Flanders, Axelsson Lead Huskies in Classic Ski Races
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech Nordic ski teams skied in the classic races to begin the NCAA Central Region Championships on Saturday (Feb. 15) at the Nordic Training Center. Alice Flanders and Ulrika Axelsson had top 10 finishes in the women's 5-kilometer race to lead the Huskies.
"We battled hard and gave it everything we had today," Tech coach Joe Haggenmiller. "The conditions were fabulous. It was a bit cold but it makes for very fair racing."
Flanders battled through single-digit temperatures to place eighth with a time of 18:02.8. Axelsson (18:36.6) was two spots back in 10th.
"I was really happy with the way Alice raced today," added Haggenmiller. "Ulrika was also very strong today, and I'm happy for her as she continues to adjust to collegiate skiing."
Also scoring for the women's team was Deedra Irwin (18:49) in 15th place. The women were fourth in team scoring behind Northern Michigan, St. Scholastica and Alaska.
Sarah Daniels (18:49.6) and Lisa Koenig (18:50.1) were also in the top 20 directly behind Irwin in 16th and 17th. Lynn Duijndam (26th/19:23.7), Erin Mathews (36th/21:21) and Ruth Oppliger (37th/21:25) wrapped up Black and Gold skiers in the women's race.
The men's team finished fourth out of seven teams behind Alaska, NMU and St. Scholastica.
Matt Wong led the Huskies in the men's 10K race with an 11th place finish in 31:51.2 Kyle Hanson (32:23.2) and Thomas Kendrick (32:32.4) also scored for Tech. Hanson was 15th and Kendrick was 19th.
"Matt Wong had a heck of a race and we look for him to improve on that position tomorrow," said Haggenmiller.
Raphael Bechtiger (20th/32:34.6), Matt Dugan (22nd/32:56), Jay Woodbeck (25th/33:18.6) and David Joda (35th/33:51.1) also skied for Tech.
The NCAA Central Regional Championships wrap up on Sunday (Feb. 16) with the freestyle races. The women's 10K mass start begins at 10 a.m. with the men skiing a 15K at noon. The award ceremony will be held in the ski stadium at 1:30 p.m. to conclude the weekend's events.
"Tomorrow's another day and another opportunity," Haggenmiller said. "We've been skating better than classic skiing most of the year and hopefully that holds true tomorrow."