ISHPEMING, Mich – Host Northern Michigan completed a clean sweep of the NCAA Regional titles on Sunday, taking home the men’s, women’s and overall titles by comfortable margins after taking five of the six podium spots in the classic races at the Al Quaal Ski Trails.

NMU’s Erik Soderman made a late charge to nip past Alaska’s Jonas Loeffler and win the men’s 15K mass start event by less than a second, while the Monica Markvardsen led a Wildcat sweep of the women’s 10K podium.

“I’ve just been really impressed with my skiers all season,” NMU head coach Sten Fjeldheim said. “They’ve just had a great attitude, and been really professional. You can tell they just really want to work and become better skiers.”

In Soderman, the Wildcats seem to have a skier who is peaking at the right time – in addition to his regional title in the classic race on Sunday, Soderman also claimed the freestyle crown a day earlier. Trailing Loeffler with 400 m to go, Soderman switched tracks and, with 100 meters left, made his move, besting the Nanook skier by seven-tenths of a second.

“I guess Erik just had a little more left in the tank for double poling at the end,” Fjeldheim said.

Loeffler did claim podium spot, taking second in one of his best races of the year. A trio of Wildcats soon followed, as Kyle Bratrud earned the final podium spot with his 40:49.1, crossing the line just two-tenths of a second ahead of teammate Kjell-Christian Markset.

NMU’s Chris Bowler took fifth in 40:49.8, as the top five men’s skiers were all separated by only a second and half.

Alaska’s second scoring skier, Ludwig Schott, took sixth in 40:56.5, while Northern’s George Cartwright was seventh in 41:14.4. Another Nanook, senior Erik Soederstrom, took eighth, while Michigan Tech’s Mikko Harju and NMU’s Kevin Cutts rounded out the top ten.

On the women’s side, it was all Northern, as Markvardsen, Molly Burger and Marie Helen Soderman broke away following the last serious climb to sweep the podium. Markvardsen, the CCSA’s top scoring women’s skier coming into the event, completed her 10K in 32:50.0, while Burger took second in 32:52.4 and Soderman third in 32:53.0.

Alaska’s Marit Rjabov finished fourth in 33:03.5, crossing the line just ahead of two more NMU skiers – Libby Ellis (fifth) and Rosie Frankowski (sixth) – in a real testament to the Wildcats’ depth.

“That’s what you have to have – six or seven men and women all pushing each other on a weekly basis,” Fjeldheim said. “It’s unfortunate you can only take three to the NCAA’s but it’s really cool to see the improvement of skiers like Libby and Rosie.”

Alaska’s second and third scoring skiers, Heather Edic and Crystal Pitney, finished seventh and eighth, respectively, to bump the Nanooks up to second place in the final regional standings. Michigan Tech’s Deedra Irwin and Alaska’s Raphaela Sieber rounded out the top ten.

With today’s results, Northern finished with 170 points on the men’s side for the two-day event, 23 points better than second-placed Alaska (147). Michigan Tech finished third on 138 points, and Saint Scholastica fourth with 132.

Northern’s women finished with 172 points to claim the regional crown over Alaska, who took second with 149. Michigan Tech were again third with 143 points, and Saint Scholastica again fourth with 112.

With the qualifying races over, now the waiting game begins, as coaches and athletes alike await the final tallying and approval of the CCSA rankings, which will determine who qualifies for next month’s NCAA Championships.

“It’s a little tense, but we know it will be fair,” Fjeldheim said. “We have a good feeling it will all shake out for us.”

For posting of the final standings and announcement of the CCSA’s NCAA qualifying team, stay tuned to www.ccsaski.com.

ISHPEMING, Mich. – Wins by Marie Helen Soderman and Erik Soderman propelled hosts Northern Michigan into sizable leads after the first day of the NCAA Regionals. The Wildcats landed placed all three of their scoring skiers in the top four in both the women’s 5K and men’s 10K events, giving them a 10-point lead on the women’s side and a 12-point lead on the men’s side.

Tensions were high prior to the individual start race, which serves as the last skate qualifier for the NCAA Championship spots.

Soderman, however, quickly shook off any nerves she was feeling to turn in a dominant performance on the Al Quaal Ski Trails. The junior cruised to a regional title in 15:14:00, a good 16 seconds better than her nearest competitor.

Michigan Tech’s Alice Flanders earned second spot with her time of 15:30.10, continuing the run of fine form for the Michigan Tech women. A pair of Northern skiers turned in the next best times, with Monica Markvardsen earning the final podium spot in 15:30.40, while Libby Ellis took fourth in 15:35.30.

Alaska’s top skier on the day, Raphaela Sieber finished fifth in 15:36.20, while Northern’s Molly Burger continued her push for an NCAA berth with a solid sixth place finish. Michigan Tech’s Deedra Irwin took seventh in 15:45.00, scoring 25 vital points for her team.

Saint Scholastica’s Sharmila Ahmed landed her team’s best finish of the event, taking eighth in 15:49.00, just over a second ahead of ninth-placed Marit Rjabov, from Alaska. Another Nanook, Crystal Pitney, rounded out the top ten.

On the men’s side, it was equally as comfortable a victory for Northern’s Erik Soderman. An NCAA qualifier in his first year with the Wildcats, the sophomore appears on track for a return to nationals, taking the top spot with a time of 24:30.50 – a good 51 seconds better than any other competitor.

Saint Scholastica’s Paul Schommer turned in an impressive performance of his own, taking second place with a time of 25:22.30. A freshman for the Saints, Schommer has now earned three podium finishes in his last four NCAA qualifying races.

A trio of Northern Michigan skiers followed Schommer, with the Wildcats’ own impressive freshman, Kjell-Christian Markset, taking third in 25:29.90. The hosts’ third scoring skier, Chris Bowler, took fourth, while teammate George Cartwright took fifth for good measure, demonstrating the depth of the NMU roster.

Alaska Tyler Kornfield took sixth in 25:53.70, finishing as the Nanooks’ top skier and, perhaps surprisingly, their only top ten finisher of the day. Northern Michigan’s Kyle Bratrud took seventh in 25:59.50, while Saint Scholastica’s second scoring skier, Jeremy Hecker, took eighth just under two seconds later.

A pair of Michigan Tech skiers, Mikko Harju (ninth) and Matt Wong (tenth) rounded out the top ten.

Heading into the final day of regionals, the NMU women currently hold 85 points, offering them a ten-point cushion over second-placed Michigan Tech’s 75 points. Alaska sits third with 71 points, while Saint Scholastica are fourth with 55.

On the men’s side, the Wildcats’ 85 points give them a 12-point edge over second-place Saint Scholastica – a team that has really impressed in the second half of the CCSA season. Michigan Tech sits third with 69 points, with Alaska just behind in fourth with 67 points.

The CCSA skiers return to the course tomorrow for the final NCAA qualifier of the season. The men’s 15K classic kicks off first, at 10 a.m. Eastern time, before the women wrap things up with a 10K classic at 12:30 p.m.

HOUGHTON, Mich . – Victories in the men’s and women’s 3x5K freestyle relay earned Northern Michigan both the women’s and overall team titles at the CCSA Championships while Alaska claimed the men’s title, besting the Wildcats by eight points.

In a change of format from previous year’s conference championships, this year’s crowns were decided by taking the team scores from three events: the classic sprint from the Hilltop Invitational on Jan. 15, yesterday’s distance classic race and today’s relays at the Michigan Tech Nordic Training Center.

The Northern women entered the day with a healthy 11-point advantage, and quickly extended that lead, as the A-team of Marie Helen Soderman, Molly Burger and Monica Markvardsen cruised to a 48-second win. Soderman held a two-second advantage after the first leg, and Markvardsen sealed the victory with an impressive 2:53/K pace through her section of the course, finishing her 5K nearly 22 seconds faster than any other skier on the same leg.

The next two teams across the line both belonged to hosts Michigan Tech. The Huskies’ women have been one of the stories of the second half of the CCSA season so far, and continued their impressive form on Sunday. Their A-team of Lynn Duijndam, Alice Flanders and Deedra Irwin, sailed to second place in the event, and their second scoring team, made up of Sarah Daniels, Christina Mishica and Malin Eriksson, were just 11 seconds behind.

Those results, combined with previous scores, propelled Michigan Tech past Alaska and into the runner-up spot on the women’s leaderboard.

Alaska’s first squad, made up of Aly McPhetres, Raphaela Sieber and Marit Rjabov, took fourth in the relays, crossing the line ahead of Northern Michigan’s second scoring team (Libby Ellis, Rosie Frankowski and Felicia Geisor) in fifth. Saint Scholastica’s A-team of Brooke Adams, Sharmila Ahmed and Eleanor Magnuson took sixth.

On the men’s side, Northern’s Erik Soderman put the hammer down early, handing the Wildcats’ A-team a 28-second advantage after just the first leg of the event. Teammates Kjell-Christian Markset and George Cartwright only extended that lead, as the Wildcats cruised to a 40-second victory.

Alaska’s A-team of Erik Soederstrom, Ludwig Schot and Tyler Kornfield took second overall – Kornfield turning in the best 5K among his competitors with a 12:09.1 time for his leg. The Nanooks would need every shaved second of that time too – their squad just bested Northern’s second-scoring team, consisting of Chris Bowler, Kevin Cutts and Kyle Bratrud in the closest finish of the event, with the Blue and Gold edging the Wildcats by just two-tenths of a second.

Saint Scholastica’s A-team took fourth overall, as their team of Paul Schommer, Scott Johanik and Jeremy Hecker crossed the line ahead 17 seconds ahead of Michigan Tech’s trio of Matt Dugan, Jesse Smith and Mikko Harju.

For complete results, please visit www.superiortiming.com. The final CCSA team standings are as follows:

 

Team                             Men’s                                   Women’s                                      Overall

Northern Michigan            240                                       250                                                  490

Alaska                            248                                        221                                                 469

Michigan Tech                 185                                        229                                                  414

Saint Scholastica            200                                       166                                                   366

Gustavus Adolphus          127                                       140                                                   267

Green Bay                      154                                       103                                                   257

St. Olaf                           101                                       146                                                   247

St. Cloud State                  —-                                        77                                                     77

Gogebic CC                       36                                        —-                                                     36

HOUGHTON, Mich. – Alaska’s Tyler Kornfield and Northern Michigan’s Monica Markvardsen both overcame challenging conditions as well as a field of more than 50 skiers to capture conference titles in the CCSA Championships mass start classic races at the Michigan Tech Nordic Training Center.

Kornfield and teammate Erik Soderstrom took the top two spots in the men’s 20K to give the Nanooks a three-point edge on the men’s side, but Northern Michigan swept the podium in the women’s 15K, giving the Wildcats a 12-point advantage over hosts Michigan Tech on the women’s side.

The day, however, was more about grit than glamour, as an already challenging course was made all the more difficult by heavy snow and high winds.

“It was already snowing during the men’s race, and then during the women’s race, it just started coming down hard,” Alaska head coach Scott Jerome said. “It’s a really hard course, and then the fresh snow in the tracks and the headwind coming into the stadium made it even slower. It was one of the toughest days for classic races that we’ve had in a long time.”

“But,” Jerome added, “that’s what we need – hard courses and a tough race. After this, we go to regionals and NCAA’s, so it’s not going to get any easier. [The student-athletes] need that challenge.”

Kornfield, who has already tied up his spot at next month’s NCAA Championships by qualifying for the World Junior Championships in January, was more than ready for that challenge, taking the top spot in the mass start event with a time of 1:02:36.2.

Fellow Nanook Soderstrom placed just four seconds behind the Anchorage native, taking second in a time of 1:02:40.2.

“Erik skied a great race today – a very smart race,” Jerome said. “He’s a senior, so he’s extremely motivated to make it to the NCAA’s this year.”

A trio of Wildcats were next across the line, with Northern’s freshman Kjell-Christian Markset continuing a fantastic first season with a third-place finish in 1:02:44.6. Teammate Kyle Bratrud just missed out on a podium spot, taking fourth in 1:03:04.5, while Chris Bowler finish fifth as the Wildcats’ third scoring skier on the day.

Alaska’s Jonas Loeffler produced one of his best races of the season, earning sixth place and 25 points for the Nanooks in 1:03:08.6. Nanooks’ Ludwig Schott, who remains very much in contention for an NCAA berth in his first CCSA campaign, and Ian Wilkinson took seventh and eighth, respectively.

“[Ludwig] certainly helped his cause today,” Jerome said. “He’s kind of a quiet guy, but he’s always right there in the mix with the top skiers. That’s just his style.”

A fourth Northern skier, Erik Soderman, and Saint Scholastica’s Paul Schommer, fresh off of two podium finishes at the Green Acres SuperTour stop two weeks ago, rounded out the top ten.

On the women’s side, it was all NMU, as the Wildcats’ led the pack despite the increasing snow. Markvardsen, earned her fifth CCSA win of a stellar junior season, cruising to a five-second victory in 58:36.7.

Teammate Rosie Frankowski was next across the line, taking second in 58:41.6, before a third Wildcat, Libby Ellis rounded out the podium in third with her 58:45.4.

Alaska’s Raphaela Sieber, who has continued to show signs of regaining the form that earned her an NCAA berth a year ago, finished fourth in 59:05.4, and Michigan Tech’s Sarah Daniels grabbed fifth place with her time of 59:11.2.

Marie Helen Soderman earned sixth place, giving Northern Michigan four of the top six skiers in the mass start event. Michigan Tech’s Deedra Irwin, a winner in the skate race at the Green Acres SuperTour stop, took seventh, just four seconds ahead of teammate Christina Mishica.

Mishica, the Huskies third scoring skier on the day, placed eighth to bump Michigan Tech past Alaska and into second place on the women’s team leaderboard

The Nanooks’ Heather Edic took ninth with her time of 59:27.2., while NMU’s Molly Burger rounded out the top ten, crossing the line just ahead of St. Olaf senior Emma Lee.

The CCSA skiers return to the course tomorrow for a 3x5K freestyle relay event, which kicks off for the women at 10:30 a.m., followed by the men at 12:30 p.m.