Nordic Skiing Announces Team Award Recipients

HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech Nordic Ski team announced its 2018-19 team award winners at their end-of-the-year banquet. Amanda Kautzer, Sarah Goble, Anna Kubek, Patrick Acton, Kristoffer Vollset, Mark Ousdigian, and Tres Green all received team awards at the banquet.

Kautzer took home several awards, including the Most Improved Skier and the Scholastic Achievement Award, and sharing the Most Outstanding Women's Skier award with Goble. Kautzer was the 15k Classic champion at the 2019 NCAA Central Region Skiing Championships and scored a top 20 finish in the 15k Classic at the NCAA National Skiing Championships, along with receiving First Team All-Conference honors. In the classroom, Kautzer carries a 4.0 grade point average as a Biomedical Engineering & Mechanical Engineering double major.

Sharing the award with Kautzer for Most Outstanding Women's Skier, Goble won four CCSA races over the season and made the podium in another five along with finishing in the top 20 in the 5k Freestyle and in the 15k Classic in addition to earning First Team All-Conference.

The recipient of the Most Improved Male Skier, Acton was a first-time qualifier for the NCAA Skiing Championships. He was among the best under-20 skiers in the country, finishing with multiple CCSA podium finishes and a third-place finish in the 10k Freestyle at the NCAA Central Region Championships.

An exchange student from Klaebu, Norway, Vollset earned the Most Outstanding Male Skier award after winning the 20k Classic in the NCAA Central Region Championships. A Second Team All-Conference honoree, Vollset finished 15th in the 20k Classic at the NCAA Skiing Championships and made the podium in two CCSA races.

A native of Shoreview, Minnesota, Ousdigian finished the season with a 4.0 GPA as a Mechanical Engineering major. He raced in several meets this year and finished in the top 15 in several meets, including a top 10 finish in the 15k Classic at the UW-Green Bay Invitational.

Senior Kubek and sophomore Green received the Harold Meese Sportsmanship award. According to head coach Thomas Smith, Kubek showed "selfless support of the team in everything we asked for." Meanwhile, Green "showed what you can do when you trust the process of development" as he finished in the top 15 at the NCAA Central Region Championships.