CCSA Weekend Wrapup
This weekend the teams of the Central Collegiate Skiing Association competed at Telemark Resort in conjunction with the NorAm SuperTour and, in doing so, took on some difficult racing conditions. When athletes arrived in Cable on Friday, they were met with temperatures in the high 40s and signs indicating that the course was closed until 4:00 pm to preserve snow. 3:45 came and went, but the temperature remained steadily high, so officials chose never to open the course. Athletes adjusted to the circumstances by going for a run or heading out on the Korteloppet trail for a ski instead. Overnight the temperature did finally drop all the way down into the teens, turning the tracks into the icy rails and the downhills into veritable skating rinks. Such conditions tested the coaches, who applied thick layers of klister up until the final moments before their athletes started, and also the athletes, who used some fancy footwork and some aptly-timed snowplows to stay on their feet.
The women’s individual start five-kilometer classic race began at 9:00 am when the snowpack was thoroughly frozen. In contrast to the usual situation at Telemark, the course was hauntingly quiet, as the coaches, kick-waxing until the last minute, never even made it out of the stadium.
Under Kochen’s leadership, NMU secured second place in the team standings. Kelly Ahern was the team’s second scorer (7th in 18:09), while Laura DeWitt was third for the Wildcats (10th in 18:33).
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay women took third place on the day, although they met a serious challenge in the form of Gustavus. Johanna Winters led the Phoenix with an eighth place, followed by Heidi Hittner 11th and Ashley Pletcher 22nd. For Gustavus, Chandra Daw led the team in 13th, followed by Laura Edlund 14th, and Kathleen DeWahl 15th.
Among the other teams, Michigan Technological University’s Liz Quinley had a excellent day, finishing 9th to lead her team. While St. Olaf College was led by the efforts of Dale, the freshmen duo of Bria Schurke and Audrey Weber also contributed to the team scoring by finishing 22nd and 23rd respectively. St. Cloud State University’s top skier was senior Julie Warnike, whose 20:02 was good for 25th. Freshman Maggie Donahue of the College of St. Benedict (18th in 19:18) had a standout day to lead her team. Finlandia’s only entrant, Heidi Butler, was 43rd.
By the time the men’s individual start 10-kilometer began some time after the completion of the women’s race, the conditions had softened somewhat (as the temperature rose to above freezing over the course of the day). Just as in the women’s race, the University of Alaska-Fairbanks easily defeated their rival NMU. UAF standout Marius Korthauer was his usual self, both winning and defeating the nearest collegian by more than a minute (28:48). Teammate Bart Dengel finished second, narrowly outskiing NMU’s Gus Kaeding (third place) by three seconds, 29:56 to 29:59. UAF senior Jonas Tetlie finished seventh to wrap up UAF’s team score and their resounding win. NMU, second, under the leadership of Kaeding, Phil Violett (fourth, 30:06), and Ben Cline (eighth, 30:28), will look forward to CCSA Regionals in Houghton and the return of Bryan Cook (from Under-23 Championships) who might give them the boost they need to compete with the Nanooks.
Interviewed via email, UAF Head Coach Scott Jerome spoke positively about his men’s team’s results: "Marius Korthauer established himself as one of the top CCSA skiers on this road trip by winning three of four CCSA events, and placing second in the last. In his three 10 km wins he took top honors by an average of 1:07 over the next collegiate skier. Though NMU's Bryan Cook was absent, I think Marius will prove that he can give Bryan a run for his money later this season. Bart Dengel showed that he is a top CCSA skier as well. He has a good chance of qualifying for NCAAs for the first time and may be able to ski into the top half of the field in Colorado."
Continuing their strong season, the Michigan Tech Huskies captured third place in the team standings. Adam Airoldi led the squad with a fifth place result (30:17), Aaron Ditty finished 11th, and freshman Kevin Heglund was 13th.
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay was led by a pack of skiers: Andy Cheesebro, Trevor Walz, and Casey Kruger, who finished in 12th through 14th within 20 seconds of each other. St. Olaf’s best finisher was standout freshman Karl Nygren who was 9th among collegians and second among older juniors. Gustavus’ top result was posted by Erich Ziegler, who finished 20th. Chad Gregg led St. John’s University by placing 32nd. Macalester’s Jakob Wartman was his school’s top performer skiing to 33rd among collegians and 14th among older juniors. Finlandia University’s top entrant was Stephen Wagner, who finished 51st among collegians.
Snow conditions changed dramatically for the mass start skating race held on Sunday. After a little Saturday evening rain, the precipitation changed to extremely wet snow, and by morning approximately six inches had fallen at Telemark. The snow packed into a quite sticky but also very firm surface. After the race was over, many concluded that it was a race of grind/structure, wax, and ski flex. Given the moisture content of the snow and an unusually flat course, those who skied with the wrong grind/structure and wax fell out of touch with the pack. Meanwhile, those with soft skis complained that they felt their skis to be “squirrelly” on the hard pack.
In the women’s race, skate specialist Johanna Turunen made the best of things and did a lot of leading for the top pack. While in the end NorAm skiers Kate Whitcomb and Natasha Naryshkina beat her to the line, Turunen still held on to the collegiate win 24:30 to 24:32 over Tami Kochen. University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Johanna Winters clung on to a chase pack and recorded her best-ever collegiate result, a third place in 25:17. Pavla Havlova (UAF) was fourth (25:23.3). Gustavus’ Chandra Daw also recorded a best-ever result, finishing fifth in 25:23.5. Once again, UAF took the team win. This time Julia Coulter (seventh in 26:02) was the third contributer to the team score.
Nanook Coach Jerome also had positive things to say about his women’s results. “Johanna Turunen continues to demonstrate that her past All-America honors are for real. She was the top collegian in each of the four Midwestern NorAm/CCSA races, and was on the podium three times in four SuperTour events. Senior All-America runner Pavla Havlova also made a strong case for a trip to NCAAs with her collegiate results.”
Next weekend the Midwestern CCSA teams take a weekend off, while UAF skis at home in a Besh Cup. The following weekend St. Cloud State University and St. John’s University/College of St. Benedict combine to host a CCSA Regional in Central Minnesota. As has been the case in the past, UAF plans to sit out from this particular event, and as of now the northern teams of NMU, MTU, and UWGB are reported to be skipping as well, so this race may be a chance for the “more southern” teams to shine. Finally, on February 18th and 19th, Michigan Technological University hosts the CCSA Regional Championships on their trails. The regional team champions, as well as qualifiers for NCAA Championships, will be determined at this time.
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About the author... Corey Coogan reports on U.S. collegiate skiing throughout the season. Coogan has published an updated version of One Week in March: a manual for prospective Collegiate Nordic skiers. A devoted racer, she competes for Alpina/Madshus Racing and Finn Sisu ski shop. |