CCSA 2005-06 Season Preview

by Corey Coogan
December 12, 2005

The battle for best team in the CCSA Region in 2005 should be a close one between periennal powerhouse Northern Michigan University and the team that's been giving them a run for their money of late: University of Alaska-Fairbanks. The men's teams seem relatively evenly matched. UAF lost its top-two men of last season, but has plenty of depth with which to work. NMU returns its full NCAA Championships squad, but came out behind UAF on most occasions last year. Each school's women's team is in flux: UAF returns only one of last year's top-three, but has revitalized their squad with promising recruits. NMU has given up two of its top athletes to redshirt years, has some illness and injury, and may be further depleted when athletes make the Olympic team...yet still has depth to work with. For the remainder of the region's athletes, it will be a hard fought battle for elusive NCAA Championships qualifying spots. With just six men from CCSA given a berth, a skier from another school needs to break into the NMU/UAF lock on the top, placing himself among either of these school's top-three. Last year, no one achieved this, and thus UAF and NMU sent full squads of three to the Championships. On the women's side of things, there is slightly more breathing room. CCSA forwards seven to NCAAs, and last year only NMU qualified a full team. Given that two of last year's qualifiers, Lindsay Williams (NMU) and Tanya Cook (UWGB) have elected to redshirt, qualification seems relatively wide open for the women this year.

Northern Michigan University returns all three of its 2005 NCAA Championships veterans in All-American Bryan Cook, as well as Bret Bedard and Gus Kaeding, as well as returning four other men who might well enter into the top-three. Bill Bowler, who was not one of the three to advance to nationals last year but still scored a number of points for Northern, returns. Ben Cline is back to the squad after a medical redshirt last year, and redshirt freshmen Justin Singleton and Phil Violett are on board and may be ready to contribute to the scoring. On the women's side of things, the story is as much who is absent as who is present. The squad's top skier Lindsay Williams has elected to redshirt this year as she attempts to make the Olympic team. Teammate Morgan Smyth is also redshirting; in this her last year as a junior, she's likely to make World Juniors again. Having both used their redshirt years, Lindsey Weier and Tami Kochen will be members of the NMU squad in 2005 and should provide solid leadership at the top. (Even Weier and/or Kochen may take a temporary "leave-of-absence," as being both ranked in the top-10 in the U.S., they too are Olympic contenders.) Assistant Coach Jenny Ryan expects there to be an intersquad battle for the team's number three spot. While Maria Stuber and Viktoria Koskenoja are obvious favorites for this position, they are recovering from illness and injury, respectively, so the duty is more likely to fall to Jenny Wygant, Kelly Ahern, or Laura Dewitt. NMU's top new female recruit is freshman Bibi Mahy of Porcupine Ski Runners Club, Ontario, CAN (third junior girls pursuit 2005 Canadian Nationals). For men, the team added Jason Kask (Duluth East, MN-fifth in pursuit 2005 State), Tim Cook (Rhinelander, WI), and Noah King (Skyview High School, Alaska-2005 Junior Olympics participant).

The University of Alaska-Fairbanks is excited for USSA National Championships, which will be the team's first chance to see how they stack up against CCSA rivals. Coach Scott Jerome has good things to report from Fairbanks: "This fall has been really fun for Ingrid [Olson-Assistant Coach] and me to be coaches. We have really nice young people on our team with good attitudes. The new skiers add a lot to the team and enhance what we have up here. The athletes encourage and push each other." Jerome says that the battle among the Nanook men for top-three on the squad will be a close one. Tyson Flaharty looks like he will be on top, but Marius Korthauer and Jonas Tetlie are very close behind. Erik Wickstrom has also gotten faster since his first races of the year at Fairbanks Norams, and Bart Dengel could also finish in the top-three. Jerome concludes, "Any one of them could be the fastest on any given day." On the women's team, UAF has a clear number one in NCAA Championships veteran Johanna Turunen. Turunen, who got sick at just the wrong time last year, prior to NCAAs, will be looking to stay healthy this season, and put in the NCAA performance that she's capable of. After Turunen, a number of Nanook women have what it takes to occupy the number two spot. At this time, freshman Elisabeth Haberman (Soldotna, AK-third at 2004 AK State, third 5km skate 2004 Junior Olympics) looks to occupy that position, but fellow freshman Julia Coulter (Traverse City, MI-MI State Champion in 2004, two-time individual medalist at Junior Olympics) has also skied into the number two slot in time trials and races. The Nanooks will also look to senior Pavla Havlova. A standout runner for the Nanooks, Havlova was also a skier in a Czech Republic prior to coming to the States to run. Since she did not hold a FIS license and her extended running season has prevented her from taking part in skiing timetrials, her ability is hard to gauge, but Jerome reports that her technique is solid. Another unknown for the women is a freshman that will come in at the semester, Aurelia Korthauer, younger sister of Marius. She will be meeting the team in Utah for USSA Nationals. There is no way to assess from a distance whether she will be able to make an immediate impact on the team. Freshman Anna Coulter (Traverse City, MI-medalist at 2003 Junior Olympics) will redshirt this season.

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Coach Bryan Fish reports that the women's team is a stronger program than it was last season. He calls 2005 NCAA Championships veteran Johanna Winters his most-improved skier based on time-trials and poling assessments. Winters, a senior, is expected to lead the team, while underclassmen Rosy Walsh, Ashley Pletcher, and Christina Fisher will battle for the remainder of the scoring spots. About Pletcher and Fisher, Fish says, "After a year of being in college, they have displayed improvement." A strong addition to the women's squad has been freshman walk-on Marisa Coleman from Waukesha, Wisconsin. Tanya Cook, a 2005 NCAA Championships qualifier, will be redshirting this year. For the men's squad, the story is who is not skiing for the team this season. Fish landed transfer Tim Damrow, formerly of Colorado University, who is the team's top skier, but he will be redshirting. Santigo Ocariz, a freshman from Spooner, Wisconsin, who competed at Junior Olympics but was largely off coaches' recruiting radar last year, has showed himself to be a good investment, winning the team's skating time trials. However, he too is red-shirting. With these two unable to score points, Fish looks to veterans Trevor Walz and Andy Cheesebro to provide leadership. Fish calls Walz "most consistent," while Cheesebro has recorded some top early results in Upper Peninsula races. Dan DeRoma is likely to be in the team's top three, though Alex Ostrander, Bryan Gastonguay, Casey Krueger, and Ben Dubay could each score points for the Phoenix. An addition to the men's team is freshman Nate Balk (Mora, MN), a 2005 Junior Olympics competitor who will sit out as a redshirt this year.

According to Coach Joe Haggenmiller, Michigan Tech has added some strong recruits and improved in training. "I'm looking forward to January-March and seeing what kind of progress we have made since last season. I know many of our athletes have really improved their dryland conditioning from where they were last year and are doing much better in different fitness indicators. We're probably still not NMU or UAF from top to bottom, but I think we are moving closer and can be there soon." Tech's strongest freshmen are Elizabeth Quinley (Anchorage, AK), Jenna Klein (Ely, MN), Jesse Lang (St. Louis Park, MN), and Erik Mundahl (Winona, MN). Quinley was ranked 17^th on the year-end USSA list, and skied to two-top tens and a relay bronze at last year's Junior Olympics. Klein was seventh in the pursuit at the 2005 Minnesota State Meet, while Lang won the classic and took bronze in the pursuit. Neither Klein nor Lang will be immediate contributors to Tech's point scoring as both will redshirt this season. For top-three skiers, Haggenmiller looks primarily to veterans Adam Airoldi, Aaron Ditty, and Chris Miller to lead the team, but notes that a number of others could jump into the mix including: Ben Beard, Kevin Heglund, Mundahl, Eric Olson, and Dave Siegfried. For women, junior and NCAA veteran Kristina Owen will once again be the team's solid front-runner. Quinley will fill the team's number two position, while sophomore Andrea Metz and freshmen Laura Kangas could each assume the number three position.

While Gustavus added a number of recruits to the squad, it's mostly veterans who are expected to do this season's point scoring. The men are led by two seniors and a junior in Erich Ziegler, Andy Rishavy, and Scott Kyser, respectively. On the women's side of things Chandra Daw, who posted some strong late season results, and made a strong run at NCAA qualification, is back as a senior to lead her team. The other likely scorers for women are sophomores Laura Edlund and Kathleen DeWahl, as well as freshman Kelly Chaudoin (Ely, MN). Chaudoin is the Gusties' most experienced recruit; she was 2005 Mesabi Skate Champion and member of the Midwest team for the Junior Olympics. She is joined on the women's team by Kathryn Ladig of Bemidji, a 2005 MN State Meet qualifier. The Gustie men added Eli Anoszko (Kettle Moraine High School), who was top-10 in the WI State Meet, and Justin Young (Roseville HS), who qualified for the 2005 MN State Meet. Coach Jed Friedrich feels positive about the season: "Most of our athletes came back this fall in better shape than last fall. A couple of skiers who studied abroad last fall really trained hard to regain their fitness. The relatively early snow has been a blessing for us."

St. Olaf College returns veterans Bria Schurke and Linn Dale who in combination with top freshman recruit Audrey Weber look to make-up the team's top-three. Weber finished seventh in classic at the 2005 State Meet as well as fourth in the sprint at 2005 Junior Olympics. On the men's side of things, Coach Kevin Brochman reports that there are five men all capable of scoring points for the Oles. Four of these are returning skiers: Ollie Garrison, Nels Dyste, Jake Boyce, and Nate Erlandson, but one, Karl Nygren (Lakeville, MN-two-time all-state) is a freshman. The size and depth of the St. Olaf team has changed dramatically since last season. Other top recruits include: for the women, Stephanie Thompson (Shoreview, MN) and Shaina Short (Breck School, MN-two-time State Meet participant) and for the men, Jim Vailliencourt, Matt Rowe, and Eric Olson. Coach Brochman reports: "Training has been very good this fall with nice weather and early snow. We should have the strongest team we've had in years."

St. Cloud State University, last year surviving with just two athletes (never enough to score as a team), is a whole different team going into this season. Coach Jeremy Frost added three enthusiastic freshmen to the squad, quickly changing team dynamics and scoring potential. For its leadership, the SCSU Huskies will still look to the returning skiers seniors Julie Warnike and Marie Jordan. Frost explains, "Julie is strong in both disciplines and we look for her to be one of our top skiers as she has done in the past, particularly in the freestyle events. Marie is a strong classical skier and we look for her to have strong performances in this discipline." In making additions to the team, Frost looked to the state of Wyoming, bringing in freshmen Abby Carroll (Casper, WY) and Gwynn Barrows (Laramie, WY). Carroll finished third and ninth in State in 2005, while Barrows was 6^th and 7^th. Carroll competed in the Junior Olympics in 2004 and 2005 and Barrows did so in 2005. SCSU Nordic also adds Emily Pankonin from Park High School. She suffered a knee injury during her senior year in high school, but according to Frost is doing well in coming back from it. Frost reports: "Fall training went very well and we have a focused group of athletes who are looking forward to our upcoming races. Our younger and older athletes have been pushing one another this fall and should provide for good intra-squad competition along with our CCSA competition."

St. John's University experienced two significant losses to graduation in Christen Brekke and Donald Harris, both regular scorers for the team. Coach Dave Johnson is looking toward senior captain Chad Gregg to be the team's leader, saying that it's "[Gregg's] year to shine and he's committed himself to a new training program." Backing up Gregg, and most likely to score points for SJU will be returnees Tom Dehler, Seth Spencer, Erik Hendrickson, and Derek Neal. Among the host of new recruits to the SJU program are two freshmen who may make an impact on team scoring sooner rather than later. These freshmen are Taylor Miller (Stillwater, MN) and Aric Litchy (Maple Grove, MN), both classic specialists who qualified for the 2005 MN State Meet in just that technique. There Miller broke into the top-thirty with a 28^th place finish.

The College of St. Benedict returns all of its top scorers from the 2004/2005 season as well as adding eight new freshmen to the roster. Once again, the team will count on junior Kelly Wubbells and sophomore Katie Zupan to take up the top two positions for the team. Who will be the third scorer for the Blazers is very much up in the air. Returnees Jill Van Havermaet, Jessica Argabright, Britt Peterson, and Rachel Hawkins have each assumed this position on occasion in the past, but new freshman Maggie Donahue (Wayzata, MN) may have what it takes to place herself securely in the top three. She's a stronger classic skier, having participated in the MN State Meet in both disciplines, but finishing 16^th in classic. In addition to Donahue, CSB has brought on two other freshmen with MN State Meet experience in Rebecca Mueller (Brainerd, MN) and Mackenzie Wright (Wayzeta, MN).

In its second year as a club team, Macalester Nordic will continue to compete in CCSA as an associate member. The experience of the team's athletes will be no different from those on any of the other NCAA teams with the exception that they will be ineligible to qualify for the NCAA Nationals. Leading the men's squad is sophomore Jacob Wartman. Still a junior, he is also eligible to try out for Junior Olympics and thus will be following that circuit as well. Coach Morrey Nellis reports, "Wartman upped his training volume and had a solid fall cross-country running season, so he is fit and ready to move forward." As well, senior veterans Ari Ofsevit and Dirk Langeveld return for their final competitive seasons. While both spent fall of 2004 abroad and thus missed preseason training, this was not the case this year, so they will be better prepared for a winter of training and racing. Newcomers Andy Ver Steegh (Mahtomedi, MN) and Charlie Cosimini (St. Paul Academy, MN) will add depth and enthusiasm to the squad. After a season without women competing, the Mac Nordic's Women's program is newly revitalized in 2005. Former varsity standout Julia Parke has returned. Nellis reports, "After a year of playing hockey and a fall studying in Norway, Julia is motivated to return to racing form." The team also adds transfer Heidi Loosen (Hopkins, MN-18^th at 2004 MN State Meet) as well as first-year students Claire Briguglio (Mt Greylock, MA-21^st 2005 MA State Meet) and Rebecca Morales (Hayward, WI-Seventh in Wisconsin State Meet) who will fill out the racing group.

The young Finlandia Nordic Ski Team, now in its third year of competition, is looking to continue its upward trend through the standings. The team is pursuing its most intense race schedule to date, and will be following the entire CCSA circuit with the exception of its stop at USSA Nationals. Coach Christopher Schmidt explains the team's plan is to peak at the end of the season: "It's going to take a little while for the skiers to get a firm handle on technique, but their excellent physical condition will magnify each bit of improvement - and the skiers who aren't competitive when the season gets under way are sure to be by Regionals in Houghton. Senior Justin Nantelle, who is in his second year of competition, will lead the men's team. The remainder of the men's team, Stephen Bosio, Adam Huey, and Steve Wagner, are taking advantage of early snow to learn technique and transfer over their cross-country running fitness. Freshman Heidi Butler, a veteran of the Mesabi East High School Ski Team will be looked toward to lead the Finlandia women. Both her teammates Jennifer Vaiu and Laura Peterson are new to the sport, but Vaiu is a strong runner and Peterson is a former competitive figure skater and each shows an aptitude for the new sport.