Duluth SuperTour Review

CCSA News, Race Results

Competitive skiers from around the US came to the Midwest this past weekend for the first races of the season in Duluth, Minnesota. Despite the addition of accomplished competitors, the CCSA athletes held their own, having strong performances both Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday was a skate sprint, fast from the cool, icy snow and many CCSA athletes had strong qualifier performances with 7 men and 9 women placing top 30 and moving into the SuperTour heats. Stand-out performances include Katerina Hyncicova (NMU), Anabel Needham (MTU), and Henriette Semb (MTU), Kjetil Banerud (NMU), Emil Book Bratbak (CSS), and Adam Witkowski (MTU) who all made it into the semi-finals. Witkowski had the top performance of the day, podiuming in 3rd, and teammates Banerud and Hyncicova placed 6th in their finals. “Coming into the weekend I was just hoping to have two solid races to start the season and get back to racing well again,” said Witkowski. “In the sprint, I knew I could race with the top guys and I had confidence in my tactical approach to the heats. I didn’t have my best top gear but I was still feeling very good on Saturday.” Lauren McCollor (NMU) had strong performances throughout the junior finals, placing 2nd.

Sunday’s conditions were a stark contrast to Saturday’s sunny and speedy atmosphere. Snow started falling Saturday night, came down relatively hard Sunday morning, and turned into a frozen rain early Sunday afternoon, creating a slow and laborious distance event. In the women’s 5k, Henriette Semb led the CCSA field in 16th, proving once again that the MTU women will be the team to watch this year. “I was very nervous prior to this weekend but also super excited to finally race again,” said Semb. “Sunday was a tough day with a lot of snowfall in the morning and tired legs from Saturday. Still, I think I put down a solid effort and it was to me, a promising start to the season. I’m stoked for the challenges awaiting ahead, and I think the hard work we’ve put down in Houghton this fall will pay off for our whole team”. Savanna Fassio (NMU) finished 2nd for CCSA women in 18th, breaking up what would’ve been an MTU CCSA podium, as Anabel Needham and Olivia Laven finished 19th and 21st. Cheresa Bouley from St Cloud State University was the lone athlete from her team competing in Duluth but rounded out a very strong weekend in 25th, and 4th CCSA woman.

On the men’s side, Kjetil Banerud proved why he was the top returning CCSA man as he placed 2nd overall in the 10k, dominating the collegiate field. Teammates Skylar Patten and Adam Witkowski tied for 2nd CCSA men with 31st place, Tobias Moosmann placed 35th and Gus Schatzlein (CSS) was 37th. “I came into this weekend without a whole lot of expectations,” wrote Schatzlein, ” I went into the distance race pretty confident I could race well, but the new snow definitely made the race difficult and I could tell it was my first race on snow. The distance course really suits me because it features a lot of right-side V1 and I’m super familiar with our home course. After last year, where I didn’t get to race a whole lot, it was really exciting to start this season with a SuperTour and seeing lots of friends here in Duluth”. The SuperTour continues in the Midwest next weekend, in Cable, WI.

CCSA 2021-22 Season Preview

CCSA News

Olaf skiers taking advantage of a frosty morning this fall

After a season of not racing the CCSA, the St Olaf Nordic Ski team is working hard to improve individually and as a team. The last time the Oles raced as a team, they had team wins at the USCSA National Champs in Lake Placid, and the Oles hopes to continue that trend this year. “Fall training has been good, very excited for snow, we have had some time trials along with a multitude of different training workouts.” said junior Noah Johnson, “Team goals may include: creating a safe team dynamic that is both cultivating and positive for individuals, continue to work hard and get faster to hold competition against those teams/individuals that are faster, and to continue training hard and stay on top of academic work”. Athletes to keep an eye on the trails this winter include freshman Lily Hubanks and junior Tor Hanson, who have both stood out this fall.

The Northern Michigan University Nordic Ski team has historically been one of the best teams in the conference, and once again they should be one to watch this year. Former Assistant Coach Andy Keller took over the Head Coach job this year, with former MTU alumni Ruth Oppliger assuming the assistant coach position. NMU had 4 returning NCAA racers, but the NMU team did not have the smoothest start to the year. “I know that it has been a bit of a bumpy fall for some people on the team as many of us have been sick,” said Molly Miller, who placed 5th and 10th at NCAAs last spring and represented Canada at the 2021 Junior World Championships. Despite the sickness, the team stays optimistic for the season. “The team goal for this season is to keep people healthy and injury-free,” said sophomore Kristoffer Karsrud. “I think that personal drive and goals are what drives the team’s goals, which is why it’s so important to have a strong team environment as we do”. Kjetil Bånerud is the men’s team returning NCAA All-American, so expect him to be towards the top of the CCSA results list this season along with senior Xavier Mansfield, “[Kjetil and Xavier] are both very fit and motivated, and that’s easy to see in training” commented Karsrud. On the women’s side, look out for junior Gretchen Haggenmiller. “She has made some serious gains this fall, definitely one to watch this winter,” said teammate Savanna Fassio.

Green Bay nordic ski team is in the rebuilding stages led by former athlete now Head Coach Sam Myers. Stepping into a team that had three men and no women, Myers was forced to put recruiting for the next year’s team on the front burner, but that seems that the Phoenixes are still will make a splash this season under their new leadership. “Coach Myers has brought a lot of excitement to the team and it has been super motivating to see the improvement that myself and my teammates have had all fall” said Ryan Thieme. “Team goals for the winter include two top three team finishes at CSSA races along with all of us qualifying for the Junior National Championships in Minneapolis”. Considering that the CCSA scores 5 athletes and the Green Bay roster field 3, these goals will be interesting to watch this season.

Michigan Tech has been continuously proving that they are a team to watch both on the regional and national level, and they have growing and strengthening their team under coaches Tom and Kristen Monahan Smith. “One of our greatest past challenges has been not quite having the team depth to take away conference and regional titles,” Tom said. “This season’s team will have the most competitive depth we have fielded potentially in the history of our program. We are simply fired up to get this outstanding team of women working together and racing together for team conference, regional and national championship titles.” With 7 new men and 4 new women on the roster, there will be plenty of athletes competing for the top of the results list come racing season. This is one of MTU’s strongest returning classes, and possibly the strongest returning women’s team in the CCSA, with Henriette Semb, Anabel Needham, and Olivia Laven all 2021 NCAA competitors, but it will be interesting to see if a newcomer can make her way into the pack. The men’s team is young, graduating a lot of leaders last spring, but it seems despite the changeover, the men’s team hopes to be just as strong as last year. “I see a lot of potential in the long run with our freshmen this year. The enthusiasm they bring to the team is amazing to push each other in every practice.” said sophomore Cedric Keller, ”Parker Courte-Rathwell has already become a key player in the team with his attitude and effort both in athletics and academics as well as interpersonal skills”.

Head Coach Maria Stuber determination to make the College of Saint Scholastic one of the best programs in the country has been paying off the last couple of years. Last year, the Saints brought three women and 2 men to the NCAA National Championships, and with all 5 athletes returning, the team only looks to be on the upward trajectory. “Fall Training has been great, “ said freshman Chase High. “We really got to train as a team compared to last year. My favorite part of the team is how tight knit it is. Everyone gets along and supports each other”. The CSS Ski team will be hosting the first races of the season this year in Duluth, which will come with plenty of competition- the first two CCSA race weekends are US Supertour events, which will bring the US professional racing scene to the Midwest. The Saints hope the first home court advantage will give their young athletes some confidence heading into the season, “We have 9 freshman women this year. They bring a lot of different experiences from all over the country (and the world) and it will be awesome to see what they can do on the snow” said returning NCAA competitor Emma Stertz, “Last season we sent a record five Saints to the national championship. We’d love to get that many out there again this year”.

The Central Collegiate Ski Association Standardized Wax Policy

CCSA News

to be used at all CCSA Races, including collaborative CXC Cups.

The Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) has been standardizing glide wax with various products at standalone events for the past three years. Coaches feel this approach gives them a distinct advantage in resource management and keeps their programs focused on the student-athlete experience. CCSA coaches are also concerned about the health and safety of their people. For the 2021-2022 season, a CCSA working group (that included input from collegiate biochemistry and analytical chemistry faculty) analyzed standardized product material safety data sheets (MSDS) to ensure that there were no known toxic or hazardous chemicals. The working group determined that there is no way to fully determine the health safety of a product from MSDS alone. All participants should still follow all product personal protection recommendations. The CCSA is exploring options to further research product safety in the future using member institutions’ analytical chemistry resources.

The simplicity of product options and price point were also factors in determining brand choice.

The CCSA standardized wax protocol will begin on January 17th, 2022 in alignment with the U.S. Ski & Snowboard fluorocarbon wax ban for the remainder of the 2021-22 ski season.

For the 2021 race season, the CCSA competitions will require the following:

Glide:

Cold: Toko High-Performance Blue Hot Wax

Med: Toko High-Performance Red Hot Wax

Warm: Toko High-Performance Yellow Hot Wax

Kick:

Non-fluorinated kick wax only

We know from the 2021 Spring CXC Congress wax proposal vote that there is tremendous support from coaches in this region to standardize the glide waxing process for strong reasons that include health, budget, sport accessibility, and the athlete experience. CCSA Coaches hope that our standardized policy will de-mystify the glide wax process a little and give other Central Region programs looking to shift their time and resources to a more athlete-centric approach the confidence that they can be competitive in doing so.

There are other rule precedents in college athletics to ensure that the student-athlete experience is at the forefront of resource allocation, such as NCAA hockey legislation 11.6, Scouting of Opponents (see 11.6.1). The College of St. Scholastica head coach, Maria Stuber, compares the task of scouting opponents in hockey to the task of glide waxing skis. Both tasks can contribute to a team’s success but happen in the absence of student-athletes and can consume an unlimited amount of team resources. Coach Mare MacDougall Bari at St. Lawrence University reports that the AHCA NCAA DI hockey conference limits off-campus, in-person scouting because “it takes our coaches away from their most important role, as mentors and teachers of the game to our student-athletes. The student-athlete experience is built upon many things, but none more important than the relationships built between athlete and coach, and we believe that our coaches should be put in a position to be as present as possible at in-season training sessions, practices, and meetings.”

There will always be a multitude of glide-related tasks on a race weekend. The CCSA understands that standardizing glide wax is just controlling one of many variables. While the other variables do not go away, most of the other race weekend tasks are done side-by-side with student-athletes; such as testing skis, structure, and dialing in race day kick wax.

The CCSA will choose a wax on the Wednesday prior to each event. You can check the @ccsa_nordic Instagram or Facebook pages to see the call each week if you’d like to be waxed the same as your favorite collegiate skiers.

Central Regional Championships Review

CCSA News, Race Results

The last weekend of CCSA racing in the Midwest proved to be just as competitive, as athletes fought for the last chance to compete at the NCAA National Championships, in Jackson, New Hampshire- March 11 through 13th. On Saturday, Anabel Needham (MTU) finished her strong season with a 6-second win in the Interval Classic 5k. “I was so happy with my classic race and definitely felt like it was the best classic skiing I’ve ever done,” said Needham, “I can’t thank all the coaches and volunteers enough for making this conference season possible. Being able to compete made life seem a little more normal, despite everything”. Molly Miller, making her first appearance on the CCSA circuit this season, showed up right on time to make an impact, placing 2nd in front of teammates Hilde Eide and Malin Börjesjö after competing at Junior Worlds in Vuokatti, Finland.

Zak Ketterson finished up his last season on the CCSA with a whopping win over teammate Kjetil Bånerud in the men’s 10k Classic. “Coming into this past weekend I was hoping for a couple of solid races”, said Bånerud,”I brought the good feeling from the race weekend in Duluth into the races in Houghton. I have been able to ski fast in Houghton in the past, and I knew that the course fits me well.” Emil Book Bratbak took 3rd.

Heavy snow shook up the longer distance races on Sunday, making it a grind to the finish- but the challenging conditions did not mess with the NMU women, who swept the top 5 with a perfect team score. “NMU’s women’s team has been really strong overall this year”, said captain Börjesjö. “I would say that there is no secret recipe. Everyone in the team, from athletes to coaches, puts in hard effort all year for this to be possible and the hard work has paid off. We always push each other at practice and, maybe most importantly, we always support each other outside practice, there is always someone to talk to and we are all very close.” Henriette Semb and Olivia Laven were next on the leaderboard for MTU, and Maj-Lis Helmer led the CSS women. “The season has overall been very inconsistent for me. I had a good first couple of races, with the CXC cup races here in Houghton and then the skate race in Cable, but after that I had a few extremely tough weeks. So it was nice to be able to end on a higher note this weekend. I still feel like I haven’t reached my full potential yet, so I’m really looking forward to give it all I have for the races in New Hampshire!” said Laven.

In the Men’s 20k Skate race, Kjetil Bånerud took advantage of Ketterson not racing and won with a dominating performance, 30 seconds over runner-up Patrick Acton (MTU). Tobias Moosman took third to round out his season, “The past conference season was different compared to my first one,” said Moosman, “Although corona had an immense impact on how we all had to adjust to racing, I was happy that we got chances to race and meet each other weekend after weekend. 20km individual racing is something most of us had never experienced before this season. I did enjoy the switch but hope that I will get the chance to race some more mass start races again.”

Because of covid- unlike other years, teams that send full teams to the NCAA Championships (full teams are three athletes), will not be able to bring alternates, so only the allotted amount of athletes will head out East in the next week. Each region sends a sum of athletes based on performance at previous NCAA National Championships. This season, the Central division will send 8 men and 7 women.

CCSA Conference Championships Review

CCSA News, Race Results

Finally, after the cold front that hit the Midwest for most of the last week (and led to canceled CCSA races in Rhinelander last weekend) this past weekend felt balmy at the Grand Avenue Nordic Center in Duluth, Minnesota. With Covid measures still in place, Michigan Tech, Northern Michigan, Green Bay, and Saint Scholastica raced in the second to last weekend of Regional races, before the top athletes in the CCSA head to the east to compete at the NCAA National Championships.

The top MTU Women (including alumni Sarah Goble)

On Saturday, the athletes raced the Individual Start Classic races with the men racing 10k and the women racing 5k. The men’s field was very close, with Zak Ketterson besting NMU teammate Kjetil Bånerud by just three seconds. Emil Book Bratbak rejoined the field after being in Bozeman all year and training with BSF. “I’ve had the opportunity to do some racing out west and I’m really happy about the steps I’ve taken this year”.

Anabel Needham took the win of the women’s race, beating former teammate Sarah Goble by 5 seconds. Hilde Eide led a storm of NMU women who took 9 of the top 14 places. “We have created an inclusive and supportive environment which has resulted in solid performances every weekend,” said Eide, “I’m impressed how adaptable and positive everybody has been throughout the pandemic. We have a ton of fun at practice- overall a great bunch of girls with the right attitude, as Coach Fjeldheim would say.”

On Sunday, Ketterson took another win almost 30 seconds over Bånerud took 2nd over Bratbak again. “I felt pretty good this weekend, especially on Sunday!” said Ketterson, “I’m still trying to dial in my classic skiing this year but skating has been working well so far. [The next couple of weeks,] I’ll be doing a lot less training to try to build up some energy and hopefully finish the season strong”. Daniel Strienz finished the weekend with two 4th places giving NMU the boost they needed to take the team win. “The classic day I was quite nervous as I was the only one that day that opted to double pole the course,” said Streinz, “I knew I was taking a bit of a gamble, but I committed to it and it paid off in the end. As for the rest of the season, the plan is to take it mostly easy, play a lot of pool with my boys, and drink too much caffeine and sugar to get stoked on race day”.

In the women’s 15k Skate race, NMU freshman Pearl Harvey took the CCSA by storm, beating teammate and CCSA Season Points leading Malin Börjesjö by 7 seconds. Hilde Eide completed the NMU podium sweep taking 3rd in front of MTU’s Henriette Semb. “With a couple of weekends off competing, I felt I was well recovered,” said Semb. “I am happy with my effort both days this weekend and showed I am not far away from being on the podium. Hopefully, I will be able to work towards closing that gap”.

Next weekend is the NCAA Central Regional Championships hosted by Michigan Tech in Houghton Michigan. This is the final weekend of competitions to decide who will compete at the NCAA Championships in Middlebury, Vermont, March 11-13th.

NMU Invitational Review

CCSA News, Race Results

Teams safely traveled to Ishpeming, Michigan this past weekend for the 2021 NMU Invitational as the CCSA NCAA qualifying races continue. As we now enter February, there is less than a month left of regional racing, with three more races for athletes to prove their fitness and strength.

Without a doubt, the grueling courses of Al Quaal tested those abilities this past weekend; being known as one of the most grueling courses in the Midwest, athletes competed in 2 individual start distance races. One thing that turned heads this weekend was the return of Zak Ketterson, who has been at the top of the CCSA since his freshman year at NMU. Having red-shirted last year, Ketterson returns for his last season in the CCSA, ready to make an impact.

On Saturday, the women led the day with a 5k Classic Individual Start. Malin Börjesjö (NMU) continued her strong season with a win of 11 seconds. “I was unusually nervous coming into this weekend, probably since it was a home meet” said Börjesjö, “This weekend I tried to split the course into 6 different sections and I knew I could be fast if I skied my sections as I planned. I think that was a good tactic on this course because you need to be active all the time, especially in the transitions”. Anabel Needham led the MTU women’s team against the fierce battle against the NMU women’s team. The two teams took the top 13 places, with NMU squeaking out the day’s win by just 1 point. Samantha Benzing led the CSS team in 13th, and Maria Schoening led the UWGB team in 21st.

On the men’s side, NMU proved it was a force to be recokened with in the 10k Classic Individual Start, as they almost had a perfect score, just barely being thwarted by CSS’s John Schwinghamer in 5th. Kjetil Bånerud led the NMU charge in 1st, being supported by a standout performance by sophomore Matthew Bourne (who finished 29th in the CCSA Men’s End of Season Rankings last year) in 2nd, Zak Ketterson in 3rd, and Maurus Grond in 4th. Aleksi Leino led a deep MTU men’s team in 7th and Sam Myers led the Green Bay Team in 19th.

The men started first on Sunday, with a 20k Skate Individual start. Zak Ketterson showed up ready to roar, with a dominating performance over the field, winning by 49 seconds. Teammate Tobias Moosman took 2nd; 18 second’s ahead of MTU’s top man, Reid Goble. ” Saturday was a tougher race for me, coming off of the uncertainty of what are race season would be this year, I am just starting to get back into what it means to be racing and I think a lot of people feel that way, ” said Goble, “Sunday I tried to turn my results around and ended up having a good result and just focused on pacing the 20k well.” Shad Kraftson led a strong UWGB men’s team in 17th, showing that the team is rebounding well from a coaching change this season. “I was excited coming into the weekend. You never know what you’re going to get in Ishpeming. I hadn’t done a 20k skate since freshman year, and I knew that it could be a good race for me” said Kraftson, “Training this fall required some adjustments due to Covid and our new coach. However, I think we built a substantial training base. From here the plan is just to dial in skiing fast and taper a little before Conference and Regionals. Staying healthy is going to be super important. The little things”.

In the women’s 15k Skate Individual Start, Börjesjö took another win, 44 seconds in front of teammate Hilde Eide. Needham had another strong day, positioning herself in the storm of the NMU women’s team who took 5 of the top 6 spots. Maj-Lis Helmer of CSS took 15th, and Maria Schoening raced to 21 for UWGB.

Green Bay looks to host next weekend in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Competition continues to stay strong, and the teams are ready to throw down the last couple Regional competitions of this year.

Gitchi Gami Games Review

CCSA News, Race Results

This past weekend the CCSA made their way to Cable, Wisconsin to race at the American Birkebeiner Trailhead in the Gitchi Gami Games. The weekend comprised two individual start races, a classic race on Saturday, and skate on Sunday. Icy conditions led to a technically challenging race on Saturday, with a 10k race for the women and a 15k for the men. Malin Börjesjö blew the field away with a 36 second win, continuously proving that she is the one to beat this season. MTU athlete nabbed 3rd besting region besting Midwest legend Caitlin Gregg. Anabel Needham topped the CCSA podium, pulling a strong MTU women’s team to the team win. Lead Saint Scholastica athlete Rana Krafton had a stellar day in 18th place. “I was super excited coming into the weekend,” said Kraftson, “[The CSS team] hadn’t seen each other for two months until we showed up to the venue on Saturday and everyone came together and gave it everything they had on and off the course and I’m very proud of the way my teammates show up for each other. There is definitely a lot to work on. Getting into 5k race mode felt especially tough on Sunday, both mentally and physically, but I know everyone is in the same boat and it’s going to take a few races to feel like we’re flying out there”. Erica Meyers led the St Olaf women and Maria Schoening led the Green Bay women.

Kjetil Bånerud (NMU) absolutely dominated the CCSA with almost a full minute and a half lead over teammate Tobi Moosmann. “I felt good coming into the weekend after some solid training since last race weekend in Houghton. I felt recovered and ready to race fast, ” said Bånerud, “This fall was different with the fact of COVID, but I think we did a very good job as a team when it comes to staying positive and pushing each other every day. I am very impressed with my teammates on how they tackled the challenges and helped me stay motivated for a season that we did not know would happen or not.” MTU’s Aleksi Leino snagged 3rd place, just barely finishing in front of Matt Bourne (NMU), “I was trustful coming into this weekend since I feel that I had strong fall behind. Saturday classic race was very good for me and I was able to keep myself on the limit from the beginning to end.” said Leino. “Overall good start for the season”. John Schwinghamer was the top Saint Scholastic man in 8th place and Sam Myers was the top Green Bay athlete in 20th place.

Henriette Semb (MTU) had a nice upset Sunday, beating Malin Börjesjö by 5 seconds. Olivia Lavén (MTU) had her first CCSA podium once again leading a very strong MTU women’s team. “The training in the US and MTU has been great,” wrote Lavén “For the past couple of years, I have trained alone most of the time, so I feel like it has been beneficial for me to come here and have strong teammates. This weekend, I had a tough classic race, mainly because herringboning is not something I’m good at, [but] but the skate race went a lot better. Even if I was lacking a bit of confidence from the day before, I feel like I was able to perform well”.Maria Schoening led the Green Bay team in 21st, Samantha Benzing led Saint Scholastic, and once again, Erica Meyers led St Olaf.

Mary Lyon is part of a very strong MTU women’s team this year

Kjetil Bånerud and Tobi Moosmann once again led the men’s field on Sunday, with Bånerud taking the win by 21 seconds and Moosman finishing 9 seconds in front of former Olympian Brian Gregg. “Looking ahead towards our next races I want to continue with the good training we have been able to do, and work on details to race even faster next race.” commented Bånerud. Reid Goble took 3rd. John Schwinghamer led the Saint Scholastica team in 12th, Shad Kraftson led Green Bay in 18th,

The Gitchi Gami Games proved that team competition will be fiercely competitive this year, especially once teams can complete their full roster (in particular, NMU’s women’s team was missing quite a few athletes as they were quarantining after traveling from Europe). The next race weekend will take place at Al Quaal, in Ishpeming, MI in 2 weekends.

MTU CXC Cup Holiday Championships Review

CCSA News, Race Results

While the kickoff to the season was delayed, it finally started in Houghton this past weekend with the MTU CXC Cup Holiday Championships. There was a more unique format than most weekends, with 2 individual start sprints on Saturday, and an individual start distance race on Sunday. With many Eastern colleges being online this year, Midwest racing is very competitive this year, with extra competitive athletes in the field. Many schools are also currently missing top athletes, being home for the holiday break.

First up on Saturday were the Women’s Classic Sprints, with Northern Michigan University’s Malin Börjesjö, taking an upset win over region legend professional skier, Caitlin Gregg. Michigan Tech’s Anabel Needham was the 2nd CCSA skier, with NMU’s freshman Gretchen Haggenmiller right behind her. “Coming into the weekend I was nervous, but also very excited,” wrote sophomore Needham. “First races of the season are always scary because it’s the first mark of how training has paid off from the previous months”. On the men’s side, NMU’s Tobi Moosman started the morning off strong, taking the lead over teammate Kjetil Bånerud. Ryan Steger of the College of Saint Scholastica claimed his first CCSA podium of his career.

Later in the afternoon, Malin Börjesjö once again led the CCSA women in the skate sprint, placing 2nd in the Senior women’s field to Caitlin Gregg by less than a 2nd. Anabel Needham once again took 2nd, this time taking a sweep of the U20 podium with her MTU freshmen teammates Olivia Laven and Johanna Craig. On the men’s side, NMU took the sweep in the afternoon, with Tobi Moosman, Kjetil Bånerud, and freshman Kristoffer Karsrud besting a strong men’s field. “I was super excited to do my first race for NMU,” said Karsrud, “College skiing is new to me and it was a great experience”.

NMU’s Kjetil Banerud and MTU’s Aleski Leino

On Sunday, the women raced an individual start 10k, and Malin Börjesjö, once again dominated the field, showing she’s the one to beat this season. MTU’s Olivia Laven continued her strong debut with 2nd, followed by teammate Anabel Needham. “It was awesome to have so many people helping with this event and coming out [this] weekend,” says Needham, “Each race this year will be a gift, and we are so lucky to participate. I’m looking forward to racing again, and giving it my best effort!” Kjetil Bånerud took his first CCSA win of the season in the men’s 15k skate. Teammates Patrick Acton and Mark Ousdigian topped off MTU’s strong weekend with 2nd and 3rd.

The next races are January 16th and 17th in Cable, Wisconsin at the Birkie Trail Head.

CCSA 2020-2021 Season Preview

CCSA News

The world has turned upside down since NCAAs ended abruptly last spring, but teams around the region have proved what they are best at- being flexible and staying positive despite the change. Covid regulations have changed practice regulations, prompting teams to train in smaller groups, with masks, and adding restrictions to some school’s ability to travel this winter. After a successful season for the region last year, we checked in with teams across the region to see how they’ve been faring this fall!

CSS Athletes after the Halloween Team sprints

The College of Saint Scholastica

After a record-breaking season in the winter of 2020, CSS continues to grow their squad, with a whooping 14 freshman athletes this season. Some freshman to watch include, Maggie Whitaker, Maj-Liz Helmer, Mia Case, Abby Ellenbecker, Joseph Walling, Hayden Ulbrich, Ben Boelter, Ben Boelter, and Chase High. Top returning athletes for Saint Scholastica are Ryan Steger, John Schwinghamer, Lars Dewall, Bjorn Larson, Emma Stertz, Sam Benzing, Mae Barnes, and Rana Kraftson. Head Coach, Maria Stuber has said that their biggest goal shift is that they are working to be adaptable in the time of covid. “We are focused on how we can do the best we can with what we’ve got on any given day recognizing what we’ve got can change daily. Our expectations for each other are just as high with a little extra compassion and care. We are adding questions to our curriculum like, who are we if we can’t compete? And How does this pursuit of excellence in skiing contribute to that?”

Despite the circumstances, CSS has been having lots of safe and fun workouts, including a Halloween Team Sprints- with lots of costumes and head-to-head competition.

Northern Michigan University

Northern Michigan has a legacy of success, and with a strong returning roster on both the men’s and the women’s teams, they will be ones to watch once again this season. Leading the men’s squad is Zak Ketterson, who is returning from a redshirt season last year, and Kjetil Banerud, who finished 2nd in the CCSA point rankings last season. On the women’s side, top returning CCSA athlete is Malin Bojesjo is leading the team, followed by the NCAA qualifiers Molly Miller (who made the Canadian National Ski Team this past summer) and Nadine Matter. Padding the team are freshman Gretchen Haggenmiller, Copper Lennox, and Kristoffer Karsrud.

GB Athletes with U.S. Ski Team Director Bryan Fish earlier this fall

Green Bay

Green Bay has had a lot of changes since last spring, including their new Director of Nordic Skiing Lee Reinke. “The fall has been difficult not knowing what the next week was going to bring as Wisconsin, unfortunately, had high positive COVID numbers. We have kept our heads up and continued to look forward to whatever the ski season brings”, said Reinke. Despite having restrictions for the athletes, Green Bay has been working on rebuilding their team, with the additions of Grace Collier, CJ Young, and Ryan Thieme. Green Bay is simply hopeful they will be able to compete this season as they have been limited to outdoor workouts due to COVID this fall.

Saint Olaf

Olaf had a strong ending to their season, with dominant team performances at the USCSA Nationals in Lake Placid, New York. The majority of that team is coming back, with USCSA Champ Erica Meyers leading the women’s squad, and Henry Wortman, Kieran Mullen, and Peter Carlen on the men’s team. Julia Everet , Christina Rohrer, Ali Seaton, Helen Olson, Bailey VanderWilde , and Julia Biship are strong additions to the the women’s team and Forest Forsey and Eric Crosby Lehman join the men’s team. This season, Saint Olaf will not be participating in CCSA races due to the University’s covid restrictions, but they hope to demonstrate the improvement athletes have been showing in some form of race this winter.

St Cloud

Covid took a toll on the St Cloud team this year. “New athletes were in question this year due to Covid whether they would attend SCSU or school in general. Unfortunately it did not work in favor for the university” said head coach Mike Schroden. “Lastly, the women’s Nordic [team] opted for the Covid NCAA opt out this year. So I will be attending races as a recruiter to increase the skier population at SCSU”.

Michigan Tech

MTU had a very strong season last year, and they have been continuing to show their depth this fall. “One of the greatest aspects of our team this year on both the women’s and men’s squads is that we haven’t had just one standout student-athlete. We incorporated frequent benchmark performance tests this fall for competition development and training motivation, and we saw different student-athletes step up to the plate,” said head coach Tom Smith. Standouts have included Anabel Needham who has been “crushing it in everything”, and Mary Lyon who “did more dips in the strength test than all of the men” and on the men’s side, Reid Goble and Patrick Acton will be forces to be reckoned with this winter. “At large our team has had a more consistent fall training than any of the past years we’ve been coaching with the Huskies. This is in part due to the pandemic as everyone has focused on staying healthy first and this has certainly paid off in consistency of training”. As for favorite workouts, “top of the list was our 5k uphill running time trial up Mt. Baldy. The best fall colors we’ve yet to experience in the Keweenaw, and no better way to experience this than to race to the top!”

New UWBG Director of Nordic Skiing: Lee Reinke

CCSA News

Coaching turnover in sports programs often includes lots of philosophy changes, alteration to training plans, and switching up recruitment strategy. But recently, the University of Wisconsin Green Bay has brought in one of the biggest coaching changes in recent CCSA history.

New Green Bay Director of Nordic Skiing Lee Reinke

When Jeremy Hecker left the position of UWGB’s Head Coach last spring, it was a major loss to the program. Hecker who had experience working with one of the best professional teams in the U.S. (Stratton Mountain School), along with international coaching experience in Australia and Finland was making efforts to grow the program and had sent one woman to the NCAA National Championships both years he was at UWGB. Despite announcing his departure in the spring, the Nordic Skiing Head Coach Position was not filled until late this summer, and it ended by being an unconventional pick by the UWGB Athletic Department.

The new selection, Lee Reinke, has many years of coaching experience under him. He is entering his fifth year at Green Bay and has experience building programs from the ground up. The plot twist is that Reinke is currently the Director of Men’s and Women’s Golf, alongside his new position as Director of Nordic Skiing at UWGB.

Reinke started in college athletics as a DIII golfer and basketball player at Wisconsin Lutheran College where highlights of his student-athlete career included 1,000 points scored in basketball and a conference championship win in golf. He then owned and operated his own golf course for 17-years before the opportunity arose to coach collegiate golf at UWGB. Despite having only previously coached golf at the high-school level, Reinke believed he could step up to the challenge. “Golf is played the same at any level and I feel like I can relate with [collegiate] student-athletes very well.”

Lee Reinke’s methods were based on teaching organization, recruiting, fundraising, and his passion for the athletes. He created more training trip opportunities for the teams, established an indoor training simulator for golfers to practice in the winters, and recruited some of the best talent in the Midwest. His efforts quickly became visible when his own son took 3rd in the Conference, the first time a Phoenix had podiumed since 2012. Reinke’s first recruiting class produced the Horizon League Champion and NCAA Qualifier in 2019, along with setting the program record for the best 18-hole and 36-hole team scores.

When the Athletic Director approached Lee Reinke this summer and asked if he would consider taking over the Nordic Ski Team, Reinke naturally had some concerns. “I can coach golf, but I am not a coach of nordic skiing. I do however bring attributes that will help the nordic teams and with getting the right assistance, my hope is we can continue to develop the rich tradition that previous coaches before I have built”. UWGB Nordic Team started practices the second week of September, and while his knowledge of skiing may be limited, Reinke’s passion for the athletes and coaching is obvious. “He is working really hard to come to all of our practices and to learn what he can while working with the seniors on the team and last year’s schedule.” says freshman CJ Young, “It’s working out well.” Reinke has been meeting and interviewing with people within the ski community, working on absorbing information, learning things, and working on gaining interest for a knowledgeable assistant and volunteer coaches for the team. “I do not know Nordic Skiing, but I am going to be involved. I care, I care about them [the athletes] a lot. And I think they have come to realize that in the last two weeks. They know I have their back. We are looking to build, but I am not naïve, it will take time.”

Reinke’s involvement looks to be a promising addition to the program. Having roots already in the UWGB athletic department and expressing he wants to stick around for at least another ten or so years will add the stability this program has not seen in a long time. The team’s roster size is currently very small, so Reinke’s drive for recruiting along with his priority of fundraising is promising for the growth of the organization. However, what stands out most is Lee Reinke’s passion to connect with these athletes and take on this challenge. “Even if I know nothing about skiing, I am asking them just to give me a shot and them to trust me. I pull no punches and in the last two weeks, I’ve learned a lot. I also know I have 10 years of learning ahead of me. We are going to have a totally different conversation based on my ski knowledge in five years- heck, I might even be on skis!”