The Colorado Buffaloes Ski Team finished second at the 2026 NCAA Skiing Championships, which concluded on March 14 in Midway, Utah. The event came down to the final lap of the men’s 20K freestyle race, where the Utah Utes secured the national title by a margin of 10.5 points.
The outcome was determined during the last two races of the four-day championship at Soldier Hollow. Colorado entered the final day with a narrow lead but was overtaken by Utah in both the women’s and men’s 20K freestyle events. In the women’s race, Alaska Fairbanks’ Rosie Fordham took first place while Tilde Baangman led Colorado with a ninth-place finish, earning second-team All-America honors. Utah’s Erica Laven and Witta Walcher placed third and fifth respectively, helping their team outscore Colorado and take a slim lead into the final event.
The men’s 20K freestyle saw frequent changes in team standings as skiers shifted positions throughout the race. At one point, Colorado briefly regained an overall lead before falling behind again. Ultimately, Utah’s Mons Melbye won the race while Colorado’s Jakob Moch finished fourth to earn first-team All-America honors. Johannes Flaaten and Storm Pedersen also contributed for Colorado by finishing eleventh and fourteenth.
Utah ended with a total of 549.5 points compared to Colorado’s 539.5 points. Denver finished third with 386.5 points, narrowly ahead of Montana State’s 376.5 points. The combined daily margins between Utah and Colorado totaled just 32.5 points over four days—the closest contest since coed championships began in 1983.
Colorado concluded its season with fourteen All-America honors—eight first-team and six second-team selections—second only to Utah’s fifteen honorees. Baangman completed her collegiate career at Colorado with six All-America awards overall, while Moch earned two in his first NCAA Championships appearance.
With this result, the Buffs wrap up their season as runners-up in one of the tightest NCAA skiing championship battles on record.
