Hagenbuch Wins Third Straight Individual Championship to Highlight Day Two of National Championship

Thursday, March 12

Soldier Hollow Nordic Center / Midway, Utah

9:00 AM MDT / 11:00 AM EDT

Dartmouth College

NCAA Championship Day 2

Hagenbuch Wins Third Straight Individual Championship to Highlight Day Two of National Championship

3/12/2026 6:44:00 PM | Skiing

By: Rebecca Osowski

MIDWAY, Utah – The 2026 National Championship continued Thursday as Nordic competition kicked off at the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center. John Steel Hagenbuch continued to dominate, winning the 7.5K classic interval start to highlight the day for the Big Green.

After two days, the Big Green sit in sixth place with 12 total points.

Hagenbuch was only the third skier out of the gate in the interval start, but finished the race in 18:25.3 to claim his third straight individual title and second straight in the 7.5K classic interval start. He finished the 2026 race over two minutes faster than his winning time in Hanover in 2025.

Hagenbuch posted the third fastest first lap time, sitting only two seconds out of first place. He then sprung into first place on his second lap, building a three second lead at the 5K mark. He finished with a 6:08 third lap, the fastest third split of the field and his second fastest lap of the day to claim the win.

His win on Thursday now makes him a six time All-America First-Team honoree as Hagenbuch becomes the first Dartmouth skier since Chiharu Igaya from to win an individual title three straight years. Igaya accomplished the feat from 1955-57.

Cooper Camp was the next Dartmouth finisher, claiming 26^th overall with a time of 20:10.02, scoring valuable points for the Big Green.

Jack Lange also represented the Big Green, finishing in 20:38.0, good for 33^rd overall. Lange was steady out of the gate but pushed on the final two laps. Sitting in 38^th with one lap to go, Lange skied a 6:49 final lap to jump five spots in the overall standings.

On the women's side, Ava Thurston earned Second-Team All-America status for her eighth-place finish in the 7.5K Classic. Thurston, the tenth person out of the gate, finished in 26:35.5.

Thurston came out of the gate hot, opening with a 7:59 first lap, the sixth fastest split of the field. She followed with the ninth fastest second lap time to sit in ninth headed into the final lap. A 9:24 final lap was enough to jump Thurston one spot in the standings, earning her eighth overall.

In her NCAA Championship debut, Evie Walton claimed 17^th overall. She crossed the finish line in 28:14.4, posting 8:26, 9:48, and 9:59 splits.

Amelia Tucker, also appearing in her first national championship, was the final Big Green finisher. She finished 21^st overall, posting a time of 28:56.3, scoring double digit points for Dartmouth. While finishing 21^st, her final lap was the 17^th fastest of the field.

The national championship will continue on Friday, as the alpine team races the slalom at Spencer F. Eccles Olympic Mountain Center at the Utah Olympic Park. The Big Green will look for additional strong performances on the slope from Zoe Zimmermann and Oscar Zimmer, also looking to avenge two giant slalom DNFs.

The women's first slalom run is set to begin at 11 a.m. EDT followed by the men's first run at 11:45 a.m. EDT. Second runs are scheduled for 1:45 p.m. EDT and 2:45 p.m. EDT. You can watch the races or follow the live scoring on DartmouthSports.com.