2004-05 Central Collegiate Skiing Association Season Preview
By Corey Coogan
November 20, 2003
A lot of things have changed for CCSA Skiing in the last
year.
Late last winter, Macalester College announced its decision
to remove varsity status from the ski team and make skiing
a club sport. While the Minneapolis/St. Paul community rallied
to support the squad, Macalester held firm in its position.
Despite it all, the "team," now club, remains committed
to CCSA skiing, will attend most of its races, and will even
send some skiers to U.S. Nationals. Macalester was last in
a wave of cutbacks by schools in the region, as Carleton eliminated
its team in 2002, and St. Mary's University followed suit
in 2003.
Also in late winter, Bill McDonnell announced his resignation
at University of Alaska-Fairbanks to return to the business
world. In late spring, Scott Jerome accepted the head coaching
position at University of Alaska-Fairbanks, and resigned from
Gustavus Adolphus College, where he had been head coach since
2000. Over the summer, Gustavus hired Jed Friedlich to fill
its head coaching vacancy. Friedlich, a 2003 graduate of NMU,
worked as an assistant coach to Northern's Wildcats during
the 2002 season.
As far as assistant coaches go, those who follow CCSA will
recognize the name Ingrid Olson. 2004 Gustavus graduate, Olson
followed Jerome up to UAF, where she is now serving as the
team's assistant. Jesse Crandall, assistant coach at Macalester
from 2001 to 2004 has moved out to Colorado, where he will
coach for Western State College in Gunnison.
NMU's Lindsey Weier and Lindsay Williams |
Periennal powerhouse Northern Michigan remains much the same
this season. The women's squad returns juniors Lindsey Weier
and Lindsay Williams, both of whom competed in 2004 World
Junior Championships and NCCA Championships. Weier, 2002 Olympian
and member of the U.S. Development Team, is only a sophomore
eligibility-wise, having redshirted as a freshman. Junior
Maria Stuber, one of CCSA's top skaters, has a shot at her
first trip to NCAAs in this, her sophomore season of eligibility.
The team also returns junior Tami Kochen, back from a redshirt
year; junior Jenny Wygant, who won skate gold at last year's
Junior Olympics; classic specialist, junior Stephanie Howe;
and Canadian sophomore Viktoria Koskenoja. Its womens' team,
already as strong as can be, still added two new recruits:
Kelly Ahern and Laura Dewitt. Ahern is a transfer from Western
State College in her third year of NCAA competition. Rhinebeck,
New York's Dewitt, who had two top-twenty finishes at last
year's Junior Olympics, will redshirt in this her freshmen
year.
On the men's side of things, Northern looks to be led by
Bryan Cook of Rhinelander. Cook, a senior, looks forward to
his third year of competing, after taking 14th in the classic
and eighth in the skate at 2004 NCAAs. Junior Ben Cline returns
to the Northern squad after spending last year redshirting.
Gus Kaeding, a sophomore who last season was ranked eighth
in the region, will also represent Northern this winter. Northern
had a huge recruiting year for men, bringing in six new freshmen.
Tops among these recruits are two 2004 World Junior Team members
Bret Bedard from Vermont's Stratton Mountain School and Phil
Violett of California and Auburn Ski Club. Two other freshmen
to watch are Wisconsin's Bill Bowler, who was fifth in classic
at last years Junior Olympics, and fellow Junior Olympic veteran
Justin Singleton of Alaska.
Macalester Head Coach Morrey Nellis reports that the program
remains in a good position despite being demoted to club status.
Nellis, Macalester's Activities Director, has coaching the
Nordic Club within his job description, so Macalester skiers
remain secure in having a coach. Within the budget are also
funds for an assistant coach, who as of yet has not been named.
The team's travel will be slightly reduced as compared to
last year, but it will maintain its fall camp, attendence
at three of the four CCSA races, as well as U.S. Nationals.
The big drawback is that, were a Macalester athlete to ski
well enough to qualify for NCAAs, he or she would not be able
to go, as Macalester will not register Nordic Skiiing as a
varsity sport with the NCAA.
Ari Ofsevit is Macalester's top male returner, and has an
unusual edge this year, as having spent summer and fall in
Australia, he has had a lot of on-snow time, including the
opportunity to race in the Kangaroo Hoppet. Also returning
for second semester is Dirk Langeveld, although his conditioning
is a bit of an unknown, as he has spent first semester in
England. Both sophomore Julia Parke and junior Emily Stafford
return as leaders of the women's team. Stafford has been the
team's top skier for the last three years, and recently finished
a strong fall of cross-country running.
Morrey Nellis watched his best recruiting year in history
slip through his fingers last spring, when skiers accepted
to Macalester chose not to attend due to uncertainty about
the team's. The one recruiting bright spot is freshman Jacob
Wartman of Richfield. Nellis gained no freshmen women, but
says the club has "seen six or seven upperclassmen join."
These athletes have high school skiing experience, but did
not feel comfortable joining a varsity team. Nellis calls
this a "rebuilding year," saying, "the club
has seen an infusion of less experienced skiers." He
wants to retain the focus on CCSA racing, but is unsure whether
the new skiers will share that interest or prefer citizen
racing.
Gustavus' new Head Coach Jed Friedlich reports strong returnees
as well as skilled recuits. Junior Chandra Daw and sophomore
Nicole Olson, 2003 Minnesota State Skating Champion, appear
to be the team's strongest returnees. Senior Captain Kelly
Damrow is equally strong, but returns from a semester abroad
around Thanksgiving time. To this team, the Gusties add freshmen
Laura Edlund from Forest Lake and Kathleen Dewahl of St. Paul
Central and Saukko. Edlund finished fourth in pursuit at MN
States, while Dewahl was thirteenth. Both also competed in
the Junior Olympics.
Gustavus' Eric Ziegler |
Friedlich calls junior Erich Ziegler Gustavus' top male returnee.
Senior Nate Porath and junior Andy Rishavy are also likely
to score for the Gusties. Seniors Dan Kueffer and Jon Miller
also bring their skills to the 2005 squad. Gustavus' two key
male recuits are Aaron Roessler, a Grand Rapids biathlete,
who transfered from University of Alaska-Anchorage, and freshman
Loryn Skogland from Forest Lake. Skogland, who skis for Nordicwerks,
finished fifth in classic and sixth in pursuit at Minnesota
State.
The Michigan Tech team, in its second year under Head Coach
Joe Haggenmiller, returns the bulk of its 2004 team, and adds
some solid recruits. The women's team has depth, as they graduated
only one skier, although that was two-time NCAA competitor
Toni Mcknight. Junior Kristina Owen returns to the team after
a red-shirt year in which and took classic gold at the Junior
Olympics and finished the season ranked 25th on the USSA points
list. Haggenmiller says two skiers to watch are sophomore
Trisha Wyant and freshman Andrea Mitz. Wyant, a standout cross-country
runner in high school was "pretty green skiingwise as
a freshman," according to Haggenmiller, but now has a
year of technical development under her belt. Mitz, from Marathon,
Wisconsin is coming off a strong cross-country running season.
Top returners on the men's side are Mikael Kilpela, Aaron
Ditty, and Steve Phillips. Phillips, who earned his undergraduate
degree at Tech last year, has one year of eligibility left,
and so remains with the program in his first year of graduate
school. After a redshirt season last year, Adam Randy returns
to competition. The team also adds freshman Chris Harvey of
Eden Prairie, who was 11th in skate and 15th in pursuit at
Minnesota States.
St. Cloud State, which only has a women's team, graduated
a number of strong skiers in the last two seasons, and begins
this one with just two veterans: junior Julie Warnike and
sophomore Marie Jordan. Warnike, from Elk River, and a biathlete.
Marie Jordan, formally of Roseville. The team needs a third
member in order to score as a team, and will likely use a
beginning skier who has expressed interest in the team. Frost
calls his two athletes "very motivated and looking forward
to getting on snow." The team will indeed get on snow
early, as their annual fall camp is in West Yellowstone, where
they will compete in Super Series races.
Head Coach Jeremy Frost says, "Next year the team won't
be short for athletes," noting he likes to have a team
size of eight to ten. Frost says he has been heavily recruiting,
and has been hearing more interest in the team. St. Cloud
State is a Division Two school with a number of partial scholarships
available, and participates in the National Letter of Intent
program.
CSB's Kelly Wubbels |
The College of St. Benedict will field a large team in 2005,
between returning skiers, and what is arguably their best
recuiting class ever. The top returnee is sophomore Kelly
Wubbels of St. Cloud. The other likely returning scorers are
a pair of seniors: Rachel Williams and Megan Rose. Williams
will be returning to CSB in time for the competitive season,
after having spent first semester in Ireland. Megan Rose arrives
to the ski season after a standout cross-country season where
she led the team. The new freshmen include Katie Zupan of
Grand Rapids and Tessa Peterson of Ely. Zupan, 12tth in classic
and 18th in pursuit at the Minnesota State Meet, has the best
ever incoming results of any CSB recruit. Head Coach Dave
Johnson calls Peterson, the team's best athlete, but notes
that she struggles with asthma. The other new freshmen are
Cassie Dufresne of Cretin-Durham Hall and Finn Sisu Juniors,
Megan Hagberg from Mesabi East, Kelly Smith of Lakeville,
and Jill VanHavermaet of Blaine.
St. John's University returns the bulk of its 2004 team,
as well as adding five new freshmen to the squad. The top
returnees are senior captains Christen Brekke and Donald Harris,
as well as sophomore Erik Henderickson, and junior Chad Gregg.
Gregg is returning from a semester abroad in Chile where he
has had the opportunity to get on snow. The new recruits are
Kelly Fermoyle of Henry Sibley (8th skate, 10th pursuit at
Minnesota State), Matt Heisel of Burnsville, Andrew Hipp of
Stillwater, Bradley Pazian of Wallkill, New York (28th in
classic, 2004 Junior Olympics), and Peter Millin of St. John's
Prep. Fermoyle just completed a standout cross-country running
season as SJU's number two runner.
College of St. Benedict and St. John's University, both under
the direction of Dave Johnson, hope to get on snow early over
the Thanksgiving Holiday when they travel to Grand Rapids.
Their longer training camp will take place later in the season,
as the team travels out early to the Soldier Hollow area to
train and then race in U.S. Nationals.
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay returns the trio of
junior Johanna Winters, and sophomores Rosy Walsh and Tanya
Cook. While Winters led the team early in the 2004 season,
notching a top 50 result at U.S. Nationals, stronger skater
Walsh capitalized on a strong end of season to earn a trip
to NCAAs. Junior Heidi Hittner, who competed in NCAAs her
freshmen year, will sit out 2005 as a red-shirt. For depth,
the team will rely on freshmen Ashley Pletcher and Christina
Fisher. Pletcher, from Hopkins and White Noise, finished 10th
in pursuit at Minnesota States, won the Section 6 Classic
race, and competed in Junior Olympics. Fisher of Willmar and
Saukko became the comeback story of 2004 when she overcame
a serious bicycle injury to finish 20th in pursuit at Minnesota
State.
The Phoenix men return Hautz, Mogren, Ben Dubay, Dan Deroma.
and Casey Krueger. Head Coach Bryan Fish says both Deroma
and Krueger have displayed improvement over last season, leaving
Fish hopeful for strong results from the duo. Green Bay will
be without the services of Trevor Walz this season, as he
has elected to take a redshirt year. The team adds two new
recruits to the mix with 2004 Minnesota Classic silver medalist
Andy Cheesebro from St. Louis Park, and University of Minnesota
transfer Bryan Gastonguay, who was seventh in pursuit at 2003
Minnesota State.
Green Bay Coach Fish says the team looks strong, as the athletes
came into the fall training season in better shape than in
previous years, and have shown improvement as fall progressed.
Green Bay's first scheduled competition is the Northern Michigan
University Opener on December 4-5.
The University of Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks had some significant
losses to graduation on the women's side, but maintains a
men's squad with depth. Most notably 2004 NCAA Champion Sigrid
Aas has graduated and returned to Norway where she is skiing
with the national team. Diana Heimerl, while still having
eligibility left, will be busy student teaching this year
and won't be part of the team. Erinn Whitmer, medalist at
2003 U.S. Nationals has also completed her eligibility. Sigrid
Lagerfelt returned to Sweden at the end of last school year.
This leaves junior Johanna Turenen and sophomore Kasandra
Rice as the Nannoks only returnees. Turenen, who was sixth
in the skate at NCAAs and ninth in the 15-kilometer classic
at U.S. Nationals, won the team's most recent time trial.
Rice, who made the Under-23 Team last year, was not far behind
Turenen in the time trial. Head Coach Scott Jerome reports
that Norwegian Kristen Halla will enter UAF second semester,
and will likely become the team's number three skier. Rounding
out the women's team are graduate student Heidi Rader, who
has never skied in college, freshman Tamara Kornfield from
Anchorage, and freshman Krynn Finstad from Fairbanks.
UAF's Jonas Tetlie |
Coach Jerome calls the UAF Men's Team, "pretty stacked."
Top returning skiers are NCAA veterans, juniors Jonas Tetlie
and Erik Wickstrom, and Jed Kalen Brown, a junior who narrowly
missed NCAA qualification last season. Tyson Flaherty, who
competed in 2004 Junior Worlds and had a number of top-fives
at Junior Olympics, was "pretty tired last year, but
is looking particularly strong right now," according
to Jerome. Bart Dengel, from Valdez, also returns, and Jerome
calls him "a strong skier on a strong team." The
team's new skiers are Norwegian, freshman Thomas Oyberg and
German, freshman Marius Korthauer. Oyberg is a significant
addition to the Nanook squad, having won the team time trial
by a large margin. After Oyberg, Jerome expects a lot of intersquad
competition, and that the skiers rankings will vary on any
given day.
Repeated attempts to get in touch with St. Olaf Head Coach
Kevin Brockman were unsuccessful, so the make-up of the Ole
team is unknown. Barring any transfers, St. Olaf should return
its top three women, sophomores Linn Dale, Mia Gaw, and Stephanie
Block, who finished 2004 ranked 27th, 31st and 33rd in the
region, respectively. The men's team experienced a serious
loss with the graduation of John Giese, its top skier in 2004.
Again assuming no transfers, the Oles should return two skiers
who were ranked in the region last year; Nate Erlandson and
Oliver Garrison, both juniors, were ranked 22nd and 25th,
respectively. Sophomore Kurt Bickler and junior Blake Pound
should also be back in 2004.
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