Huskies Open U.S. Nationals on Home Course
HOUGHTON, Mich. — Michigan Tech officially opened its 2015-16 Nordic skiing season by competing in the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships on its home course.
Today was the first of four days of racing at the Nordic Training Center with classic distance races for both men and women.
Andrea Lee posted the best result by a Husky with a 32nd place finish of 151 entries in the women's 10-kilometer event. She skied to a time of 32:21. Lisa Konig was 94th at 35:03. Sonja Hedblom took 100th with a 35:23 clocking. Sarah Wade (122nd, 36:38) and Carolyn Lucca (124th, 36:44) also represented the Black and Gold.
For the men, Tech's Gaspard Cuenot posted a time of 43:51 on the 15-kilometer course. He placed 49th of 199 men's finishers. Didrik Fjeld Elset was the next Husky at 80th place and a time of 45:18. Thomas Kendrick was six spots back in 86th at 45:36. Kyle Hanson was also in the top half of the field at 97th place in a time of 46:08.
"We have really good conditions," said Tech coach Joe Haggenmiller. "The course is fast, and that makes it a lot of fun.
"It's obviously a very good field of competition and tough with it being our first real races of the year. Overall, I'm pretty happy with how we competed and looking forward to seeing how the week plays out."
Skiers will be back on course tomorrow with freestyle sprints. The qualifications begin at 10 a.m. for the women and 11 a.m. for the men.
