MIDWAY, Utah – Freshman Synne Bollingmo led the Denver Pioneers ski team on Thursday with a third-place finish in the Nordic 7.5-kilometer classical on Day 2 of the 2026 NCAA Championships.
 
Bollingmo was one of two DU skiers to earn All-American accolades on the first day of the cross-country events at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center, as sophomore Eemil Juntunen placed seventh in the men's classic interval start race.
 
"What an emotional roller coaster today was," said Denver Head Nordic Skiing Coach Eliska Albrigtsen. "It was warm for the women's race, and we used the stickiest wax of the season. Synne had great energy on the whole course, and it paid off in the finish, taking some big names down. Eemil showed his sprint speed and put in one quick lap after another and slid into a well-earned top 10. Our team fought hard today, but you can tell they're hungry to prove themselves more and can't wait to get out there for the 20K on Saturday."
 
The podium finish by Bollingmo marked the second of her collegiate career after she also came in third at the Denver Invitational's 10K classic on Feb. 7 in Frisco, Colorado. The Raufoss, Norway, native posted a time of 25:27.7 and was joined on the stage by a new national champion in Rosie Fordham of Alaska Fairbanks (24:08.0) and runner-up Erica Laven of Utah (25:11.0).
 
"I tried something a little different, to start a little slower than I usually do and just try and keep the speed up and go faster and faster every lap," Bollingmo said. "I think I managed to do that quite well.
 
"I got splits that said I was in fourth or fifth place, and on the last hill (assistant coach) Eric [Houck] said I was two seconds behind third place. I felt like I got extra energy and managed to sprint extra fast."
 
It is the second consecutive season that a DU women's Nordic skier has earned first-team All-American honors after Lea Wenaas placed fourth in the 20K freestyle last year in Hanover, New Hampshire, and it was first women's cross-country podium at the collegiate nationals by the Pioneers since Eveliina Piippo won the 5K freestyle interval start in 2020 in Bozeman, Montana.
 
Juntunen earned his seventh top-10 finish of the season and fourth in a row with his seventh-place result, clocking in at 19:05.6. Graduate student Sondre Oestervold just missed the men's top 10 by six seconds and finished 12th, while freshman Yannick Zellweger placed 20th.
 
Junior Maja Moland was the other DU finisher in the women's event in 19th, while senior Eve-Ondine Duchaufour unfortunately didn't finish after overheating on the course in the sunny, 40-plus-degree Fahrenheit day in the high Utah valley.
 
The men's overall podium featured John Steel Hagenbuch of Dartmouth defending his national title (18:25.3) while Utah's Mons Melbye was second (18:31.0) and Alaska Anchorage's Erling Bjoernstad was third (18:48.3).
 
As a team, Denver moved into third place in the overall standings at the halfway point of the meet with 208.5 points, trailing second-place Colorado by 89.5 points and is 30 points ahead of Montana State in fourth (178.5). Host Utah took over the lead from CU and has totaled 299.5 points after four-of-eight events.
 
UP NEXT: The alpine portion of the national championships conclude on Friday with slalom at Utah Olympic Park. The Nordic 20K freestyle mass start will officially crown a team national-title winner on Saturday morning at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center.
 
 
DENVER MEN 7.5K CLASSIC INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
7. Eemil Juntunen, 19:05.6
12. Sondre Oestervold, 19:18.2
20. Yannick Zellweger, 19:56.7
 
DENVER WOMEN 7.5K CLASSIC INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
3. Synne Bollingmo, 25:27.7
19. Maja Moland, 28:54.3
DNF: Eve-Ondine Duchaufour
 
TEAM STANDINGS (through 4-of-8 events): 1. Utah 299.5; 2. Colorado 288; 3. Denver 208.5; 4. Montana State 178.5; 5. Middlebury 153; 6. Dartmouth 152; 7. Alaska Anchorage 129; 8. Vermont 109; 9. Alaska Fairbanks 93.5; 10. New Hampshire 75; 11. Colby 53; T12. Nevada 51; T12. Northern Michigan 51; 14. Westminster 44; 15. Michigan Tech 36.5; 16. St. Lawrence 17.5; 17. St. Michael's 12; 18. Boston College 11, 19. Harvard 10; 20. Williams 8; 21. St. Scholastica 2; 22. Bowdoin 1.
 
MEN'S 7.5K CLASSIC TOP 10 (40 finishers): 1. John Steel Hagenbuch, DAR, 18:25.3; 2. Mons Melbye, UU, 18:31.0; 3. Erling Bjoernstad, UAA, 18:48.3; 4. Storm Pedersen, CU, 18:50.3; 5. Corbin Carpenter, UAA, 18:54.5; 6. Zachary Jayne, UU, 18:57.9; 7. Eemil Juntunen, DU, 19:05.6; 8. Jakob Moch, CU, 19:10.0; 9. Johannes Flaaten, CU, 19:10.4; 10. Luke Fricker, NMU, 19:12.6.
 
WOMEN'S 7.5K CLASSIC TOP 10 (39 finishers): 1. Rosie Fordham, UAF, 24:08.0; 2. Erica Laven, UU, 25:11.0; 3. Synne Bollingmo, DU, 25:27.7; 4. Tilde Baangman, 25:32.1; 5. Witta-Luisa Walcher, UU, 25:56.1; 6. Astri Lunde, CU, 26:14.6; 7. Marit Flora, UAA, 26:15.0; 8. Ava Thurston, DAR, 26:35.5; 9. Sofia Pedersen, UU, 26:50.7; 10. Shea Brams, MID, 26:52.4
 

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