Neel Dums grew up near Hayward, WI, and skied for the Hayward Nordic team from middle school on, training on the Birkie trails. As a senior in 2025 he won the Wisconsin state championship, placing third in the skate race and then winning the classic pursuit the next day to take the title by 4.7 seconds. He qualified for U.S. Junior Nationals in 2025 with the Great Lakes team and again in 2026, when he placed 12th in the U20 classic sprint on home snow in Cable. As a Dartmouth freshman he qualified third and finished ninth in a freestyle sprint in Hanover, NH, in February 2026.
