Needham wins CCSA Championship Classic
DULUTH, Minn. – Michigan Tech's Anabel Needham took home the classic title at the CCSA Championships after overwhelming the field by nine seconds in Saturday's 5K. She placed sixth in Sunday's 15K to lead the Huskies to a second-place finish at the Grand Avenue Nordic Center.
"Anabel picked the perfect time to get her first collegiate win," Tech coach Tom Monahan Smith said. "She is really showing that she has the capacity to win every day. She's carrying so much confidence, and we're excited to see what she still has in store this season."
Henriette Semb paced the Huskies Sunday with a sixth-place finish while placing seventh Saturday.
"Henriette also had a great weekend," added Monahan Smith. "She was only five seconds off the podium Saturday and led us Sunday. Overall, Henriette and Anabel have really established themselves as our championship skiers."
Oda Hovland was ninth in the classic and 13th in the freestyle. Mary Lyon also scored for the Huskies both days while Johanna Craig scored in the freestyle and Olivia Laven was a top-five finisher for the Black and Gold in the classic.
The men's squad was paced by Reid Goble and Patrick Acton who both had top 10 finishes both days. Goble was sixth in the 20K freestyle Sunday and 10th in the 10K classic Saturday. Acton was seventh in the freestyle and ninth Saturday.
Adam Witkowski was the other Husky with a top 10 on the weekend, finishing 10th in the freestyle. Mark Ousdigian scored both days for Tech. Skylar Patten was 11th in the freestyle while Cedric Keller was 11th in the classic. Aleksi Leino placed 14th in the classic.
Henry Snider, Somer Schrock, Tres Green, and Josh Albrecht also skied for the Huskies in Duluth.
Tech returns home next weekend to host the NCAA Central Region Championships at the Tech Trails.
"We're excited about hosting regionals next weekend," Monahan Smith said. "There's no better time, or place, to step up and have our best races of the season than on our home course."
The classic events will be Saturday followed by the freestyle races on Sunday.