Flanders 20th, Bye 32nd on Day One of U.S. Skiing Nationals
Freestyle Distance Results: Men 15K | Women 10K
HOUGHTON, Mich. — Michigan Tech competed in day one of the U.S. Cross Country Skiing Championships today at the Nordic Training Center. Three Huskies turned in top 40 performances in the freestyle distance races in tough conditions (snow and 0 degrees F).
Alice Flanders had the best finish of the day for Tech with a 20th place result in the women's 10-kilometer race. She covered the course in 32:40, marking the best performance at U.S. Nationals for the 2014 NCAA All-American.
Deedra Irwin also turned in a career day at Nationals with a 36th place finish in a time of 33:46. Ulrika Axelsson was Tech's next best finisher one minute later in 67th position.
The women's champion was Caitlin Gregg, who posted a time of 30:31.
Thomas Bye earned a 32nd place finish in the men's 15K freestyle. His time of 45:30 was the third best of any junior (under 20) at the event.
Sam Holmes raced into the top 100 at 96th in a time of 47:46. David Joda was the next Husky at 126th in 48:52.
The men's champion was Kyle Bratrud in 42:01.
"I'm pretty excited about the results today," said Tech coach Joe Haggenmiller. "Alice had a super day, and Tom put himself in a legitimate contending spot for the world junior championship. That would also pre-qualify him for the NCAA Championships.
"Hats off to our race management crew and all the volunteers. They did an excellent job. The weather conditions made it tough to be out there."
The next competition day at the U.S. Nationals was scheduled for tomorrow (Jan. 5) but has been moved back one day due to forecast sub-zero temperatures. The classic sprints will now be held on Tuesday (Jan. 6) with the same timing originally scheduled for Monday.
