Axelsson 2nd at CCSA Classic Distance

CCSA Classic Distance Results: Women's 15K | Men's 20K

MINNEAPOLIS — Ulrika Axelsson continued to strong skiing to take second in today's classic distance race at the CCSA Championships at Theo Wirth Park. Athletes from both Michigan Tech Nordic skiing teams earned top-10 results.

The women's race was a 15-kilometer mass start. Axelsson sprinted to the finish against Northern Michigan's Felicia Gesior and finished less than two seconds behind with a time of 44:34. Alice Flanders was Tech's next female with a time of 46:40—good for 11th among collegiate racers. Carolyn Lucca posted a time of 49:00 for 22nd position.

Tech had two men in the top 10 with Kyle Hanson taking ninth and Thomas Kendrick placing 10th. Hanson's time of 47:09 on the 20-kilometer course was three seconds better than Kendrick's. David Joda (16th, 48:22) and Sam Holmes (17th, 48:24) were the next best Huskies in the race.

Tech skied today without the services of three of its top skiers. Haakon Hjelstuen did not make the trip due to illness while Deedra Irwin and Tom Bye used the extra day of recovery from their trip back from the World Junior Championships in Kazakhstan.

"Ulrika's finish was definitely the highlight of our day," said Tech coach Joe Haggenmiller. "She was right there, just got out-sprinted at the end.

"Otherwise, we had some respectable results that we can hopefully build on tomorrow."

Day two of the CCSA Distance Championships tomorrow (Feb. 14) will feature freestyle interval starts. The men will race 10K while the women are scheduled to go 5K.