The University of Utah ski team is back on top.
The Utes won their 17th national title on Saturday, rallying from a sluggish start to the 2025 NCAA Championships at Dartmouth Skiway in New Hampshire.
“This was just amazing up here, especially in front of this crowd,” Utah director of skiing Fredrik Landstedt said. “I’m super proud of this team, how they came together and the camaraderie they’ve shown — really the way to fight back during the championship."
Utah trailed by 61 points after Wednesday’s slalom, but turned things around during the final three days of competition.
Erica Lavén responded with a win in the women’s 7.5K classic on Thursday and Johs Braathen Herland won the title in men’s giant slalom Friday afternoon.
“It feels so good to win (the national championship),” Lavén said. “The whole team is so happy. We did awesome.”
On Saturday, Joe Davies sealed things, winning the men’s 20K freestyle by more than a minute.
“The team really stayed positive (after Wednesday). You can lead by a lot or you can be far behind after one day. It’s a long championship,” Landstedt said. “They knew that it changes fast and anything can happen. They were in good spirits still. To come back the way they did was just incredible.”
This was Utah’s fourth championship in the last five years, and a bounceback performance after watching the Colorado Buffaloes claim last year’s title.
“We knew [in the Fall] that we would be in it. But you never know until you start skiing,” Landstedt said. “We had some big shoes to fill this year to replace NCAA champions on our team that left. … It was just great to see the way they came together and supported each other.”