Impressive individual performances from Michigan Tech’s Alice Flanders and St. Scholastica’s Paul Schommer saw the two juniors top the podium in the women’s 5K freestyle and the men’s 10K freestyle, respectively, in bitterly cold conditions at Mt. Itasca in Coleraine, Minn. Flanders has now taken the top spot in the last two CCSA skate races – both by substantial margins as well – while Schommer earned the Saints’ second win of the weekend, following teammate Sarah Allen’s victory Friday.

After winning the freestyle event at the Telemark Chase last weekend by more than 37 seconds, Flanders fared even better on Saturday despite racing at sub-zero (-2 degrees Fahrenheit) temperatures, crossing the line a full 42 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor.

“Alice has been skiing really well the last couple of weeks,” Michigan Tech head coach Joe Haggenmiller said afterwards. “She’s just a natural skater. She’s been on the bad side of the [NCAA qualifying] bubble a couple of times in her career already, so hopefully she can get to NCAAs this year and have a performance like this there.”

Northern Michigan’s Felicia Gesior turned in one of the best performances of her Wildcat career to date, capturing second place with her time of 15:19.6. Teammate Mary Kate Cirelli wasn’t far behind, earning her spot on the podium with a time of 15:22.6.

Michigan Tech’s second-scoring skier, Lynn Duijndam, just missed joining teammate Flanders on the podium, eventually settling for fourth place after crossing the line just eight-tenths of a second behind Cirelli.

“Lynn is another natural skater of ours,” Haggenmiller said. “She’s been battling some acid reflux issues this year, so we were excited she was able to hang in there and do well today.”

Gustavus Adolphus skier Marian Lund earned her school’s first top-five finish of the season, taking fifth after crossing the line in 15:23.7. Paige Schember turned in the top performance for the St. Olaf women by capturing sixth in 15:27.3, with St. Scholatica’s Sarah Allen not too far behind, in seventh. Gustavus’ Marit Sonnesyn, Northern Michigan’s Kristen Bourne and Green Bay’s Kailey Mucha rounded out the top ten.

On the men’s side, the consistent Schommer made it five straight podium finishes in a row with his win on Saturday. Like Flanders, the St. Scholastica skier enjoyed a comfortable margin of victory as well, finishing more than 24 seconds ahead of the next competitor.

Other than Schommer, Northern Michigan dominated the podium positions, with George Cartwright taking silver with his time of 25:17.6 and teammate Kyle Bratrud crossing the line soon after to earn his second podium spot of the weekend. St. Olaf’s Jake Brown continued his push for an NCAA berth this season; the junior finshed fourth at Mt. Itasca with his time of 25:41.1, while Northern Michigan freshman Fredrik Schwencke continued to impress as well, earning fifth place just a second and a half behind Brown.

Green Bay’s Matthew Nichols time of 26:41.2 meant the junior earned his team’s top spot and sixth place overall: his best finish of the young season. Michigan Tech’s Raphael Bechtiger took seventh place (also his team’s top finish), just ahead of St. Scholastica’s John Wessling in eighth. Bechtiger’s teammate, Matt Wong, continued his solid season for the Huskies with a ninth-place finish Saturday, while NMU’s Sam Elfstrom took tenth.

“Matt just continues to improve every year,” Haggenmiller said. “He’s made huge strides from where he started with us as a freshman. And its good to see Raphael working his way back into being competitive too [after being sick earlier in the year.]”

With Saturday’s results, Northern Michigan took home the overall team title for the weekend, finishing with 287 points, ahead of St. Scholastica (255 points) and Michigan Tech (247 points). The Wildcats earned both freestyle titles on Saturday as well, taking the men’s event with 74 points to top St. Scholastica (64 points) and Michigan Tech (58 points), and the women’s event with 70 points to edge Michigan Tech (68) and Gustavus Adolphus College (54).

The CCSA skiers now enjoy a well-earned weekend off before heading to the CCSA Championships on Feb. 8-9.

For complete results, please visit http://www.boreal.org/~durfee/mt_itasca_jnq_1_25_14.pdf.

St. Scholastica senior Sarah Allen claimed a landmark win for her program in the women’s 5K classic, and Kyle Bratrud earned his second straight CCSA victory in the men’s 10K classic at Mt. Itasca to kick off the region’s third NCAA qualifier. Amazingly, Bratrud becomes just the first two-time winner for the CCSA this season, while Allen’s win was the first victory in Saints history in an event whose field included traditional powerhouses Northern Michigan or Alaska.

“[Former St. Scholastica skier] Jeremy [Hecker] won one before,” Saints head coach Chad Salmela said, “but neither UAF or Northern Michigan were in the field that day, so that gets an asterisk.”

A consistent and reliable skier for the Saints, Allen led by a full eight seconds at the 3.5K mark, and held on through the final downhill section to complete her 5K in 16:09.1: good for a 2.5 second victory and her first trip to the top of the podium.

“Sarah is supremely fit; I’d be surprised if there’s anyone in the CCSA with a better engine than she’s got,” Salmela said. “We’ve worked really hard on her technique and confidence, so I knew things like this were possible.”

St. Scholastica teammate Anita Kirvesniemi earned her first CCSA podium spot as well, finishing just behind Allen in 16:11.6. The one-two finish for the Saints’ teammates helped boost them to the top of the team standings for the event, besting Northern Michigan by four points.

“I think you’re always a little surprised to go one-two, but I knew both Sarah and Anita were capable of doing what they did today, so I wasn’t floored by it,” Salmela said. “It’s pretty exciting for our program.”

Michigan Tech skier Lisa König landed her first career podium spot as well, taking the bronze after completing her trip through the Mt. Itasca course in 16:18.7.

A pair of Northern Michigan Wildcats were next across the line, with Mary Kate Cirelli earning fourth place by just edging out teammate Felicia Gesior by three-tenths of a second.

St. Olaf’s top skier, Paige Schember, took sixth, with her 16:23.2, while Kailey Mucha’s time of 16:24.3 put her into seventh place. NMU’s Hannah Boyer, Michigan Tech’s Ulrika Axelsson and St. Scholastica’s third scoring skier, Sharmila Ahmed, rounded out the top 10.

On the men’s side, Bratrud looks likely to leap to the top of the CCSA points list with an impressive performance on Friday. The junior’s time of 26:46.0 handed him a 13.8 second margin of victory.

Teammate Fredrik Schwencke was second across the line, as the Wildcats went one-two on the men’s side. St. Scholastica’s Paul Schommer earned his fourth podium place in as many races, capturing bronze with his time of 27:10.3.

Schommer’s teammate, Chris Parr, had a breakout race of his own on Friday, taking fourth place in the event and just missing out on his first ever podium spot with his time of 27:15.8.

“Chris Parr had the race of the day for us on the men’s side,” Salmela said. “He’s was on fire for the last 2K of that race. He’s always been a fast starter, so it was good to see him use his energy intelligently and tactically race the 10K.”

Northern Michigan’s George Cartwright completed the scoring for the Wildcats, taking fifth in 27:17.5, while Matt Wong earned sixth place and the top men’s finish for his Michigan Tech team.

St. Scholastica’s third skier, John Wessling, placed seventh with his time of 27:43.8, and Jay Woodbeck (Michigan Tech), Matthew Nichols (Green Bay) and Kyle Hanson (Michigan Tech) completed the region’s top ten.

With Friday’s results on the women’s side, the team scores saw St. Scholastica finish with 77 points, just ahead of Northern Michigan’s 73 points, while Michigan Tech was third with 67. On the men’s side, Northern Michigan’s 84 points gives them a five-point advantage over the Saints, on 79 points, with Michigan Tech again third with 66.

The CCSA student-athletes finish their stay at Mt. Itasca on Saturday, with a 5K/10K freestyle event.

Alaska’s Michael Fehrenbach and Northern Michigan’s Mary Kate Cirelli became the seventh and eighth different skiers to top the CCSA podium this season, each bringing home the region’s top spot in the men’s and women’s classic events at the Telemark Chase in Cable, Wisc. on Sunday. Fehrenbach sailed through his 10K at the Telemark Lodge in 27:12.7 to edge Saturday winner Kyle Bratrud, while Cirelli finished her 5K with a three-second edge over her nearest CCSA competitor.

Slightly warmer than expected temperatures led to some mushiness on the tracks in some places, making for a somewhat tricky wax selection for coaches and skiers, but Fehrenbach showed no ill effects from the conditions nor a recent illness that hampered him throughout U.S. Nationals.

“[Assistant coach] Christina [Turman] and I were just excited that he was able to finish,” head coach Scott Jerome said aftewards of Fehrenbach. “But he looked every bit as good today as he did when he won regionals last year.”

Bratrud, meanwhile, wrapped up a solid weekend for himself, taking the silver medal in Sunday’s classic event to go with his gold from Saturday’s skate race: a testament to his versatility in both techniques. St. Scholastica’s Paul Schommer earned his second straight podium finish as well, taking third with his time of 27:43.6.

Alaska’s Jonas Loffler continued his chase for a second straight NCAA berth by taking fourth in the CCSA on Sunday, his time of 27:44.8 putting him ahead of Northern Michigan’s Fredrik Schwencke, who took fifth in the CCSA and sixth overall in 27:54.8. Another Alaska skier, the Nanooks’ Logan Hanneman, landed the region’s sixth spot, finishing just six-tenths of a second behind Schwencke.

Seventh place in the CCSA went to Matt Wong, Michigan Tech’s top finisher on the day, while St. Scholastica’s second scoring skier, John Wessling, finished up in eighth after edging Northern Michigan’s George Cartwright by just a tenth of a second. Alaska’s Max Olex wrapped up the CCSA top ten.

On the women’s side, Cirelli’s time of 16:39.0 held up to earn the Wildcat freshman her first win of the young season, and second overall. Alaska’s Nichole Bathe completed an impressive weekend for herself as well, earning her second silver medal in as many days with her time of 16:41.7.

“We knew Nichole was a very good skier when we brought her in,” Jerome said, “but even we didn’t know she was going to have so much of an impact this quick. She’s a great ski racer, and very professional about how she handles herself and goes about her business.”

There was a tie for the bronze medal position, however, as both St. Olaf’s Paige Schember and Northern Michigan’s Felicia Gesior both finished with a time of 17:00.6 to earn themselves a share of the podium. Michigan Tech skier Deedra Irwin’s time of 17:08.3 proved good enough for fifth place in the region (10th overall), while Northern Michigan’s third scoring skier, Kristin Boume, crossed the line in sixth.

Gustavus Adolphus’s Marian Lund scored her first top ten of the season with her seventh place CCSA finish, completing her 5K in 17:22.9. St. Scholastica’s Sarah Allen was next across the line in eighth with her 17:24.5, while Michigan Tech’s Alice Flanders and St. Scholastica’s Anita Kirvesniemi complete the CCSA top ten.

Next up for the CCSA student-athletes: a trip to Mt. Itasca for their third NCAA qualifier on Jan. 24-25.

“I’ve just seen some fantastic skiing in the CCSA this season,” Jerome said. “There are a lot of teams with really good skiers, and I think it just shows that, as a region, how much we are improving. It’s fantastic to see.”

For complete results of today’s events, please visit Performance Timing’s website.

Michigan Tech’s Alice Flanders and Northern Michigan’s Kyle Bratrud earned the top spots in the women’s 10K and men’s 15K freestyle races, respectively, at the Telemark Chase in Cable, Wisc. on Saturday. The first win of the season for each skier, the CCSA has now seen six different student-athletes top the podium in its six events so far in 2014.

Flanders, part of a deep group of Michigan Tech women’s skiers, produced a dominant performance on her way to the top of the podium. Her time of 30:19.8 put her a full 15 seconds ahead of her closest competitor (Jordyn Ross, who is redshirting this season for Northern Michigan) and a good 37 seconds ahead of the next CCSA skier to cross the line.

An impressive team performance from Alaska saw them place three skiers within the CCSA top four. Nicole Bathe continued her fine start to the season by earning the region’s silver medal place, with a time of 30:57.6, while teammates Heather Edic and Aly McPhetres weren’t far behind – Edic taking third in the CCSA with her 30:58.4, and McPhetres finshing fourth just under a second back.

Northern Michigan’s Mary Kate Cirelli took fifth in the CCSA with her 31:00.8, with Michigan Tech’s second skier, Deedra Irwin crossing the line in sixth. St. Olaf’s Paige Schember’s time of 31:23.0 was good enough for seventh in the region, while Northern Michigan’s Felicia Gesior, the Huskies’ Lynn Duijndam and NMU’s Kristin Bourne rounded out the top ten.

On the men’s side, Bratrud continued to show signs of the form that landed him an NCAA berth a year ago, completing his 15K in 37:52.6 to top the CCSA field. St. Olaf’s Jake Brown, the reigning CCSA skier of the week, took second in the region with his time of 38:02.5; the junior continuing his excellent start to the 2014 season.

Bronze medal in the region went to St. Scholastica’s Paul Schommer, as the junior turned in a time of 38:06.4. NMU’s George Cartwright was next across the line in 38:12.2 to take fourth, following closely by a group of Nanooks – Alaska’s Max Olex (5th in CCSA, 6th overall), Michael Fehrenbach (6th in CCSA, 7th overall), Logan Hanneman (7th in CCSA, 8th overall) and Jonas Loffler (8th in CCSA, 9th overall) all finishing within a minute and a half of one another. Michigan Tech’s Matt Dugan and St. Scholastica’s Joe Dubay wrapped up the region’s top ten.

The CCSA competitors head back out to the Telemark for the distance classic race tomorrow, starting with the men’s 10K at 9:30 a.m. For complete results, please visit Performance Timing.

Northern Michigan’s Rosie Frankowski cracked the overall top 10 against some of the nation’s top skiers in the women’s mass start 20K skate, and St. Olaf’s Jake Brown cruised to his first career CCSA win in the men’s 30K event in the third day of racing at the U.S. Cross Country Championships at Soldier Hollow Resort in Utah.

Northern Michigan’s Adam Martin also placed 11th in the junior 10K freestyle, meaning that the freshman has now qualified for the Junior World Championship team and earned an automatic berth to this season’s NCAAs.

Fresh snow falling on top of the manmade base made for tricky waxing conditions for skiers and coaches alike, and brought a slower overall pace to today’s events – a change from the fast conditions that have characterized much of this year’s U.S. Nationals thus far.

The change in pace, however, suited Frankowski just fine.

“I think the conditions played right into Rosie’s hands,” Northern Michigan head coach Sten Fjeldheim said. “Tougher, slower skiing really works to Rosie’s advantage, and she just had a great race today.”

After losing her legs a little following a fast start in the season opening distance classic race on Saturday, Frankowski wouldn’t make the same mistake Tuesday. In the top third of the field after the start, the senior moved up four or five places nearly every lap around the 5K loop, crossing the finish line in 1:00:10.2 – more than two and a half minutes ahead of the next CCSA competitor.

“Rosie just ran out of real estate,” Fjeldheim said. “If she had just had a few more kilometers, she would have caught more skiers and finished even higher.”

Northern Michigan’s Mary Kate Cirelli took the conference’s silver medal, finishing her 20K skate in 1:03:42.8. Michigan Tech’s Alice Flanders wasn’t far behind, crossing the line just under four seconds later to earn the region’s third place and 23rd overall.

Alaska’s Nicole Bathe completed an impressive debut week in the CCSA with a fourth-place finish in the region (36th overall). Michigan Tech’s Deedra Irwin then won a sprint to the finish between a trio of central region skiers – Irwin’s time of 1:06:25.3 just edging out her teammate Lynn Duijndam by twenty seconds to earn 39th place overall. Duijndam, in turn, nipped Green Bay’s Kailey Mucha by 12 seconds, forcing the Phoenix skier to settle for 41st overall and seventh in the region.

A fourth Michigan Tech skier, Sarah Daniels, was next across the line, placing 43rd overall, while NMU’s Felicia Geisor and Alaska’s Heather Edic completed the CCSA top ten.

On the men’s side, it was a day to remember for Brown. After impressing with a seventh-place finish in the region on Saturday, the junior did even better, topping the CCSA podium for the first time in his career after a dominating performance. Brown’s time of 1:20:42.7 not only earned him 11th place overall (missing out on the top ten by less then seven seconds), but also put him a full two minutes ahead of his nearest regional competitor.

Paul Schommer was next across the line for the CCSA, taking 25th overall with his time of 1:22:49.0 – a promising sign that the junior has shaken off any ill effects from an injury-shortened 2013 campaign. Northern Michigan’s George Cartwright landed the region’s bronze medal with his 33rd-place overall finish.

Alaska’s Kenneth Brewer captured fourth place (40th overall) with his time of 1:25:16.1, followed closely by a pair of teammates: Logan Hanneman, in 45th overall, and Max Olex, in 48th. Saint Scholastica’s second scoring skier, Joe Dubay, took seventh in the region after completing his six 5K loops in 1:27:11.3. Alaska’s Jonas Loffler (53rd overall), NMU’s Kyle Bratrud (54th) and Alaska’s Stefan Hajdukovich (55th) rounded out the CCSA’s top ten.

The CCSA skiers stay at U.S. Nationals concludes on Friday, as they hit the course for the classic sprints. For complete results from all U.S. Nationals events, please visit Summit Timing’s results page.

A pair of newcomers announced their arrivals in the CCSA in style, as Alaska’s Nicole Bathe and Northern Michigan’s Adam Martin both claimed the region’s top spot in the distance classic event at the U.S. Cross Country Championships at Soldier Hollow Resort in Utah. Bathe completed her 10K in 32:01.2 to earn 19th place overall, while Martin sailed through his 15K in 40:40.8 to finish with a share of 15th place.

Both freshmen, and competing in their first official CCSA event, Bathe and Martin showed remarkable composure to not only battle through elite competition, but also to handle the altitude as well: at nearly 6,000 feet above sea level, Soldier Hollow approaches the legal altitude limit for Nordic skiing competition.

“To finish in the top 30 at U.S. Nationals is impressive, but to get into the top 20 is really just incredible,” Northern Michigan head coach Sten Fjeldheim said. “It’s huge for our programs to have someone finish up there. That’s how high the level of competition is out here.”

Earmarked by head coach Scott Jerome as one to watch this season, Bathe lived up to expectations, turning in a mature performance in her first CCSA event. The Wisconsin native stayed within the top 20 throughout the race, finishing 19th overall and claiming the conference’s top spot.

Following Bathe, a flood of Northern Michigan skiers crossed the line next for the CCSA, including sophomores Mary Kate Cirelli and Hannah Boyer – a sign of the depth and young talent competing in the region this season. Cirelli took second in the CCSA and 23rd overall as she begins her quest for a return visit to NCAAs, while Boyer took the bronze medal spot and 30th overall in a time of 32:46.4.

Fellow Wildcat Felicia Gesior turned in the conference’s fourth-best time, placing 42nd overall in 33:21.1, edging teammate Rosie Frankowski by just a tenth of a second; the Northern Michigan senior forced to settle for 43rd overall.

“Overall, our women had a good day today,” Fjeldheim said. “Mary Kate, Hannah and Felicia all raced really well. Rosie started a little too fast and was never able to recover, but a lot of skiers here made that same mistake today, and she’ll learn from it.”

An impressive performance by Paige Schember saw the St. Olaf skier land a sixth-place finish in the region and 45th overall, followed by Michigan Tech’s Alice Flanders, whose time of 33:41.6 earned her 53rd place. The Huskies’ Sarah Daniels (59th overall), along with Alaska’s Heather Edic (63rd) and Michigan Tech’s Lynn Duijndam (73rd), rounded out the region’s top ten.

On the men’s side, Martin turned plenty of heads in his CCSA debut, pacing himself with a steady start before rising as high as eighth during one split to earn his top 15 finish.

“Adam had an awesome day today,” Fjeldheim said. “It’s really just awesome for him to get in the top 15, and bodes really well for his chances of qualifying for the Junior Championships in February.”

Alaska’s Logan Hanneman, an NCAA qualifier in 2013, took second in the region, and 24th overall, with his time of 41:17.4 in the individual start event. Northern Michigan’s Kyle Bratrud earned his way onto the CCSA podium as well, placing third in the region and 33rd overall despite struggling with his skis.

“Kyle’s skis were a little slow – otherwise, he would be up there in the top 20 as well,” Fjeldheim said.

Alaska’s second scoring skier, Jonas Loffler, grabbed fourth in the CCSA with his time of 42:15.0, while Michigan Tech’s Jay Woodbeck got his season off to a fine start as well, placing 39th overall to land the region’s fifth position.

Looking to put a challenging and injury-shortened 2013 season behind him, St. Scholastica’s Paul Schommer earned the region’s sixth-place spot; his time of 42:39.0 putting him 45th overall. St. Olaf skier Jake Brown continued his fine form as well, placing 55th overall, just ahead of Michigan Tech’s Kyle Hanson, in 57th. St. Scholastica’s Chris Parr and Northern’s George Cartwright rounded out the CCSA top ten with their 60th and 66th place finishes, respectively.

The CCSA skiers now hit the Soldier Hollow trails for a freestyle sprint tomorrow prior to their next NCAA qualifier, Wednesday’s distance skate event.

For complete results, please visit http://summittiming.com/races/race_results.php.