STEAMBOAT SPRINGS -- Led by a championship performance from senior Matt Gelso, the Colorado ski team moved from sixth into second Thursday at the halfway point of the NCAA Ski Championships.

The Buffs finished the day with 351 points, within striking distance of two-time defending champion Denver (420). New Mexico (319), Utah (300) and Vermont (287.5) rounded out the top five.

Gelso captured the 10K classical title on Thursday, his fifth straight victory this season, in 29 minutes, 25.5 seconds. That was more than 24 seconds ahead of runner-up Franz Bernstein of Vermont (29:49.7).

Gelso, from Truckee, Nev., also became just the second American-born skier to win the NCAA classical race, joining Northern Michigan`s Christopher Cook (2003).

"The whole Nordic performance gives the team a second chance," CU head coach Richard Rokos said. "I think we`re in the hunt. The girls maintained for the most part, and the guys brought us back into the race. Coming from sixth to second is a huge confidence booster. It really puts everything on the line for the slalom; it`s a make-it or break-it day. It`ll be a rodeo (Friday)."

Gelso was in third at the halfway mark of his race, but finished strong.

In winning his fifth straight race, Gelso earned first-team All-America honors for the first time since his freshman year, when he finished fifth in the classic in Attitash, N.H. He tied the school record for the most consecutive wins.

Also scoring on the men`s side was junion Vegard Kjoelhamar, who finished fourth. He improved on his sixth-place finish from a year ago, and now can set his sights on defending his freestyle title Saturday.

Leading the way for CU`s women was freshman Joanne Reid, who finished fourth in the 5K event in 17:09.9, earning her first-team All-America status. Denver junior Antje Maempel easily defended her title in the race, finishing in 16:03.4.

"I wasn`t really thinking about place, I just went out there to try my best, and do what I could for my team," Reid said. "The conditions were fine. It looked like it was snowy out, but once you got out on the course, it was fine.

"I like skating (freestyle) better, so I was kind of surprised when I ended up in fourth ... pleasantly surprised," she added. "I`m looking forward to the 15K, and it`s a mass start, it`ll be more fun. We`re definitely heavily weighted toward skate races, and mass starts, and distance. All around, it`ll be better Saturday."

CU sophomore Eliska Hajkova was seventh (17:17.4) and junior Alexa Turzian was 19th in 18:10.4.

Tonight`s slalom competition will almost certainly be the make-or-break moment for the Buffs. The men`s first run is at 6:30 p.m. followed by the women`s first run at 7:30; second runs follow at 8:30 (men) and 9:30 (women).

The meet concludes Saturday with the freestyle cross-country races, when Gelso will attempt to win his second NCAA title. The men`s 20K event is set to start at 9 a.m., with the women`s 15K race scheduled for 11 a.m.

NCAA Championships

Team scores -- 1. Denver 420; 2. Colorado 351; 3. New Mexico 319; 4. Utah 300.5; 5. Vermont 287.5; 6. Dartmouth 275; 7. Alaska-Anchorage 233; 8. Montana State 185; 9. New Hampshire 155; 10. Middlebury 137.5; 11. Nevada 126; 12. Northern Michigan 88; 13. Alaska-Fairbanks 87; 14. Williams 73; 15. Colby 66.5; 16. Bates 52; 17. Wisconsin-Green Bay 35; 18. St. Lawrence 32, 19. Michigan Tech 23, 20. Wellesley 10; 21 (tie). St. Michael`s and Gustavus Adolphus 6.

Women`s 5K Classic -- 1. Antje Maempel, DU, 16:03.4; 2. Rosie Brennan, DAR, 16:50.1; 3. Mari Elden, DU, 17:07.1; 4. Joanne Reid, CU, 17:09.9; 5. Kaelin Kiesel, MSU, 17:11.8; 6. Polina Ermoshina, UNM, 17:14.3; 7. Eliska Hajkova, CU, 17:17.4; 8. Laura DeWitt, NMU, 17:19.4; 9. Caitlin Patterson, UVM, 17:25.6; 10. Maria Graefnings, UN, 17:25.8; 11. Aurelia Korthauer, UAF, 17:30.3; 12. Laura Rombach, UAA, 17:37.0; 13. Kate Dolan, DU, 17:38.5; 14. Stephanie Hiemer, UAA, 17:38.9; 15.Theresia Schnurr, UAF, 17:42.5; 16. Casey Kutz, MSU, 17:42.9; 17. Katie Bono, DAR, 17:58.5; 18. Natalie Ruppertsberger, BAT, 18:02.4; 19. Alexa Turzian, CU, 18:10.4; 20. Ida Sargent, DAR, 18:15.6; 21. Natasha Kullas. UNH, 18:18.9; 22. Kristin Ronnestrand, UN, 18:23.5; 23. Jennie Bender, UVM, 18:27.4; 24. Monica Marksvarden, NMU, 18:27.5; 25. Jaime Bronga, UAA, 18:41.5; 26. Caitlin Curran, UVM, 18:44.9; 27. Zoe Roy, UU, 18:48.0; 28. Henna Riikonen-Purtsi, MTU, 19:00.9; 29. Lucy Garrec, CBC, 19:21.4; 30. Claire Egan, WC, 19:22.3; 31. Lauren Fritz, MID, 19:22.9; 32. Carolyn Freeman, UWG, 19:29.2; 33. Lnn Klaesson, UNM, 19:34.9; 34. Rose Kemp, UU, 19:36.3; 35. Sarah MacCarthy, UU, 19:38.6; 36. Alice Nelson, WIL, 19:40.1; 37. Christina Gillis, NMU, 19:44.0; 38. Anya Bean, UNH, 20:19.3; 39. Mellie Park, MSU, 20:23.1.

Men`s 10K Classic -- 1. Matt Gelso, CU, 29:25.5; 2. Franz Bernstein, UVM, 29:49.7; 3. Charlie Smith, UN, 29:54.0; 4. Vegard Kjoelhamar, CU, 29:54.5; 5. Martin Kaas, UNM, 29:57.1; 6. Bernhard Roenning, MSU, 30:01.6; 7. Pierre Niess, UNM, 30:03.6; 8. Miles Havlick, UU, 30:09.3; 9. Michael Schallinger, UAA, 30:11.0; 10. Dylan McGuffin, UNH, 30:17.9; 11. Patrick Johnson, MID, 30:32.2; 12. Tor-Hakon Hellebostad, UNM, 30:38.0; 13. Santiago Ocariz, UWG, 30:40.0; 14. Ryan Scott, MSU, 30:41.0; 15. Dimitri Luthi, WIL, 30:41.9; 16. Martin Liljemark, UU, 30:47.1; 17. Didrik Smith, UU, 30:47.4; 18. Kristian Soerlund, DU, 30:47.4; 19. Andrew Dougherty, DU, 30:49.1; 20. Jesper Ostensen, CU, 30:49.8; 21. Lex Treinen, UAA, 30:49.9; 22. John Parry, UAF, 30:52.7; 23. Harald Loevenskiold, DU, 30:59.2; 24. Patrick O`Brien, DAR, 30:59.5; 25. Tyler Kornfield, UAF, 31:00.0; 26. Kevin Cutts, NMU, 31:01.1; 27. Nils Koons, DAR, 31:01.3; 28. George Cartwright, NMU, 31:16.1; 29. Oskar Lund, MTU, 31:22.8; 30. Chris Bowler, NMU, 31:24.2; 31. Elias Bucher, UN, 31:24.7; 32. Eric Packer, DAR, 31:42.2; 33. Benjamin Knowles, SLU, 31:55.1; 34. Jens Brabbit, GAC, 31:57.6; 35. Tyler Reinking, MSU, 32:13.3; 36. Wyatt Fereday, CBC, 32:24.1; 37. Tor Christopherson, UAA, 32:24.3; 38. Eric Wolcott, SLU, 32:32.8; 39. Zachary Wetherell, SLU, 32:58.4.