Montana State's Kate Oldham earns second-team All-America at NCAA Skiing Championships
Montana State's Kate Oldham competes in the 7.5K classic on Thursday at the NCAA Skiing Championships at Oak Hills Outdoor Center in Hanover, N.H.
HANOVER, N.H. — Montana State senior Kate Oldham overcame a grueling travel schedule with an seventh-place finish in the 7.5K classic on Thursday morning at the 72nd annual NCAA Skiing Championships at Oak Hills Outdoor Center.
Oldham, who was in Norway earlier this week for the 2025 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships after winning the 2025 U.S. Cross Country Freestyle title in early January, posted a time of 24 minutes, 46.5 seconds to claim second-team All-America honors. Utah’s Erica Laven, who dominated the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association season for Utah, won the classic title in 23:43.3.
“We are stoked that Kate was able to put in her second career NCAA All-American performance,” said MSU head Nordic coach Adam St. Pierre. “For her to have raced at the World Championships in Norway a few days ago, travel to New Hampshire and have that result in really tough conditions while feeling pretty flat is impressive.”
Oldham, a product of Carbondale, Colorado, was a first-team All-American last winter after placing fifth in freestyle at the NCAA Championships in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
On Thursday, the Bobcats also received contributions from Anna Pryce (26th, 26.13.8) and Katey Houser (33rd, 26:42.4).
The MSU men’s Nordic contingent was led by freshman Grey Barbier, who placed 34th in a time of 24:25.2. Gavin Galyardt finished 38th in 25:42.8. Both Bobcat racers were making their first NCAA Championship appearances.
Dartmouth’s John Steel Hagenbuch won the men’s classic title in 20:52.8.
“Today was a really hard day,” St. Pierre said. “Warm, wet conditions made for some really slow snow and challenging ski prep. All the Nordic Bobcats felt flat today, lacking the ability to maintain our fastest speeds, which is pretty normal after a few days at sea level.
"We’ll regroup, put in a speedy workout tomorrow and be ready to fire on all cylinders on Saturday to close out the championships."
Host school Dartmouth dominated both men’s and women’s Nordic races to jump to the top of the team standings with 267.5 points. At the midway mark of the championships, The Big Green is followed by Colorado (262), Utah (257), Vermont (208), Denver (161), Alaska Anchorage (144), Middlebury (120), New Hampshire (117), Colby (90) and Montana State (81).
The alpine giant slalom events take place on Friday beginning at 7 a.m. Mountain time at Dartmouth Skiway.
“We had great support from our alpine teammates out on the course to cheer for us,” St. Pierre said. “We are excited to be able to watch their GS tomorrow after our workout.”