Posted: Dec 22, 2019

Huskies Compete in MTU Pre-Nationals CXC Cup

HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech Nordic Ski team saw a number of success on both days for the men's and the women's teams as the Huskies hosted the MTU Pre-Nationals CXC Cup at the Michigan Tech Recreation Trails on December 21-22.

"Our biggest goal this weekend was to build some competitive experience on these new courses," Tech coach Tom Smith said. "We've been training on them but haven't been able to do any racing. We were able to talk strategy and execute strategy this weekend.

"We had some really good skiers here this weekend that we don't normally see on our college weekends. It was also fun to get some sprints in because again we don't see that in our normal schedule."

Juniors Reid Goble and Aleksi Leino represented Tech in the Men's A Finals of the Freestyle Sprint on Saturday, and seniors Amanda Kautzer and Sarah Goble skied for the Huskies in the Women's A Freestyle Sprint Final. Goble finished fifth in the final with a time of 3:21.04, and Leino crossed the finish line right behind him with a time of 3:23.83. In the women's race, Kautzer placed fourth with a time of 3:43.74, and Goble clocked in at 3:53.20 to finish sixth.

Sophomore Oda Hovland and freshman Anabel Needham finished first and second, respectively, in the semi-final as Hovland clocked in at 3:53.84 and Needham recorded a time of 3:54.64.

In Sunday's Classic distance events, Reid Goble finished third in the men's 10K by finishing in a time of 27:49.4, while Aleksi Leino took sixth in the event in a time of 28:27.6. Patrick Acton placed seventh in a time of 28:30.2. In the women's 10K, Sarah Goble scored a third-place finish as she crossed the finish line at 33:28.8. Freshman Anabel Needham finished eighth in a time of 34:35.1, while Mary Lyon and Amanda Kautzer broke into the top 10 for MTU with finishes of ninth for Lyon (35:34.2) and 10th for Kautzer (35:38.5).

"Now that school is done, everybody gets to go home and spend some time with their families for the holidays," added Smith. "We'll reconvene as a team on December 30th and get ready for the Championships."

Michigan Tech will host the 2020 U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships at the Michigan Tech Recreation Trails on January 2-7. Follow the event on Facebook and Instagram, and click here to sign-up to be a volunteer.