JACKSON, N.H. (csssaints.com) – On a blustery and cold Saturday at the NCAA Skiing Championships, both Reitler Hodgert (Bend, Ore./Summit HS ) and Kelsey Dickinson (Winthrop, Wash./Liberty Bell HS) scored points for St. Scholastica in the freestyle mass start races.
 
Hodgert's Freestyle Race
The 20km mass start meant four times around the five-kilometer loop for the men. After the first lap, Hodgert was 23^rd with a time of 11:55. He would drop all the way back to 35^th in the 40-skier field due to a crash on his second lap.
 
In the final half of the race, Hodgert began to climb back into the points. His third lap split was 12:21 and he climbed to 29^th as other skiers started to fall off the pace because of the fast start established by the leaders. In the final lap of the race, Hodgert gained more positions and ultimately finished in 24^th in a total time of 48:27.6. That meant his final lap of the day was his fastest at 11:52.
 
Hodgert was only one of two skiers in the field to gain 11 spots in the final 10 kilometers. The other was the race winner, Martin Bergstroem of the University of Utah, who was 12^th at the halfway point to come from behind and win with a time of 46:02.8. Bergstroem also won Thursday's 10km classic race to sweep the week.
 
Hodgert gained 19 points St. Scholastica at the championships and had an average finish of 21.5. That average finish is the third best in program history. Paul Schommer holds the top two average finishes (16.5 – 2012, 2014).
 
Dickinson's Freestyle Race
Dickinson competed in the 15km freestyle mass start. The skiers went around three times on the five-kilometer loop. Dickinson was hoping to rebound from Thursday's classic performance and she succeeded by scoring for the first time at a NCAA Championship, placing 26^th.
 
Dickinson started off fast, competing with the lead group through the first five kilometers. She would be 10^th after the first lap with a time of 13:23.5. Dickinson fell back on her second lap due to a crash and had a split of 14:38 and was in 26^th place. She held that 26^th position on her final lap, finishing with a total time of 42:27.8. The 26^th place finish is a career-best at a NCAA Championship.
 
Dickinson was the fourth NCAA Division III finisher in the field and was the fourth-highest finisher from the Central Region.
 
Petra Hyncicova, of the University of Colorado, completed the sweep for the week with a winning time of 39:21.6.
 
Final NCAA Point Totals
The Saints finished 19^th at the NCAA Ski Championships with 24 points. That marks the sixth straight year St. Scholastica finished in the top 20 at the NCAA Championships. The point totals combine both genders as well as the slalom portion of the championships.
 
The three scoring performances by Hodgert and Dickinson this week, match the second-most in program history. The program record is five in 2015.
 
The University of Utah won the overall team title by dominating the Nordic portion of the championships.
 
End of Season
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