Huskies Top Competition for Second Place in Classic Ski Race
ISHPEMING, Mich. – The Michigan Tech Huskies Nordic ski teams wrapped up the Central Region Skiing Championships with two classic races. The Huskies had a great day in the field, securing second place again. Three members of the women's team cracked the top 10 in the college division. Anna Kubek led the Huskies in 7th place, with a time of 16:58.1. Gaspard Cuenot took 2nd place in the college standings and pulled 10th place overall.
Anna Kubek set the pace for the women's Nordic skiing team today. Trailing Kubek was Carolyn Lucca who locked 8th place at 17:04.6, followed by Lisa Koenig in 9th place respectively. Koenig held a strong performance, crossing the line at 17:06.3. Sonja Hedblom (18th, 18:12.6), Ruth Oppliger (18:18.2) and Erin Lipp (18:46.0) were the other women competitors.
"Another day we fell second to the Wildcats, both men's and women's teams," said head coach Joe Haggenmiller. "We did have three men and three women all-region in the classic race."
"Anna Kubek was our top woman today. I am really happy to see her working and going in the right direction. Carolyn Lucca had a very competitive race. It's exciting to see her on the upswing going into the NCAA Championships," added Haggenmiller. "Lisa Koenig, made the top 10 as well, and had a really strong day too. She can really ski the 5K classic quite well."
Gaspard Cuenot blasted by the competition in the men's 10K, securing 2nd place in the college division. Today, Cuenot put himself in a great position for the NCAA Championships. Tomi Mikkonen hit the finish line at 27:26.0 for 6th place, and Tom bye slid into 9th place with a time of 27:50.6. David Jaszczak earned 14th at 29:24.1, joining Jasczak was Daniel Wood (19th, 30:50.5), and Seth Mares (27th, 32:38.0).
"Gaspard had a solid day today. He was second in college and 10th in the entire field. This is pretty much the second highest level of racing here in the US, behind the the US National Championships. The 10th place should really give him confidence rolling into the NCAA Championships," said Haggenmiller. "Tomi had a pretty respectable day, 23rd overall. He just squeezed into the NCAA Championships as well. Tom was also a part of the three men all region. He has been skiing really strong for the Huskies, but I don't think today he was at his best."
Five Huskies will be traveling to the NCAA Championships; Carolyn Lucca, Sonja Hedblom, Gaspard Cuenot, Tom Bye, and Tomi Mikkonen. The athletes will travel to Jackson, New Hampshire for their next race at the NCAA Skiing Championships (Mar. 8).
Other Tech Skiers will be competing in the American Birkiebeiner next weekend Feb. 23-26 and the US Junior National Championships (Mar. 5).