Two Top-Three Finishes for Huskies at JNQ Day Two

Day 2 Results: Classic Distance Races

HOUGHTON, Mich. — Michigan Tech wrapped up racing at the Junior National Qualifier/Pre-U.S. Nationals at the Nordic Training Center today with a pair of top-three finishes. Ulrika Axelsson took third in the women's senior race while Thomas Bye was second in the men's junior race.

Axelsson covered the 10-kilometer course in 34:11.5, just three-tenths of a second behind the top two finishers who were both at 34:11.2. Alice Flanders was among the race leaders before getting bumped off the trail by a competitor. She ended up ninth with a time of 35:05. Lisa Konig was the next Husky in 17th position with a time of 38:00.

Haakon Hjulsten skied to a fifth-place finish in the men's senior race, covering the 20 kilometers in 1:00:32. David Joda had a career day with a ninth-place finish in a time of 1:02:02. He out-sprinted a group of five at the end to earn the top-10 result. Thomas Kendrick was also in the group and finished 13th at 1:02:07.

Thomas Bye was second in the men's junior 10K with a time of 31:04. Three women were among the top 10 in the women's junior 5K. Anna Kubek was fifth in 15:54 followed by Carolyn Lucca (7th, 16:15) and Sonja Hedblom (10th, 16:35).

"It was another good day for us," said Tech coach Joe Haggenmiller. "Haakon was right there with the leaders in the men's senior race, and the women's senior race was a ton of fun. Our depth on the women's side really showed today with good results despite Alice getting taken out and Deedra (Irwin) fighting some injury problems.

"Waxing was challenging with conditions going from upper 20s to above freezing at times, but overall it was a good day."

The JNQ/Pre-U.S. Nationals comes two weeks before Tech will host hundreds of skiers for the U.S. Cross Country Skiing Championships Jan. 4-10 at the Nordic Training Center. The local organizing committee, led in part by Michigan Tech Athletics and athletic director Suzanne Sanregret, looks forward to hosting the event.

"I want to thank the many volunteers for making this past weekend possible," she said. "We have one of the best facilities in the nation for skiing, but it takes a lot of people to make events like these run smoothly. Our staff and volunteers did an awesome job."

Volunteers are still needed for the U.S. Nationals Jan. 4-10. Click the "Volunteer" link at http://www.nordicchampionship.org/ to sign up. No experience is necessary.