Men 2nd, Women 3rd at Twin Cities Classic Races

Twin Cities Championships Classic Results

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Michigan Tech's men's Nordic skiing team finished second and the women were third at today's sprint races at the Twin Cities Championships. Four Huskies (three men and one woman) placed in the top 10 among collegiate racers.

Haakon Hjelstuen took fourth in the men's 15-kilometer event with a time of 40:55. Sam Holmes was eighth in 41:55, one minute behind Hjulsten. Thomas Kendrick earned 10th place with a time of 42:54, just under a minute behind Holmes.

The top Tech female on the day was Ulrika Axelsson, who was the 10th collegiate racer to complete the 10K course, with a time of 32:16. Alice Flanders posted a time of 33:19 for 16th position. Lisa Konig and Ruth Oppliger were 18th and 19th, respectively, in 35:09 and 35:11.

The Huskies are racing this weekend without Deedra Irwin and Tom Bye, who are preparing to head to Kazakhstan and represent Team USA at the World Junior Championships in Kazakhstan Feb. 2-9.

"The guys had a pretty good day," said Tech coach Joe Haggenmiller. "Haakon double-poled the entire course and did well despite some equipment problems with his poles. Sam had a heck of a day, and it was great to see us put three in the top 10.

"As for the women, they probably didn't have their best day. I know they were battling hard, but we just didn't get the results today. Hopefully, we can bounce back tomorrow."

Northern Michigan won both men's and women's events. Tech's men finished one point ahead of St. Scholastica and were second overall out of college six squads. The women were third out of seven teams.

Michigan Tech will conclude its racing at the Twin Cities Championships on Sunday (Jan. 25) with freestyle races.