Completed Event: Skiing versus 20K Freestyle (M) on March 8, 2025 , , 1st
Final Score
Skiing
1st
vs 20K Freestyle (M)
Wednesday, March 6
Stowe, VT
All Day
University of Utah
vs
Freestyle (5/10K-I)
Richter Wins Freestyle NCAA Championship, Skiing Leads After Day 1
3/6/2019 2:18 PM | Skiing
STOWE, Vt. – Utah freshman Julia Richter won the NCAA title in the women's 5-km freestyle on the first day of the NCAA Skiing Championships and Guro Jordheim and Maximilian Bie earned All-America honors as the ski team leads the team standings after two races.
The Utes hold a one-point lead over Vermont, 142 to 141. Western rival Colorado is third with 120 points, followed by Nordic-only school Northern Michigan with 117 points.
"Wow! What an incredible start to the Championships!!" head Nordic coach Miles Havlick said. "We knew going into today that the times would be super tight so we were really focusing on closing hard up the final climb to the finish. Julia skied out of her mind at the end of today's race making up nearly 10 seconds in the final kilometer. She really demonstrated that she was the strongest in the country today! Overall, I am super impressed with how all the Utes skied today, both men and women. Everyone looked snappy, strong and powerful. We are off to a good start here in Stowe and we are certainly hungry for more!"
Richter, who is in her first season at Utah, has been strong towards the end of the season, finishing first or second in the last five races. It is her third collegiate victory. Utah's last championship in women's Nordic was Veronika Mayerhofer in this race in 2015. It is the 10th-straight year that Utah has had at least one individual national champion.
"I am so proud of the whole team," Richter said. "Everyone did a great job today. Our coaches Fredrik and Miles made our skis fly. I am super happy with my win today and 1lb of maple syrup. Our alpine team and parents were a huge help too on the course cheering for us. I really enjoy the time here with my teammates and I am so psyched that Utah is leading after the first day. GO UTES!"
Guro Jordheim finished fifth in the race to earn her fifth career All-America honor. Karianne Moe finished 18th for the Utes. The Utes had the highest team score of the race with 82 points.
"The race today was super fun and really, really hard!" Jordheim said. "It was a fight from start to finish and I could not feel my legs or see clear the last km. It was so tight between the racers, but Utah's incredible fan squad just crushed it out there! I am so stoked how many people came out and supported me and the Utes! Thanks for great skis, coaches! Vermont is beautiful and I enjoy every second of this local food mecca with my teammates. Another All-American in the books and psyched with all strong performances and that Julia won and we're ON TOP after day one."
Bie earned All-America honors in his first NCAA Championships race with an eighth-place finish, his sixth top-10 finish of the season. Logan Diekmann finished 12th with Ola Jordheim 13th. The Utes earned 60 points in the race, which was tied for fourth among teams.
"Cold, tight race out there today," Bie said. "Had to chase second all the way and have some juice left for the last 2k. Happy with my race and really looking forward to Friday! Stoked about the team and all the people around the course."
"We had an excellent day under windy and cold conditions," Utah Director of Skiing Fredrik Landstedt said. "Everyone on the team skied as well as they have all season. The races were very, very close so a couple of seconds faster or slower made a big difference. Super happy about Julia's win! She has been getting faster and faster throughout the season and this was definitely the right race to get her first collegiate skate win. It is always great for the team when you have a good start of the Championship. It gives everyone confidence and we are excited for the rest of the week."
The alpine teams compete on Thursday with the giant slalom races beginning with women's first run at 9 a.m. ET (7 a.m. MT). Watch here and follow results here.
The Utes hold a one-point lead over Vermont, 142 to 141. Western rival Colorado is third with 120 points, followed by Nordic-only school Northern Michigan with 117 points.
"Wow! What an incredible start to the Championships!!" head Nordic coach Miles Havlick said. "We knew going into today that the times would be super tight so we were really focusing on closing hard up the final climb to the finish. Julia skied out of her mind at the end of today's race making up nearly 10 seconds in the final kilometer. She really demonstrated that she was the strongest in the country today! Overall, I am super impressed with how all the Utes skied today, both men and women. Everyone looked snappy, strong and powerful. We are off to a good start here in Stowe and we are certainly hungry for more!"
Richter, who is in her first season at Utah, has been strong towards the end of the season, finishing first or second in the last five races. It is her third collegiate victory. Utah's last championship in women's Nordic was Veronika Mayerhofer in this race in 2015. It is the 10th-straight year that Utah has had at least one individual national champion.
"I am so proud of the whole team," Richter said. "Everyone did a great job today. Our coaches Fredrik and Miles made our skis fly. I am super happy with my win today and 1lb of maple syrup. Our alpine team and parents were a huge help too on the course cheering for us. I really enjoy the time here with my teammates and I am so psyched that Utah is leading after the first day. GO UTES!"
Guro Jordheim finished fifth in the race to earn her fifth career All-America honor. Karianne Moe finished 18th for the Utes. The Utes had the highest team score of the race with 82 points.
"The race today was super fun and really, really hard!" Jordheim said. "It was a fight from start to finish and I could not feel my legs or see clear the last km. It was so tight between the racers, but Utah's incredible fan squad just crushed it out there! I am so stoked how many people came out and supported me and the Utes! Thanks for great skis, coaches! Vermont is beautiful and I enjoy every second of this local food mecca with my teammates. Another All-American in the books and psyched with all strong performances and that Julia won and we're ON TOP after day one."
A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP in women's freestyle for Julia Richter! Guro Jordheim and Maximilian Bie earn All-America honors for the Utes after day one of NCAA's! #goutes pic.twitter.com/6Apv1hAWVZ
— U of Utah Ski Team (@utahskiteam) March 6, 2019
Bie earned All-America honors in his first NCAA Championships race with an eighth-place finish, his sixth top-10 finish of the season. Logan Diekmann finished 12th with Ola Jordheim 13th. The Utes earned 60 points in the race, which was tied for fourth among teams.
"Cold, tight race out there today," Bie said. "Had to chase second all the way and have some juice left for the last 2k. Happy with my race and really looking forward to Friday! Stoked about the team and all the people around the course."
"We had an excellent day under windy and cold conditions," Utah Director of Skiing Fredrik Landstedt said. "Everyone on the team skied as well as they have all season. The races were very, very close so a couple of seconds faster or slower made a big difference. Super happy about Julia's win! She has been getting faster and faster throughout the season and this was definitely the right race to get her first collegiate skate win. It is always great for the team when you have a good start of the Championship. It gives everyone confidence and we are excited for the rest of the week."
The alpine teams compete on Thursday with the giant slalom races beginning with women's first run at 9 a.m. ET (7 a.m. MT). Watch here and follow results here.
Players Mentioned
Nordic
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Nordic
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Nordic
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Nordic
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Nordic
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Nordic
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