NCAA Championships: Classical Race Reports

Felicia Gesior, 13th place -- 5th American

The women's 15k Classic race was a really excited one. It was fun to get to start at the tip of the chevron. From the very start I was able to avoid getting tangled up. The first lap I tried to sit behind the leaders so that I could get a draft. It was a pretty fast first lap, this is when the top two girls started to pull away. The second lap I keep contact but started to lose a little bit. Lapping through for the final lap I was picked up by a group made up the second half of the top ten skiers. I did my best to keep contact with them but lost a lot of ground up the long hill the last lap. Overall, it was a really fun race.

Kris Bourne, 17th place -- 8th American

I couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out today at NCAAs. Right from the beginning I felt great. Unfortunately, due to racing in Kazakhstan, I didn’t have enough classic races so I had to start in the very back of the chevron in bib 37. Once the race started, I realized my high bib number was a blessing. It forced me to start out slower and conserve my energy for the first 5k. As we made our way through the second lap, I still felt quite fresh. I continued to slowly pick off spots. Half way through the second lap, I skied myself into the 8th position. Feeling even more energized, I tried to ski the big downhills even faster. It didn’t turn out so well. I ended up crashing pretty hard and losing the group I had spent 7k trying to pass. I lost about 40 seconds and spent my last 5k trying to catch back up again. Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite catch them so I ended up 17th. All in all, I skied hard and finished hard. It was a fantastic course, race, and day! Go NMU!

Fredrik Biørnstad Schwencke, 1st place - Champion

Today’s race will be a race I will remember for a long time. Not only because I won, but also because a cold coming in before the skate race made me doubt that I would even start the classic race. The morning of the classic race I wasn’t in the best mood since my cold was still legit. The race started off at an even pace, with teammate Kyle Bratrud leading the pack. Since I had no clue if my body would respond, I tried to save as much energy as possible. I couldn’t really tell if I felt good or the pace wasn’t too high. I tried to stay in the top 5-8 as much as possible to be able to respond to any breakaways. Halfway through the race skiers started to dropping off and it was awesome to see teammates Kyle and Erik Soderman being up there together with me. Halfway through the third lap the pace picked up for a bit and the group was only 6-7 skiers for a while before the pack gathered heading down to the stadium. Lapping for the last time, Denver's Moritz Mandlener, picked up the pace and the pack split up more and more. A K or two out on the last lap four of us, Aku Nikander, Mads Stroem, Rune Oedegaard and me, gapped the rest. At this point I felt good, but because the snow had started to fall down, I tried to stay behind as much as possible. Closing up to the very top of the course, only 1.5k downhill to the stadium left, I decided to try to stay in third or fourth into the final kilometer. When we came into the stadium I felt strong and once the other guys went for it, I was able to maneuver to the front. I knew Rune and Mads have a solid finish so I wanted to be first into the last turn before the final stretch. I felt strong the last 100 meters, and I was able to take the win.
I want to thank Sten Fjeldheim and Haakon Baanerud for doing a great job waxing and coaching. I had great skis and winning wouldn’t be possible without those guys! They were also helped by our teammates Adam Martin and Krystof Kopal -- I owe them all a big thank you. With Kyle finishing 7th and Erik 11th the NMU men’s team really showed that Wednesday’s somewhat disappointing performance was not representative.

Kyle Bratrud, 7th place -- 1st American

I have never felt as tired warming up for a race as I did for today's 20k Classic. I have had a long and fatiguing season and I thought I was completely out of matches. But once the gun went off, my competitive side took over and I found some energy I did not think I had. I felt great the whole race and only made one mistake, falling on the third lap and losing the lead pack. I wasn't able to reconnect after that but I do not think I would have won a sprint if it came down to it, so I am happy overall with the end of my season and career at NMU. This year has been more than I ever imagined it would be and I cannot wait to rest and start all over this summer! Super pumped to see my friend and teammate Fredrick win. Two national champions on one team in one year is pretty cool.