All three competitors from the Middlebury women's nordic ski team secured spots in the top-18 places of Thursday's 7.5K Individual Classic on the second day of the NCAA Championships at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in Midway, Utah. The trio earned 53 points to help the Panthers maintain the fifth spot on the leaderboard. At the four-day event's midpoint, Utah leads the pack with 299.5 points. Colorado holds second (288), while Denver rounds out the top three (208.5).
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Shea Brams posted a stellar outing on the fourth NCAA appearance of her career, completing her three laps on the 2.5K course with a time of 26:52.4. The All-East first-teamer held third place when she crossed the finish line and endured the final 34 finishers to hold 10th and land on the All-American Second Team.
• Not far behind her teammate was Mica Bodkins, who posted a strong effort of 27:08.3 to claim 12th place in her NCAA debut.
• Sofia Scirica rounded out a strong effort with an 18th-place finish. Her time of 28:22.2 secured a top-20 placement by 32.1 seconds.
• On the men's side, Mason Wheeler led the Middlebury contingent with a clocking of 20:06.0. The time slotted into 25th in the individual rankings.
• Nathan Doughty (20:31.8) and Finn Veit (20:36.6) wrapped up the race in 31st and 32nd places, respectively, in their initial outings as NCAA qualifiers.

NOTES

• Brams locked down her second All-American nod after placing ninth in last season's 20K Freestyle. She was also the top Panther finisher in last year's 7.5K event (11th).

The meet flips back to alpine action on Friday at the Spencer F. Eccles Olympic Mountain Center in Park City, Utah. Slalom competition begins with the first women's run at 9:00 a.m. MT. Nordic returns to finalize the weekend on Saturday with the 20K Mass Start, with the women's race set for 9:00 a.m. MT and the men's beginning at 10:30 a.m. MT.