[
Men's 15k Classic Results] [
Women's 10k Classic Results]
[
Men's Team Points] [
Women's Team Points]
ISHPEMING, Mich. - After falling short of their potential in the free technique races on the first day of the NCAA Central Region Championships, the Alaska Nanooks men's and women's ski teams stormed back in today's mass start classic event for silver team finishes good for second in the combined standings. The host Northern Michigan Wildcats claimed the men's, women's and combined titles for the second straight year on Sunday at the Al Quaal Ski Trails.
"This was quite a comeback and I am extremely proud of the team," said head coach
Scott Jerome. "It's easy to give up after a bad day, but the 'Nooks showed their mettle and battled back in the classic event. Nothing is more satisfying for a coach to see than this."
Alaska's men moved up two spots after finishing the day with 80 points, giving them 147 on the weekend. NMU won the day with 85 points for the second straight day for a two-day total of 170 and the men's crown. Michigan Tech was third on the day with 96 points and finished third overall with 138. The College of St. Scholastics was 4
th on Sunday and overall with 59 and 132 points, respectively.
The women's team improved from third to second with 78 points to surpass MTU (143) by six points for second place on the weekend with 149. NMU proved the victors with 172 points after two days, while CSS was 4
th with 112.
In the men's 15-kilometer mass start event, rookie Jonas Loffler had his best race of the year leading the men's squad with a second place finish in 40 minutes 48.9 seconds, just seven-tenths of a second after the race champion and NMU's Erik Soderman (40:48.2). The Nanooks also got points from top-ten finishes by freshman
Ludwig Schott (6
th, 40:56.5) and senior
Erik Soderstrom (8th,41:17.0).
Junior
Tyler Kornfield finished 11th after one of his poles broke on a big turn and NMU's Chris Bowler fell on it. Despite the broken pole, Kornfield finished the course in 41:46.3, less than a second out of tenth place. Rounding out Alaska representatives in the men's race were junior
Ian Wilkinson (19th, 42:53.2) and senior
Alex Morris (33rd, 45:03.9).
Junior
Marit Rjabov paced the women and just missed a podium spot in fourth place. She raced through the 10k course in 33 minutes and 3.5 seconds. Three more Nanooks earned top-ten finishes, including sophomre
Heather Edic (7
th, 33:08.7), junior
Crystal Pitney (8
th, 33:12.4) and sophomore
Raphaela Sieber (10th, 33:19.5). Edic and Pitney counted among the 'Nooks scoring racers.
First-year skier
Alyson McPhetres was next to cross for the Blue and Gold (16th, 34:26.8) and sophomore
Heidi O'Connor-Brook was 25th in 35:28.6.
Jerome was pleased with the collective efforts from both teams on the weekend. "Although it may not seem like it at times, this is still a team sport. Even the skiers who do not score points on any given weekend are still valuable contributors to this team. No one on this team goes it alone. We all make it work."
Now the Nanooks await to see who will qualify for the NCAA Championships next month in Bozeman, Montana. Kornfield and freshman
Logan Hanneman are the only known participants thus far. Depending on how the final rankings shake out Alaska could send those two alone or with as many as one to four more of their teammates, with a full team being three men and three women.
