Hallie Grossman (fourth from left) and her fellow All-East women's Nordic team members pose with their certificates on Feb. 28, 2015 in Lake Placid, N.Y. (Photo provided by Becky Woods)

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. -- Bates senior Hallie Grossman placed 40th in the women's 5K freestyle race on Wednesday, the first day of the NCAA National Collegiate Skiing Championships.

Grossman (South Burlington, Vt.), the first woman in Bates Nordic skiing history to compete at four NCAA championships, covered the course at Mt. Van Hoevenburg in 16:11.5, 1.5 seconds behind 39th-place Heather Mooney of Middlebury.

The two-year captain, 2015 First Team All-EISA selection and women's Nordic Skier of the Week at the St. Lawrence Carnival two weeks ago in Lake Placid, did not have her best race, having finished fourth overall in three freestyle races on the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association circuit this year. In the 5K freestyle race on the same course at the St. Lawrence Carnival on Feb. 27, she took eighth place.

Grossman will race again for the final time in her Bates career on Friday in the women's 15K classical technique race, which begins at 10am at Mt. Van Hoevenburg.