Huskies set to ski at NCAA Championships Thursday and Saturday
BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Michigan Tech Nordic ski team is in Bozeman, Montana this week for the 2020 NCAA Skiing Championships. The Huskies sent a full squad for the first time in school history and will compete in the freestyle race Thursday and classic race Saturday.
"The Huskies are ready to race!" head coach Tom Smith said. "Sarah and Amanda are coming off the U23 World Ski Championships where they showed they're in top racing form. The rest of our NCAA Championship Team has been in Bozeman, Montana for the past week. This has been incredibly valuable for the team as we've had the best preparation for the Championships. Our team is hungry to prove we are here to compete against the best NCAA skiers in the nation."
Representing Michigan Tech out of the Central Region will be Patrick Acton, Sarah Goble, Amanda Kautzer, Reid Goble, Aleksi Leino, and Oda Hovland. Mitch DeLong and Henriette Semb are also in Montana as race alternates that have also qualified for the NCAA Skiing Championships.
Seniors Sarah Goble and Amanda Kautzer return to the NCAAs for the third straight season. Junior Patrick Acton also qualified in 2019 and junior Reid Goble went in 2018.
"Sarah and Amanda achieved a 10th place team finish in 2019 with only two out of a possible three women that can represent each team at the Championships. With Oda also representing the women's team at the Championships they have the goal of being an Elite 8 Team this year!
"All of our returning NCAA Championship skiers including Sarah, Amanda, Reid, and Patrick all know what it takes to compete with the best skiers at the Championships having all experienced this level of competition. Their previous Championship experience gives them perspective on how they have to ski to deliver competitive results amongst this field."
Junior Aleksi Leino and sophomore Oda Hovland will get their first taste of nationals.
Thursday's skate is a 5K for the women (Noon *times listed in Eastern) and a 10K for the men (2 p.m.). Saturday's classic is a 20K for the men (Noon) and a 15K for the women (2 p.m.). All Nordic races will be held at the Crosscut Mountain Sports Center. A free video stream is available on NCAA.com.
Participants are selected on a regional basis from three designated regions for Nordic skiing (Central, East, and West Regions). Bids are awarded to regions using a formula determined by the skiing committee. A maximum of six Nordic student-athletes (three per gender per discipline) may be selected from an institution. Montana State University-Bozeman is this year's host institution.