STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. - The long wait for Santi Ocariz (Spooner, Wis.) and Carolyn Freeman (Ely, Minn.) is over as the Green Bay Nordic skiers began their competition in the 2010 NCAA Skiing Championships held at Howelsen Hill in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

With changing conditions throughout the race, Freeman finished the women's 5K Classical in 32^nd place with a time of 19:29.2, improving on her 35^th-place finish last season. Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Freeman will compete in the 15k Freestyle race.

After breaking his skis in a practice time trial on Friday, Ocariz competed in his 10K Classical race on new, stiff skis but managed to finish in 13^th place with a time of 30:40.0. Ocariz was the top college racer in the central region while improving on his 27^th place finish in last year's competition. Ocariz's 13^th place finish is the best in the history of the Green Bay program.

Ocariz will compete in the 20K Freestyle race beginning at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.

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