Peter Wolter of the Middlebury Nordic ski team earned All-American honors to lead the Panthers on the first day of the NCAA Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. The Nordic and alpine teams sit in fifth place out of 23 teams with 131.5 points at the midpoint of the event. Utah, the host school, leads all competing teams with 286.5 points, while Colorado (262 points), Denver (249 points) and the University of Vermont (235 points) round out the top five. 
 
Wolter earned his All-American laurel with an eighth-place finish in a field of 40 skiers. He covered the 10K classic course with a time of 24:40.1. Sam Hodges placed 20th in the event, clocking in at 25:43.0. Willson Moore was right behind in 23rd place, finishing with a time of 25:51.0. The men tallied 42 points with their overall performance, ranking the team seventh overall out of 17 schools. 
 
On the women's side, Charlotte Ogden turned in a strong performance, placing 13th in her first NCAA Championship event. She covered the 5K classic course in 14:26.0. Avery Ellis rounded out the competitors for Middlebury, finishing in 32nd place (15:20.6). The women posted 18 points, as they sit in 11th out of 16 squads after day one of racing. 
 
ALPINE RECAP
 
The Nordic squad is idle on Friday, before returning to race on Saturday in the final event of the championships. The men will compete in the 20K freestyle beginning at 9:30 a.m. MST, with the women following in the 15K freestyle at 11:30 a.m. MST. The alpine team is back in action on Friday when it competes in the slalom at the Park City Mountain Resort. The men's first run is slated for 9:00 a.m. MST, with the women following at 10:00 a.m. MST.