Huskies Open Skiing Season at West Yellowstone

WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. — Michigan Tech opened its 2014-15 Nordic skiing season today at the USSA Super Tour Season Opener as six Huskies raced in a freestyle sprint. None of the Tech athletes advanced to the heats but put up solid results against an elite field.

Kyle Hanson led the men with a 40th place finish. He completed the 1.5-kilometer course in a time of 2:41. David Joda turned in a time of 2:46 for 56th place. Thomas Kendrick was just three seconds back, but 12 places lower at 68th.

The women were led by Ulrika Axelsson, who was 52nd among the females in the sprint. She crossed the line at 3:14, just one second ahead of teammate Lisa Konig, who was 54th. MaKenna Stelpflug recorded a time of 3:40.

"It's a solid start to our season," said Tech coach Joe Haggenmiller. "The results are maybe a little misleading because this is probably the most talented field we'll race against until we host the U.S. Nationals in January. That said, I think we raced faster than our seeding for the most part. That's really positive, considering we're using this trip mainly as a training session."

Michigan Tech will compete in distance freestyle races tomorrow before leaving to return home Sunday.