Nordic Huskies Trio Earn CCSA Podium at U.S. Nationals
MIDWAY, Utah – Michigan Tech completed day one of the U.S. Cross Country Ski Nationals Championships in Midway, Utah, with three podium finishes among the CCSA race, with Skylar Patten winning the men's race, followed by Wes Campbell in second and Anabel Needham placing third in the women's race.
Quotable
"Today counted for both CCSA and NCAA qualifiers and the highlight of the day was Skylar Patten taking the win for CCSA in the men's race–his first classic race win for CCSA, which was an awesome thing for him to celebrate," head coach Tom Monahan Smith said. "Wes Campbell also made the podium with a second-place finish--so it was great to have two Huskies on the podium especially in classic distance, which hasn't traditionally been our strong suit. On the women's side, Anabel Needham for the third CCSA podium. At large, it was not our strongest day, but we have three more races to come and I believe we're just going to get better each race."
Patten, a native of Park City, Utah, was the first finisher for Tech, finishing 29th overall in a field that showcased 243 skiers. Wes Campbell was the next finisher in 38th-place.
"I had a really fun time racing at home," Patten said. "The course hurt just as much as I remember and it was really nice to have my family out cheering."
Campbell was also seventh in the junior of the day.
Five other Huskies placed among the top-100 Henry Snider (65th-place), Colin Freed (89th-place), Axel Aflodal (91st-place), Yanik Puachard (95th-place) and Jasper Johnston (99th-place).
In the women's race Anabel Needham took bronze in the CCSA competition, placing 36th overall in a field of 203 skiers.
Olivia Laven, Alice McKnight and Marie Sølverud Wangen finished within 30 seconds of each other, placing 68th, 73rd and 77th, respectively.
The freshmen duo of Greta Hanson and Hailee Zimpel finished together in 84th and 85th place, respectively.
Cat Stow finished among the top-100 in 95th.
Up Next
The Huskies resume the U.S. Cross Country Ski National Championships Thursday for the Skate Sprint.
