Utah Ski Team rallies to capture 2025 NCAA Championship

The University of Utah ski team hoist the championship trophy at the Dartmouth Skiway on March 8 after winning the title for the 17th time. Photo: Utah Skiing

HANOVER, N.H. – The University of Utah Ski Team claimed its 17th national title on March 8, securing the NCAA championship for the fourth time in the last five years with a strong finish at Dartmouth College.

Trailing by 61 points after the opening slalom events, Utah made a comeback with dominant performances in Nordic and alpine competitions over the next three days. Erica Lavén’s victory in the women’s 7.5K classic on Thursday, followed by Johs Braathen Herland’s giant slalom title on Friday, helped close the gap. The team sealed the championship with a standout performance in Saturday’s 20K freestyle, led by Joe Davies’ commanding win in the men’s race.

Head alpine coach JJ Johnson, a Park City native, has helped lead Utah to five NCAA titles since 2019, while assistant alpine coach Mary Joyce has been on staff for the last four team crowns. The University of Utah alpine team regularly trains at the Utah Olympic Park in Park City.

 

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“This was just amazing, especially in front of this crowd,” Utah director of skiing Fredrik Landstedt said. “I’m super proud of this team and how they came together. They stayed positive after a tough first day, and their comeback was incredible.”

Davies dominated the men’s 20K freestyle with a time of 43:34.0, finishing more than a minute ahead of the competition. He was followed by teammates Brian Bushey in third place (45:11.0) and Zachary Jayne in 10th (46:08.0), all earning All-American honors.

“It felt really good to win by such a big margin this year,” Davies said. “After finishing third in the classic race, I wanted to push as hard as I possibly could today. Luckily, it played out in my favor.”

In the women’s 20K freestyle, Lavén finished second (50:50.0) in a close battle with Alaska Fairbanks’ Kendall Kramer. Selma Nevin placed fifth (51:31.0), and Celine Mayer contributed a 19th-place finish (53:52.0) to help secure Utah’s championship.

The Utes finished the meet with 17 All-Americans across four days and eight events, the most of any team. The championship marks the 16th NCAA title for the Utah ski program, with an additional women’s-only AIAW national title in 1978.

Under Landstedt, who took over as head coach in 2018, Utah has won five NCAA championships (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025). First-year Nordic coach Pierre Niess also earned his first national title, while head alpine coach Johnson added another championship to his tenure.

“We knew we had a strong team, but NCAAs are always unpredictable,” Landstedt said. “Replacing NCAA champions from last year wasn’t easy, but our freshmen and seniors stepped up in a big way. Seeing them come together and support each other was incredible.”

The Colorado Buffs took second place and host team Dartmouth rounded out the podium in third. Full results can be found here.