NCAA—Magnus Boee Leads Colorado to Come-from-Behind Victory

Winning a fifth NCAA championship in a row would represent a program milestone for the University of Utah, though going into the final day of NCAA competition, Utah’s path to victory was less than a foregone conclusion. Nonetheless, Utah has shown itself to be the dominant collegiate program—both Alpine and Nordic—of the last few years, entering the final day of NCAA competition as the favorite to take the crown. All that history would be decided in the Men’s and Women’s 20 k Mass Start Classic races held at Howelsen Hill in Steamboat Spring, Colorado. Clear skies and perfect conditions made waxing and preparation quite straightforward; the races—and the championship—would be decided on the trails.

The NCAA Skiing Championship is awarded to the team with the highest combined score after two Alpine races and two Nordic races. The University of Utah entered Saturday’s 20 k Mass Start Classic races (Men’s and Women’s) with a substantial lead (444.5 points) over University of Denver (401 points) and University of Colorado (393.5 points). These would be the final races of the 2024 NCAA Championship—trophy presentations, unfurled flags, and whole-team podium photos to follow.

Women’s 20 k Classic Mass Start

Earlier in the week, Thursday’s 7.5 k Individual Start Freestyle race was won by Utah’s Sydney Palmer-Leger (UU) who ended her own three-year title-drought by returning to the top step of an NCAA podium for the third time in her career. Palmer-Leger was a two-time NCAA champion as a freshman in 2021, but since those early-career successes, she has had to watch as her teammates—Novie McCabe in 2023 and Sophia Laukli in 2022—won races and garnered headlines. With McCabe and Laukli now racing full-time on the World Cup circuit, the responsibility of delivering national championships for the Utes has returned to Palmer-Leger.

Along with Palmer-Leger, the list of contenders in the Women’s race is deep and distinguished, and many of those names went straight to the front as the race began. Led by Tilde Baangman (MSU) and Hannah Abrahmson (CU), a group of seven separated themselves from the field by the top of the very first hill. By the end of the first of four 5 k laps, that lead group would grow to ten: Jasmine Drolet (DAR), Baangman, Abrahamson, Kariana Dengeruud (UU), Palmer-Leger (UU), Anna-Maria Dietze (CU), Weronika Kaleta (CU), Haley Brewster (UVM), Ava Thurston (DAR), Kate Oldham (MSU). The challenging climbs and the daunting elevation of Steamboat’s Howellson Hill course continued to whittle away at the lead group for the next two laps. Conversely, Kendall Kramer (UAF) was able to work her way up to the lead group as other contenders continued to fall away.

At the beginning of the final lap, the lead group had seen itself shrink to seven: Abrahamson, Baangman, Palmer-Leger, Drolet and Dietze, with Kaleta hanging just off the back in sixth. If that combination of skiers—three from CU and only one from UU—were to finish in that order, it would mean a massive points swing to CU with only the Men’s race remaining in team scoring. But racing rarely goes to script.

Midway through the final lap, a major climb caused another split in the lead group as Abrahamson, Palmer-Leger, and Brewster powered to the front, only to see themselves caught and passed on the subsequent downhill by a rocketing Drolet who quickly established a gap and shattered the small group of leaders.

Drolet would storm across the line first, followed seconds later by Brewster second, Palmer-Leger third, Abrahamson fourth, Dietze fifth, Kramer sixth, Baangman seventh.

Women’s 20 k Classic Mass Start RESULTS

Men’s 20 k Classic Mass Start

Utah led team scoring going into the final Men’s race, with Colorado trailing by only 17 points. NCAA bragging rights would be up for grabs over the next 20 kilometers.

In the 2023 NCAA Mass Start race, Dartmouth’s John Steel Hagenbuch had found himself out-dueled by Remi Drolet of Harvard (the first NCAA race-winner in that school’s history). Drolet returned to this year’s NCAA championship, but he appeared to have left his best form on the World Cup courses where he spent much of the winter and spring. Drolet finished Thursday’s 7.5 k Freestyle an uncharacteristic 16th. Hagenbuch, too, has raced through a calendar dominated by World Cup racing, but he appears to be getting stronger and stronger as the collegiate season continues.

The Men’s  race broke up quickly; by the beginning of lap two, a lead group had formed of Andreas Kirkeng (DU),  Florian Knopf (DU), Magnus Boee (CU), and Will Koch (CU). That lead group was followed closely by 2023 NCAA Champion Joe Davies (UU), Tom Mancini (UU) Hagenbuch, and Drolet.

Mid-lap attacks by Boee shook up the lead group, shedding Koch and stringing out Kirkeng and Knopf. It seemed an audaciously early move, though with potential to develop points gaps (especially with Boee in the lead and Koch remaining ahead of Utah’s skiers) that could bear heavily on the final NCAA standings.

Boee’s tremendous double-pole continued to put time into his rivals. All that remained was the upcoming 30+ kilometers, and the question of whether or not Boee’s gamble would pay off. Through the end of the second lap, Boee’s gap continued to grow. Behind him, Knopf continued to chase gamely, though Kirkeng was overtaken by Koch.

Working together behind Koch was a group of contenders including Tom Mancini (UU), Drolet, Hagenbuch, Brian Bushey (UU), Davies, and Florian Winker (MSU).

Beginning the final lap, Boee held a gap of over 20 seconds over second place Knopf, then another 20 + seconds to Koch, then a final 20+ seconds to the main group of chasers. Someone would need to surge—and someone would need to blow—for those standings to be much changed before the finish. At the beginning of this final lap, CU led the NCAA team standings by a mere two points.

On the major climb, Drolet and Hagenbuch began to pull away from the Utah skiers. And by the last kilometer of the final lap, Hagenbuch and Drolet were beginning to track down Koch who gave everything he had to get over the top of the final climb ahead of his pursuers.

Boee skied across the line waving a CU flag, Knopf crossed the line, Koch crossed the line, Drolet outsprinted Hagenbuch for fourth, then a trio of Utes crossed together. A few skiers later, Colorado’s Johannes Flaaten crossed the line for 11th place . . . and a NCAA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP for the Colorado Buffaloes . . . a win they took from the Utah Utes by a team-total of two points.

Men’s 20 k Classic Mass Start RESULTS