Huskies Compete in Classic Sprints on Day Two at US Nationals
SOLDIER HOLLOW, Utah – The Michigan Tech men's and women's Nordic Skiing teams both competed on day two at the US Nationals held at Solider Hollow, Utah on Sunday. Sunday's events were Classic Sprints Qualifiers.
"It was a pretty good day for the Huskies today," Michigan Tech Head Coach Joe Haggenmiller said. "I'm proud of all the athletes today and the effort they put in in challenging conditions. Our results were outstanding in the qualifiers today on the men's side and helped our standings in the College Cup. All of our athletes were really working hard to turn in some good times. We'll try and recover a little bit tomorrow and get ready to compete again on Tuesday."
The Tech men had two athletes finish in the top 15 of the standings with Tomi Mikkonen and Gaspard Cuenot recording 14th and 15th place finishes respectively. Mikkonen turned in a time of 3:44.47 while Cuenot hit the line with a time of 3:44.64. Mikkonen and Cuenot weren't far off the pace of the top finisher Benjamin Saxton of Stratton Mountain School who led the charge to win the individual championship with a time of 3:38.85.
David Jaszczak also competed on Sunday and placed 159th with a time of 4:02.42 followed by Thomas Bye who checked in a number 170 with a time of 4:03.32 in the field of 304.
On the women's side, Lisa Koenig paced the field for Tech in the Classic Sprints and finished in 128th place on a time of 4:01.46. Carolyn Lucca was 183rd in the field of 254 competitors by crossing the line with a time of 4:09.99 while Sonja Hedblom (220th, 4:23.73) and Ruth Oppliger (224th, 4:26.61) rounded out the field for Tech on Sunday. Kaitlynn Miller of Craftsbury Green Racing Project won the individual title with a time of 3:24.45.
The Huskies will be back in action on Tuesday at the US Nationals in Soldier Hollow, Utah.