Tofte was resiliant despite difficult terrain on the course.

“That’s definitely Alena’s career race,” City said. “She did a good job of not letting the conditions bother her. She just put her head down and went.”

That tenacity carried into the final kilometer of the 10k race, when Tofte passed several racers in the final stretch.

“Everybody gets tired at the end of races,” City said. “She managed to find a little bit of strength...She was racing really hard right to the end.”

The rest of the Nordic squad was unable to match the successes of Tofte and Stock.

The women finished tied for sixth in the 10k classic and ninth in the 3x6.6k free relay, while the men placed seventh in the 10k classic and 11th in the relay.

“Our relays didn’t go well,” City said. “I think we panicked early and dug ourselves into a hole and weren’t able to dig ourselves out of it.”

But City added that a freshman Jen Rolfes, competing for the squad’s “B” entry, had a noteworthy race.

“Jen Rolfes had probably one of her better races of the season,” City said. “I put her on the B team, but she skied well enough to be on the A team.”

—Staff writer Christina C. McClintock can be reached at ccmcclin@fas.harvard.edu.