STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. (csssaints.com) -- St. Scholastica's Reitler Hodgert (Bend, Ore./Summit HS ) landed on the front side of a couple seconds to take 25^th on day one of NCAA Championship skiing, but fell on the opposite end of the same scenario in the 20km classic mass start, Saturday, as he finished 31^st in a six-way sprint for position 27 through 32, crossing the line in 54:03.9. 

Colorado's Mads Stroem won again to add an eighth NCAA title to the seventh he won Thursday in the 10km freestyle. Stroem edged Denver's Moritz Madlener by 1.7 seconds in a winning time of 41:49.9 to Madlener's 49:43.6, though it wasn't actually that close as Stroem celebrated down the stretch. Utah's Niklas Person took third in 50:00.6. 

Hodgert started with the same conservative effort at the 6,600-foot altitude, sitting near the back of the field in 36^th after the first of four laps, before charging up to as high as 25^th at the start of the fourth and final lap. But lap four proved a struggle as many of the skiers he gapped rejoined him by the finish stretch. Heading into the final turn, Hodgert led a group of six in 27^th spot, but unlike Thursday's fortune, Hodgert faded to 31^st across the line, just 1.6 seconds from 27^th, and six-tenths ahead of 32^nd. 

"I fully believed on lap three that I could get into the top 20 by the finish," said Hodgert of his race. "But the last lap was rough. I just started cramping up and slowed down [because of it.]

"I thought Reitler was going to go top 20 as well," said head coach Chad Salmela. "He was 25^th heading into the last lap about 25 seconds out of 20^thand he looked better than everyone around him."  Then in the stadium, Salmela saw the skiers he was catching at the start of the final lap, and Hodgert was no longer close. "I knew that last lap had been rough on him as the time ticked away. He still fought hard to stay in the top 30, but came up just short. It was a great effort."

Hodgert finished the day as the fourth for the central region, albeit on a weaker regional performance than the 10km freestyle.

Salmela felt Hodgert's NCAA experience sets him up for a great 2017 senior campaign. "Reitler improved so much. He consistently performed all season at a level are or above his high points last year. I think the experience will have him hungry for a 2017 berth and even better races at the championships. I'm really proud of him and how he represents our program."

The NCAA Skiing Championships conclude the Saints' 2016 ski season.