MIDWAY, Utah — St. Scholastica Nordic skier Della Bettendorf (Proctor, MN/Proctor HS) represented the Saints on the national stage Thursday, competing in the women's 7.5-kilometer individual start classic race at the NCAA Skiing Championships at the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center.

Bettendorf finished 29th in a field of the nation's top collegiate skiers, posting a time of 29:57.3 in the event.

Conditions proved challenging throughout the morning as warm temperatures impacted the man-made snow at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center. As the race progressed, the softening surface created increasingly slow and inconsistent tracks, making ski selection and waxing critical factors for the competitors.

Despite the demanding conditions, Bettendorf delivered a steady performance across the three-lap course. She opened with an 8:56 split on the opening lap before working through the middle portion of the race and finishing strong over the final kilometers. Her result earned two points for St. Scholastica in the Nordic standings at the national championship. A video recap of her race can be found at this link.

Bettendorf will return to the course Saturday for the second Nordic event of the championship, the 20-kilometer mass start freestyle race, scheduled for 8:30 a.m. MT at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center.