The Nordic Ski Team Races in Classic Distance Sunday
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech Nordic ski team had another great day of the 2017 CXC Junior Cup/FIS Open/Alumni Open as they took part in the classic distance races Sunday morning. The men raced in a 15K mass start and the women's teams skied a 10K.
"What an incredibly special weekend for our Michigan Tech Nordic Ski Team," said Tech head coach Tom Smith. "We had over 450 racers compete in the MTU CXC Cup/FIS Open/Alumni Open races on Saturday and Sunday at the Tech Trails. This weekend was one of the biggest Nordic race weekends in the entire country with athletes competing and representing every competitive level.
"A Nordic event this big truly takes an army of support. We know that every MTU Nordic Ski Team student-athlete, parent, volunteer, alumni, friend, and our University at large truly believe in our team, and we carry a huge sense of pride in knowing that we have so many supporters that have a strong sense of belonging with our team."
Gaspard Cuenot finished in 6th place to lead the Tech men. He clocked a time of 47:14.1 in the 15K in a field of 117 competitive skiers. Freshman, Reid Goble trailed behind to secure 8th place with a time of 47:14.1 and Patrick Acton took 10th with a time of 48:58.2.
Filing into the men's top 20 was Olav Vestol (12th, 49:04.4), Tom Bye (14th, 49:40.9), Mitch DeLong (16th, 49:59.4) and Daniel Wood (17th, 49:59.7).
Zak Ketterson of Northern Michigan took home the first place finish with a time of 45:16.2.
In a field of 74 women racers freshman Sarah Goble was seventh-overall, but finished 6th in the women's college standings with a time of 37:24.1. Amanda Kautzer hit the line to finish 10th with a time of 38:08.8 and Erin Lipp took 27th with a final time of 40:28.0.
NMU's Vivian Hett placed first in the women's college division with a time of 35.36.0.
All of the race results can be found here.
Following the college races were the U16, U14, a combined U12/U10 boy's and girl's race and a 5K alumni open ski race.
"Our Nordic Ski Team student-athletes made us all proud this weekend, posting great individual and team results, having two women and three men in the Top 10 of the FIS Open races today adding to the already strong sprint races we had as a team yesterday," added Smith. "Our team went out this weekend and proved that we are ready to compete with the best in the country at our next races to come, U.S. National Championships."
The Huskies will be busy the next few weeks prepping for the U.S. National Championships. The Black and Gold are set to hit the trails in Anchorage, Alaska Jan. 3-8th.
"Lastly, we want to thank everyone that was able to attend our Houghton Engagement weekend of events with our MTU Nordic Ski Team," said Smith. "We truly believe that our team's success is and will continue to be fueled by our community of support that we value so much as not just integral, but essential to our MTU Nordic Ski Team."
