Utah vaulted into the lead on the second day of the NCAA ski championships thanks to second-place finishes by Erica Lavén and Mons Melbye.
Lavén finished the 7.5K classic with a time of 25:11.0, behind only Rosie Fordham from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, who finished in 24:08.0.
Witta Walcher added to Utah’s first-place team finish in the event with a fifth-place time of 25:56.1, and Sofia Pedersen finished ninth with a time of 26:50.7.
On the men’s side, Melbye secured second place with a time of 18:31.0, while Zachary Jayne finished sixth (18:57.9) and Max Kluck finished 16th (19:47.5).
Utah edged out Colorado to place first as a team in the event.
After Thursday’s success, Utah now leads Colorado in the overall standings, 299.5 to 288.
The competition resumes Friday morning at Spencer F. Eccles Olympic Mountain Center at Utah Olympic Park with the slalom. The start time has been moved up to 8:30 a.m. MT.
