CCSA Weekend Wrapup

by Corey Coogan
January 24, 2006

In what seems to have been a long time coming, the Central Collegiate Skiing Association has finally had it’s first fully attended collegiate race of the season. While some of the region’s athletes traveled out to Utah in early January to take part in US Nationals/CCSA Qualifier, the expense of such distant travel and many schools’ busy academic j-terms (the one month “semester” where students take just one class) prevented many of the region’s skiers from making the trip. Thus, not until last weekend’s Mt. Itasca NorAm SuperTour did all of CCSA’s athletes gather for a team-scored meet that counted toward NCAA Championships qualification. Particularly noticeable at Itasca was the presence of Macalester, St. Olaf, Gustavus, College of St. Benedict, St. John’s University, and Finlandia, none of which fielded whole teams for U.S. Nationals.

While the collegiate field was finally filled out and deep at Itasca, ironically some top individuals were notably absent. University of Alaska-Fairbanks left its freshman women at home for the week in order to give them the opportunity to get semester two solidly underway academically before traveling. This meant that Julia Coulter (23rd overall, 8th collegian in the 5km skate at U.S. Nationals) was absent, and the Nanooks, who raced just two women at Itasca, could not score. Also missing from the scene was recently named Olympian Lindsey Weier. While she had not yet departed for Europe, Weier was home in Marquette resting up and doing intervals. Though preparation and competition for the Olympics means that she will miss most of the collegiate season, Weier will return in time to join teammates for NCAA Championships. On the men’s side of the things, the absence of NMU’s Bryan Cook was most notable, and weakened the Wildcat men’s squad.

The University of Alaska-Fairbanks men took advantage of the weekend at Mt. Itasca to further prove themselves the class of the Central Collegiate Skiing Association. Sophomore Marius Korthauer stole the show becoming the only collegian to finish well within the pack of SuperTour skiers, finishing sixth in the Saturday’s 10 kilometer skate and fourth in Sunday’s 10 kilometer classic, in both cases beating his nearest collegiate competitor by over a minute. Teammates Erik Wickstrom (second in skate), Bart Dengel (fourth in skate, third in classic), and Jonas Tetlie (seventh in classic) also scored for the Nanooks over the weekend.

The only team to give UAF any trouble was Northern Michigan University. On Saturday, Ben Cline led the Wildcat men with a fourth place in the skate race, while teammates Phil Violett and Adriaan Ostrander finished 10th and 12th respectively. In Sunday’s classic, it was Gus Kaeding who stepped up for NMU taking fourth place among the collegians. Ostrander and Cline followed immediately behind in fifth and sixth.

The MTU men overcame a difficult week at Soldier Hollow and returned to form at Itasca putting more pressure on UAF and NMU than they ever have in previous years. In the skate race, Adam Airoldi took sixth among collegians, while Ben Beard was 17th and Aaron Ditty 18th. In the classic, Aaron Ditty led the Huskies, as he took eighth among collegians, followed by Airoldi 13th, and Kevin Heglund 16th.

Casey Krueger turned in UWGB’s strongest performance of the weekend finishing seventh in the skate race. Teammate Trevor Walz was 19th in the same race, while Andy Cheesebro was 22nd. In the classic, Walz led the Phoenix by finishing 11th among the collegians. Cheesebro was 14th, while Ben Dubay was right behind in 15th.

While the St. Olaf men lack the depth to turn in a top performance as a team, freshman Karl Nygren turned heads all weekend. Saturday was the “weaker” of his two days, but he still notched an eighth place among collegians in the freestyle. On Sunday, Nygren was even faster; his second place among collegians was also good for 14th overall in the NorAm/Collegiate combined field. This, in combination with Nygren’s 19th in the U.S. Nationals Collegiate Cup, makes him a real contender for NCAA Championships. Amazingly, he is still an Older Junior!

The Gustavus men were led by senior Erich Ziegler who finished 12th in classic and 16th in freestyle.  Chad Gregg proved himself St. John’s University’s top skier on the weekend finishing 28th and 19th in classic and skating.  Jakob Wartman led Macalester: 34h (classic) 22nd (skate).  Stephen Wagner’s 50th in classic and 51st and skating were the best results for Finlandia.

The two University of Alaska-Fairbanks women who were present certainly got themselves noticed even if they lacked the essential third teammate needed to score. Senior Johanna Turunen stole the show on Saturday winning the overall (NorAm and collegiate) by better than 20 seconds. She was nearly as successful on Sunday, finishing third overall and first for the collegians. Teammate Pavla Havlova also recorded two very strong performances, finishing as the third collegian in both races.

With UAF short a member, Northern Michigan University stepped in to take the win on the weekend. Tami Kochen’s performances led the Wildcats as she mixed it up in the NorAm field finishing fourth in skate (second collegian) and fifth in classic (second collegian). Laura Dewitt (seventh collegian in skating and ninth collegian in classic), Jennifer Wygant (eighth collegian in skating), and Kelly Ahern (eighth collegian in classic).

Johanna Winters continued her strong season as she once again led the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix. She recorded two top-fifteens in the NorAm field and finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in skating in classic. Teammates Ashley Pletcher (19th in skating, 17th in classic), Heidi Hittner (13th in skating), and Christina Fisher (20th in classic) also scored in the collegiate race.

Chandra Daw had a weekend of results that put her in the running for NCAA Championships qualification and also led the Gustavus women’s team. On Saturday, she finished ninth among collegians in skating, and then topped that off on Sunday with a sixth in the classic race. Laura Edlund was Gustavus’ number two skier on the weekend, racing to 11th in the skate and 10th in the classic. Teammates Kathleen Dewahl (13th classic) and Nicole Olson (15th skate) also scored for the team.

Linn Dale of St. Olaf also posted two results that will put her in the running for NCAA qualification. She finished sixth in skate and seventh in classic. Teammate Audrey Weber was St. Olaf’s consistent number two skier, finishing 10th in skate and 16th in classic. Shaina Short (18th in skate) and Jennie Hedberg (23rd in classic) also scored for the Oles.

Kristina Owen of Michigan Technological University record two performances that in combination with U.S. Nationals results should ensure her of NCAA Championships qualification. She finished fifth among collegians in skating and fourth in classic. These performances top off a week where she was also named to the Under-23 Championships team.

Standout performers among the other teams were St. Cloud State University senior Julie Warnike (14th in skating, 19th in classic) and College of St. Benedict’s Kelly Wubbels (21st in skating). Finlandia’s top competitor in both races was freshman Heidi Buttler (43rd in skating and 44th in classic.)

Team Scores:

Women: Skate: NMU 67, UAF 52, STO 52, UWGB 51, GAC 50, MTU 44, SCSU 27, CSB 25, FIN 7
Classic: NMU 65, GAC 56, UAF 52, MTU 51, UWGB 49, STO 47, SCSU 26, CSB 22, FIN 7
Men: Skate: UAF 77, NMU 63, MTU 55, UWGB 48, STO 47, GAC 35, SJU 27, MAC 20, FIN 6
Classic: UAF 73, NMU 69, MTU 51, UWGB 50, STO 47, GAC 39, SJU 27, MAC 18, FIN 6