MIDWAY, Utah (csssaints.com) – The College of St. Scholastica had three skiers compete at the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center on Saturday and Sunday.
 
Saturday's Action
The races on Saturday consisted of the 15km freestyle for the men and 10km freestyle for the women. Kelsey Dickinson (Winthrop, Wash./Liberty Bell HS) led the CSS skiers with a 61^st place finish in a time of 30:13.
 
"Kelsey had a really strong start and skied a very aggressive race, fighting hard until the end," described head coach Maria Stuber.
 
Dickinson was sixth among Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) skiers.
 
Freshman Nicole Gilman (Manitowish Waters, Wis./Lakeland Union HS) placed 226^th overall, but was 58^th in her age group, finishing in a time of 35:40.
 
"Nikki is racing at altitude for the first time in her life so the trip is a big learning experience," said Stuber. "She paced extremely well for her first time at altitude, having nearly even lap splits and moving up a place on the second lap of the course."
 
Reitler Hodgert (Bend, Ore./Summit HS ) was the lone CSS men's skier in action, finishing 116^th overall with a time of 39:33.  Hodgert was seventh among CCSA skiers.
 
"Reitler had a solid day, but definitely has some more to give later in the week," said Stuber. The men's race was a three-lap individual start and on Reitler's second lap he followed a group of guys into the finish lanes one lap too early. This required him to go back out to the lap lane and loose some time on the field.  All-in-all we were proud of him for shaking it off and jumping right back into the race unfazed."
 
Sunday's Action
Sunday's races were classic sprints where 304 men skiers tried to qualify in the top 30 for the quarterfinal heats and 254 women's skiers also tried to qualify in the top 30.
 
Hodgert finished 39^th with a time of 3:49.46. He was fourth among CCSA skiers in the event.
 
"There is a huge international field here because the venue is hosting the world junior and u23 world championship later this month, said Stuber. "Reitler would have been in the heats without the added international depth. He was only 1.4 seconds from 30th and 11 seconds from the win."
 
Dickinson finished 83^rd with a time of 3:55.33 and Gilman was 238^th with a time of 4:35.87. Dickinson was sixth among CCSA skiers.
 
Up Next
The three skiers will compete in the classic distance races on Tuesday. The races are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. (MT).