Dartmouth junior Glenn Randall became the first Dartmouth skier in 41 years to claim an NCAA cross-country ski title, winning the men's 10-kilometer freestyle race at the NCAA Men's and Women's Skiing Championships yesterday in Bozeman, Mont.
Dartmouth, the defending national champion, and Middlebury sat in a three-way tie for third after Day 1 of the four-day event.
Colorado (186 points) had the overall lead, followed by Northern Michigan (153), and Middlebury, Dartmouth, and Denver (141).
Randall, whose previous-best NCAA finish was fifth in the freestyle in 2006, covered the Bohart Ranch course in 30 minutes 37.3 seconds, 11 seconds faster than Marius Korthauer of Alaska-Fairbanks. Colorado's Jesper Ostensen was third (31:03.2) and Bates junior Sylvan Ellefson was fourth (31:20.0).
"This is really special for me," said Randall, who lives in Collbran, Colo., and learned to ski in the Rockies. "It's a really tough course with a lot of long, grinding uphills. I happen to like long, grinding uphills."
Randall led the race from wire to wire, leading at the first interval in 14:34.1.
"At around a kilometer-and-a-half, I heard I was in second place," he said. "Then, at about halfway, I was told I was leading. From there I just tried to ski my race."
The only other New England racer in the top 20 was Middlebury's Simeon Hamilton (13th).
Colorado's Maria Grevsgaard won the women's freestyle in 17:09.8. Middlebury freshman Alexa Turzian was fourth and Dartmouth freshman Rosie Brennan placed sixth in the 5-kilometer race.
Other racers from New England schools in the top 20 were Middlebury's Cassidy Edwards (11th), Dartmouth's Susan Dunklee (12th), Vermont's Katrina Howe (17th), and Dartmouth's Elsa Sargent (19th).
The men's and women's giant slalom will be featured today.
Globe correspondent Tony Chamberlain contributed to this report.
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