallying 64 points to place second in the men's race results. Johs Braathen Herland (1:28.51) and Simen Strand (1:28.62) took the Nos. 7-8 spots, respectively, and Sindre Myklebust placed 15th for the day (1:28.93).
Herland put down an opening run time of 42.39 seconds to place sixth going into the flip. Strand worked a nice climb on his second run, clocking a 45.02 which was second-best in the field. It lifted him up from a tie for 24th coming off his initial run.
Myklebust also vaulted 11 spots in the final results after beginning the day 26th.
"I had the same plan (for the second run) as I did for the first run," Strand said. "Just trying to execute and bring a bit more energy into the beginning of the turns to help me drive more down the hill. It worked. That's how we want to ski all the time."
Women's Race
Kaja Norbye was the leading finisher for Utah with a 15th-place finish (1:34.54) as Norbye returned to the NCAA Championships for the third time in her collegiate career. Kaila Lafreniere placed 24th (1:36.41) and Claire Timmermann wrapped up the Utes' lineup in 31st.
Norbye had the top Utah time for the first run at 45.88 seconds—it placed her 16th while Lafreniere was in the top-20. Timmermann briefly got tripped up coming down the final stretch of the opening run, but hiked back on course to finish and earn a second run.
Next Up | NCAA Championship Central
The Nordic portion of the 2025 NCAA Ski Championships begins on Thursday at Oak Hill in Hanover, New Hampshire, with a 7.5K classic interval start. The women's race goes off at 8 a.m. MT, with the men following at 10 a.m. MT.
Official Mobile App of Utah Athletics – Utah 360
The official mobile app of Utah Athletics is Utah 360. Download it today for access to news and information, schedules, rosters, stats and behind-the-scenes videos directly from your mobile device. The app is available in both the Apple Store (download) and Google Play (download). Add it today, access your game tickets and download them to your smartphone's wallet to make yourself game-day ready!
Though the teams were faced with sprinkling rain early on a cloudy New England day, the wet weather cleared up for the second run as the Utes claimed a pair of All-American second-team honors. Johs Braathen Herland took seventh place in men's slalom and teammate Simen Strand was eighth. It is the sixth time Strand has received an All-American nod and the first for Herland.
The original race schedule for the NCAA Championships had giant slalom taking place today and slalom on Friday. But with the weather in mind, the alpine disciplines were flipped; giant slalom will now take place on Friday. Nordic competitions are unaffected by the schedule change.
"We went into today thinking of it as an opportunity," said head alpine coach JJ Johnson. "We are a little bit stronger in GS, but still our slalom has been great. We had a couple mishaps, but still some good skiing. Slalom is tough. Johs was still real good and the other two boys were in a bit of a deficit but they banded together. Simen was second on the second run. Those moves were huge and helped us keep tight with the rest of the teams. The girls kept fighting. Claire just had a little mistake on the first run. But they are skiing well."
Men's Race
All of Utah's men's scoring came in the top-15, tallying 64 points to place second in the men's race results. Johs Braathen Herland (1:28.51) and Simen Strand (1:28.62) took the Nos. 7-8 spots, respectively, and Sindre Myklebust placed 15th for the day (1:28.93).
Herland put down an opening run time of 42.39 seconds to place sixth going into the flip. Strand worked a nice climb on his second run, clocking a 45.02 which was second-best in the field. It lifted him up from a tie for 24th coming off his initial run.
Myklebust also vaulted 11 spots in the final results after beginning the day 26th.
"I had the same plan (for the second run) as I did for the first run," Strand said. "Just trying to execute and bring a bit more energy into the beginning of the turns to help me drive more down the hill. It worked. That's how we want to ski all the time."
Women's Race
Kaja Norbye was the leading finisher for Utah with a 15th-place finish (1:34.54) as Norbye returned to the NCAA Championships for the third time in her collegiate career. Kaila Lafreniere placed 24th (1:36.41) and Claire Timmermann wrapped up the Utes' lineup in 31st.
Norbye had the top Utah time for the first run at 45.88 seconds—it placed her 16th while Lafreniere was in the top-20. Timmermann briefly got tripped up coming down the final stretch of the opening run, but hiked back on course to finish and earn a second run.
Next Up | NCAA Championship Central
The Nordic portion of the 2025 NCAA Ski Championships begins on Thursday at Oak Hill in Hanover, New Hampshire, with a 7.5K classic interval start. The women's race goes off at 8 a.m. MT, with the men following at 10 a.m. MT.
Official Mobile App of Utah Athletics – Utah 360
The official mobile app of Utah Athletics is Utah 360. Download it today for access to news and information, schedules, rosters, stats and behind-the-scenes videos directly from your mobile device. The app is available in both the Apple Store (download) and Google Play (download). Add it today, access your game tickets and download them to your smartphone's wallet to make yourself game-day ready!
Players Mentioned
Alpine
/ Skiing
Alpine
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Alpine
/ Skiing
Alpine
/ Skiing
Alpine
/ Skiing
Alpine
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