Colorado takes lead over Denver after freestyle on Day 2

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. –– The second day of the NCAA Skiing Championship tightened up the national championship race. Colorado overtook the first place spot but Denver is only nine points back as the competition reached the midpoint of the championships on Thursday.

The nine-point difference between first and second place marks just the sixth time in the last 28 NCAA Skiing Championships that the difference between the top two schools at the halfway point was single digits.

RESULTS: Full results from Day 2 of the 2018 Skiing Championship 

The women came out one-by-one with their interval start for the 5K classical. The top five finishers were: Katharine Ogden, Darmouth (first place), Anne Siri Lervik, Colorado (second), Hailey Swirbul, Alaska Anchorage (third), Guro Jordheim, Utah (fourth) and Jasmi Joensuu, Denver (fifth). It was slightly cooler in the women’s race than Wednesday’s women’s giant slalom, registering in the high 20s to low 30s.

How about a shot of Katharine Ogden proudly waving the #Dartmouth Lone Pine flag on the top step of the podium at the @NCAA Skiing Championships today? Yeah, thought you’d like that. #DartSki pic.twitter.com/1gcJiZwkTU

— Dartmouth Ski Team (@DartmouthSkiing) March 8, 2018

The men followed the action-packed race just after noon with warmer temperatures reaching the lower 40s. The men’s 10K classical saw representatives from each prestigious academic institution ready to challenge each racer. The following student athletes finished in the top five: Martin Bergstrom, Utah (first place), Petter Reistad, Colorado (second), Dag Frode Trolleboe, Denver (third), Elvind Kvaale, Denver (fourth), Ian Torchia, New Mexico (fifth).

.@PetterReistad coming in with a second place finish in the men’s 10K classic at the #NCAASki Championships. #GoBuffs pic.twitter.com/OYGCcthzh9

— Colorado Skiing (@cubuffsskiing) March 8, 2018

For Bergstrom, he repeated his 2017 national championship in the event.

As the events rounded up, both the men and women were given their well-deserved rewards, along with the cowboy and cowgirl hats that podium finishers received. After the points were added up, the standings were updated: 1st: Colorado, 2nd: Denver, 3rd: Utah, 4th: Dartmouth, 5th: Vermont, T-6th: Middlebury, T-6th: Montana State, 8th: New Mexico, 9th: Alaska Anchorage, 10th: Northern Michigan, 11th: New Hampshire, 12th: St. Michael's, 13th: Williams, 14th: Alaska Fairbanks, 15th: Plymouth State, 16th: Colby, 17th: St. Lawrence, 18th: Michigan Tech, 19th: Bates, 20th: St. Scholastica, 21st: Bowdowin, 22nd: Boston College, 23rd: Harvard. 

MORE: Full results from Day 1 of the 2018 Skiing Championship | Highlights 

The teams will advance to the next events Friday with the night slalom races that open up with a fireworks show. Up first is the women’s slalom first run starting at 8:45 p.m. ET at Howelsen Hill, followed by the men’s slalom opening run at 9:30 p.m. ET. You can live stream the events on NCAA.com.