HANOVER, N.H. - Saint Michael's College Nordic skiing senior Declan Hutchinson (Duluth, Minn./Marshall School) capped his career with a 25th-place finish in the mass-start 20K freestyle on Saturday during the NCAA Championship at Oak Hill Outdoor Center, while sophomore Oliver Miatke (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East) claimed 33rd. The four-day event featured the top NCAA Division I, II and III Alpine and Nordic skiers.
 
CARNIVAL FACTS

• Between the Saint Michael's Alpine and Nordic squads, the College finished 13th among 23 schools at the NCAA Championship, with its four qualifiers accumulating 56.5 points. Saint Michael's has been top 13 six times in the last eight years, topping out at 11th in 2023.
• Hutchinson and Miatke were just the third and fourth Saint Michael's men's Nordic skiers to qualify for an NCAA Championship, as multiple Purple Knight Nordic competitors - men or women - took part at the same NCAA Championship for the first time.
• The Nordic squad tied for sixth among men's Nordic teams from the East
• Saint Michael's student-athletes competed at their fifth NCAA Championship under Molly Peters, who has sent three Nordic skiers to a pair of national meets while qualifying two individuals and the women's team for three NCAA cross country championships. Now in her 19th school year guiding women's cross country, 13th with Nordic skiing and fourth leading men's cross country, Peters is the only coach in College history to qualify the school for NCAAs in multiple different sports.
• The University of Utah won the national championship with 590 points.

MEN'S LEADERS

• Senior Declan Hutchinson (Duluth, Minn./Marshall School), 25th in mass-start 20K freestyle, 48:24.4
  • 9th finisher from East
  • Started in No. 11 bib
  • Reached 25th place by the 10K split, thanks to the 11th-best leg between the 7.7K and 10K markers, and never dropped lower. Reached as high as 23rd during back half of the race
  • Registered second-best finish ever by a Saint Michael's men's Nordic skier at an NCAA Championship, after Jens Johansson's '00 21st-place showing in the 1999 20K
  • 1st career NCAA Championship appearance
• Sophomore Oliver Miatke (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East), 33rd, 50:19.4
  • 14th finisher from East
  • Started in No. 35 bib
  • After being as far back as 38th, reached 33rd by 13.3K mark and swapped between 33rd and 34th for remainder of the race
  • 1st career NCAA Championship appearance