Completed Event: Skiing versus 20K Freestyle (M) on March 8, 2025 , , 1st
Final Score
Skiing
1st
vs 20K Freestyle (M)
Friday, March 7
Lyme Center, N.H. / Dartmouth Skiway
7 a.m. MT
University of Utah
vs
Giant Slalom
Johs Braathen Herland (4) won the men's giant slalom individual crown at the NCAA Championships.
Photo by: Eli Rehmer/Utah Athletics
Herland Wins Men’s GS as Utah Moves Into Lead at NCAAs
3/7/2025 4:41 PM | Skiing
Five All-American results on penultimate day of national championship meet
LYME CENTER, N.H. – Johs Braathen Herland clocked a top-two second run as the Utah freshman finished with a total time of 1:53.35 and won the men's giant slalom individual title on Friday at the Dartmouth Skiway, helping the Utah Ski Team move into first place on the penultimate day of the NCAA Championships.
Thanks in part to all three Utah men placing in the top-eight plus two women in the top-six, the Utes now have a meet-leading 417 points in the team standings. Colorado (382) is 35 points back with host Dartmouth in third place (380). Vermont (308) and Denver (284) round out the top-five. It's a great spot for Utah to be in at this stage, but one day of racing remains and all of the teams in the upper part of the standings can still contend for the team national championship.
"The last couple days we've been working on what we wanted to do with GS," said head alpine coach JJ Johnson, "and taking care of what we can, after being in a bit of a hole. The guys came out firing and the girls did as well—especially Claire and Kaja on the second run. The boys hammered it down on the second run and made big moves. They took care of the stuff they wanted to do with their skiing."
Herland's title makes him the 88th individual NCAA champion in recorded Utah history and second this year after Erica Lavén won the women's 7.5K classic on Thursday. He is the eighth men's GS champion to come from Utah and second straight after Mikkel Solbakken took the crown last season.
Herland, Simen Strand and Kaja Norbye all earned first-team All-American honors with their performances, while second-team laurels went to Claire Timmermann and Sindre Myklebust.
Women's Race
Kaja Norbye (1:58.16) and Claire Timmermann (1:58.27) led the way for Utah taking the Nos. 5-6 spots, respectively. And Kaila Lafreniere scored key points for the Utes with a 19th-place performance (1:59.78) to help the team edge Vermont for the race victory with 68 total points for Utah.
"The first run was tough; to be 16th after first run was not ideal," Timmermann said. "To come out of that with a positive mindset and attack (the second run) rather than be conservative, I was really proud to move up 10 spots. It was good."
Norbye had a team-best seventh-place first run with Lafreniere in 13th and Timmermann 16th at the flip. Timmermann followed with a top-three second run time of 1:01.96 to climb 10 spots in the final results.
Men's Race
Behind individual men's GS champion Johs Braathen Herland (1:53.35), teammate Simen Strand was fifth (1:53.83) and Sindre Myklebust took the No. 8 spot (1:54.48). It gave Utah the team race win with 92 total points.
Herland and Strand tag-teamed the Nos. 4-5 spots in the first run to give Utah key positioning at the flip. The pair were separated by just three-hundredths of a second on their opening run. Then with windy conditions in the afternoon, Herland took the driver's seat with a second run time of 59.60 seconds. His second run placed second in the field but was quick enough to give Herland the title for the day.
"It feels really good," said Herland. "I'm kind of speechless. It's really cool to come all the way over here and perform at Utah. Very good team effort today and I'm very happy. I was a bit disappointed with my first run so I was really hungry for getting some better skiing."
Strand was right in the mix with a top-six second run and Myklebust had a nice climb; after sitting 15th at the flip he came back with a top-three second run of 59.93 seconds.
The last time Utah won consecutive men's giant slalom NCAA titles was in 2003 and '04. Both were won by Ben Thornhill and in an interesting coincidence, Herland's win today was one day after the 22-year anniversary of Thornhill's 2003 victory also at the Dartmouth Skiway.
Next Up | NCAA Championship Central
The final day of the 2025 NCAA Ski Championships awaits Utah with a 20K freestyle mass start. The men's race goes off at 8 a.m. MT from Oak Hill in Hanover, New Hampshire, and the women will follow 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!
Thanks in part to all three Utah men placing in the top-eight plus two women in the top-six, the Utes now have a meet-leading 417 points in the team standings. Colorado (382) is 35 points back with host Dartmouth in third place (380). Vermont (308) and Denver (284) round out the top-five. It's a great spot for Utah to be in at this stage, but one day of racing remains and all of the teams in the upper part of the standings can still contend for the team national championship.
"The last couple days we've been working on what we wanted to do with GS," said head alpine coach JJ Johnson, "and taking care of what we can, after being in a bit of a hole. The guys came out firing and the girls did as well—especially Claire and Kaja on the second run. The boys hammered it down on the second run and made big moves. They took care of the stuff they wanted to do with their skiing."
Herland's title makes him the 88th individual NCAA champion in recorded Utah history and second this year after Erica Lavén won the women's 7.5K classic on Thursday. He is the eighth men's GS champion to come from Utah and second straight after Mikkel Solbakken took the crown last season.
Herland, Simen Strand and Kaja Norbye all earned first-team All-American honors with their performances, while second-team laurels went to Claire Timmermann and Sindre Myklebust.
Women's Race
Kaja Norbye (1:58.16) and Claire Timmermann (1:58.27) led the way for Utah taking the Nos. 5-6 spots, respectively. And Kaila Lafreniere scored key points for the Utes with a 19th-place performance (1:59.78) to help the team edge Vermont for the race victory with 68 total points for Utah.
"The first run was tough; to be 16th after first run was not ideal," Timmermann said. "To come out of that with a positive mindset and attack (the second run) rather than be conservative, I was really proud to move up 10 spots. It was good."
Norbye had a team-best seventh-place first run with Lafreniere in 13th and Timmermann 16th at the flip. Timmermann followed with a top-three second run time of 1:01.96 to climb 10 spots in the final results.
Men's Race
Behind individual men's GS champion Johs Braathen Herland (1:53.35), teammate Simen Strand was fifth (1:53.83) and Sindre Myklebust took the No. 8 spot (1:54.48). It gave Utah the team race win with 92 total points.
Herland and Strand tag-teamed the Nos. 4-5 spots in the first run to give Utah key positioning at the flip. The pair were separated by just three-hundredths of a second on their opening run. Then with windy conditions in the afternoon, Herland took the driver's seat with a second run time of 59.60 seconds. His second run placed second in the field but was quick enough to give Herland the title for the day.
"It feels really good," said Herland. "I'm kind of speechless. It's really cool to come all the way over here and perform at Utah. Very good team effort today and I'm very happy. I was a bit disappointed with my first run so I was really hungry for getting some better skiing."
Strand was right in the mix with a top-six second run and Myklebust had a nice climb; after sitting 15th at the flip he came back with a top-three second run of 59.93 seconds.
The last time Utah won consecutive men's giant slalom NCAA titles was in 2003 and '04. Both were won by Ben Thornhill and in an interesting coincidence, Herland's win today was one day after the 22-year anniversary of Thornhill's 2003 victory also at the Dartmouth Skiway.
Next Up | NCAA Championship Central
The final day of the 2025 NCAA Ski Championships awaits Utah with a 20K freestyle mass start. The men's race goes off at 8 a.m. MT from Oak Hill in Hanover, New Hampshire, and the women will follow 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!
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