Montana State’s Kate Oldham wins 10K freestyle skiing national title at Kincaid Park; UAF’s Kendall Kramer is 2nd

Kate Oldham stepped to the start line at Kincaid Park on Thursday without a single competitive race under her belt this winter.

But if she had any rust, it didn’t show.

Oldham, a senior at Montana State University, posted a time of 24 minutes, 29.8 seconds to win the 10K freestyle race at the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships.

Although Oldham has a stellar record that includes a junior national championship, she didn’t have any expectations entering nationals.

“I just spent three weeks training alone,” she said. “I don’t have a lot of context for what I’m expecting. It was a little nerve-wracking, but it was part of the plan to show up in Anchorage with the fitness I had and it turns out it was pretty good.”

Oldham said she enjoys being home for the holidays and opted to take a break and train independently once classes let out for the semester in Bozeman.

“Training through that part of the season sets up the rest of the season,” she said. “I wasn’t trying to come to Nationals super sharp and I didn’t feel like I needed those early-season races.”

Thursday’s races were interval starts, meaning the racers were generally just racing against the clock.

“That’s the essence of racing,” she said. “Go out and race the clock and just do your own thing, stay in your own lane and focus on what you can control.”

Oldham raced previously at Kincaid in high school and at RMISA Regionals during college. She also trained with APU over the summer for six weeks.

Oldham said she knew she had posted a good time, but plenty of fast skiers were still on the course when she finished.

“I took off right away and did my cooldown, tried to get warm clothes on, then came back and started looking at results,” she said. “It was a bit surreal.”

UAF’s Kendall Kramer continued her torrid pace of podium finishes. That extended back to late October, when she finished second in the DII National Cross Country Running Championships. That meant a different training plan for her and UAF running and skiing teammate Rosie Fordham, who finished fifth overall.

“In the fall, me and Rosie, we just do our intensity running twice a week, and then the rest of sessions are skiing, and that’s how we balance it,” she said. “And so that’s what my fall was, which was different from a typical skier fall, but I think kept me even more in shape and kept me fresh. I’m super glad we could both have carried it into the ski season.”

She was very familiar with the 10K course, which she’d run on throughout high school and as recently as just before Christmas, when she won the open 10K at Besh Cup.

“I know how to race it really well,” she said.

While she’s finished runner-up twice in recent nationals, she views it as more of a tribute to the competition and not what could have been.

“I am grateful to be not alone at the top and have so many awesome athletes around me,” she said. “That was really impressive by Kate. I’m grateful and she totally deserves it.”

On Thursday, she finished 11 seconds back of Oldham.

Kramer has spent multiple summers in Anchorage growing up. On a cold, crisp day with temperatures in the single digits, she had a contingent of supporters at the finish line with bibs sporting her likeness.

“I’ve been in Anchorage for so long in the summers,” she said. “This really is like home. It’s really cool to see everyone enjoying it and traveling here instead of me traveling far and wide for most races.”

Marit Flora was the top UAA finisher, placing 28th in a time of 26:24.6. Swede Erica Laven, competing for University of Utah, placed third. By virtue of being the third-best American, Team Birkie’s Lucinda Anderson finished on the nationals podium with her fourth-place finish.

UAF’s Tabitha Williams (31st), UAA’s Beth Granstrom (37th), UAA’s Marlie Molinaro (39th) and APU’s Anabel Needham (45th) all finished in the top 50.

Anchorage Winter Stars skier Miya Kam-Magruder placed third in the 16U category.

U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships

At Kincaid Park

10K freestyle (interval start)

1. Kate Oldham, Montana State, 24:29.8; 2. Kendall Kramer, UAF, 24:41.0; 3. Erica Laven, Utah, 24:58.3; 4. Lucinda Anderson, Team Birkie, 25:00.4; 5. Rosie Fordham, Australian Ski Team, 25:02.4; 6. Tilde Baangman, U of Colorado, 25:02.9; 7. Sydney Palmer-Leger, SMST2, 25:06.8; 8. Maja Kjaeraas Moland, U of Denver, 25:12.4; 9. Mariel Merlii Pulles, Team Birkie, 25:29.0; 10. Lauren Jortberg, CNEPH, 25:37.6; 11. Erin Bianco, BSF Pro, 25:40.4; 12. Samantha Smith, SVSEF, 25:42.2; 13. Selva Nevin, U of Utah, 25:47.8; 14. Emma Albrecht, BSF Pro, 25:54.6; 15. Nina Schamberger, U of Utah, 25:57.7; 16. Emma Crum, Mansfield Nordic, 25:59.3; 17. Margie Freed, CGRP, 26:02.2; 18. Eve-Ondine Duchaufour, U of Denver, 26:04.7; 19. Michaela Keller-Miller, CGRP, 26:05.6; 20. Lea Stabaek Wenaas,U on Denver, 26:10.5; 21. Karolina Kaleta, U of Colorado, 26:10.9; 22. Haley Brewster, UVM, 26:11.9; 23. Emma Strack, St. Lawrence, 26:14.1; 24. Gretta Scholz, Team Birkie, 26:17.5; 25. Neve Gerard, U of Utah, 26:17.5.