RUMFORD, MAINE – A quick turnaround after a long day of racing Thursday didn’t faze Northern Michigan’s Monica Markvardsen as the junior skier made it two CCSA top spots in two days on Friday, finishing as the conference’s top skier in the women’s 20K classic at U.S. Nationals. Alaska’s Tyler Kornfield, who earned a bronze medal in the freestyle sprints earlier in the week, led the charge for the CCSA men, storming to a tenth-place overall finish in the men’s 30K race.

“Monica is finally healthy again this year,” Northern Michigan head coach Sten Fjeldheim said. “She struggled a bit with overtraining and maybe overreaching last year, but she’s gaining in confidence and is really improving. It’s fun to watch.”

Despite facing a 9 a.m. start after skiing 10K less than 24 hours ago, Markvardsen quickly picked up where she left off, never dropping out of the top 20 in the race on her way to a 16th overall finish.

“Everyone competing in this sport has a pretty high level of fitness, but being able to compete in back-to-back races like this has a lot to do with experience as well,” Fjeldheim said. “The athletes that eat right, rest and do what they need to do to recover between races usually do well.”

Alaska’s Marit Rjabov earned her first CCSA podium of the season, completing the Historic Black Mountain course in 1:11:06.1. Fellow Nanook Aly McPhetres finished third among conference skiers, completing her 20K in 1:12:24.6.

In the tightest finish in the mass start event, Alaska’s Rebecca Konieczny nipped Northern Michigan’s Rosie Frankowski by a tenth of a second, earning 33rd place. The Nanooks’ Crystal Pitney wasn’t too far behind the 34th-placed Frankowski, either, crossing the line just a second later with her time of 1:12:27.8.

Alaska’s Heather Edic continued her steady start to the season with a 36th-place overall finish in 1:13:17.1, while Michigan Tech sophomore Sarah Daniels placed eighth in the conference (38th overall) with her time of 1:14:05.6. Northern Michigan’s Jordyn Ross and Michigan Tech’s Christina Mishica rounded out the top 10 for the CCSA, respectively.

On the men’s side, Kornfield earned his first CCSA win of the season and a top-10 overall finish with his time of 1:28:23.2 over the 30K course. Northern Michigan’s Kjell Christian Markset continued to impress in his first CCSA event; the freshman earning 12th-place overall and second in the conference in 1:28:26.6.

Another first-year student-athlete, Alaska’s Ludwig Schott, took 29th overall in 1:31:48.4, making him the CCSA’s third-best skier in the event. Northern Michigan’s Erik Soderman was next across the line – the NCAA qualifier from a year ago taking 33rd overall with a time of 1:32:08.8.

Alaska’s Logan Hanneman, the conference’s top skier in Thursday’s freestyle race, took 35th overall and fifth in the CCSA with his time of 1:32:32.4. A pair of NMU skiers followed him across the line, with George Cartwright and Chris Bowler earning the race’s 36th and 37th spots, respectively.

“Kjell is a real character, and a really talented classic skier,” Fjeldheim said. “We are glad to have George back, and our other returning skiers like Erik and Chris have been looking really good as well.”

A fifth-year senior for the Nanooks, Alex Morris ended a solid stay at U.S. Nationals for himself with a 44th-place finish in 1:34:32.6. Alaska’s Ian Wilkinson and Green Bay’s Edward Gurney rounded out the top ten for the CCSA.

After a well-earned day off tomorrow, the CCSA skiers wind up U.S. Nationals with the classic sprint races on Sunday, before heading off to Duluth for the second NCAA qualifier of the season – the Hilltop Invitational on Jan. 14-15.

RUMFORD, MAINE ­– Alaska’s Logan Hanneman and Northern Michigan’s Monica Markvardsen topped the first CCSA podium of the season, each earning top spot in their respective races at the U.S. Cross Country Championships in Rumford, Maine.

Hanneman, a first-year skier for the Nanooks, completed the 15K freestyle around the Historic Black Mountain course in 31:04.3: good enough for 11th place overall. Markvardsen, meanwhile, finished her 10K skate in 27:41.9, taking 21st overall.

“Logan had a great race today,” Alaska head coach Scott Jerome said. “He’s a true freshman, and for him to come out and be that strong not just within our region, but in the nation as well is pretty incredible.”

Youth reigned supreme on the men’s side: in addition to Hanneman just missing out on a top 10 finish in his CCSA debut, first year NMU skier Kjell-Christian Markset impressed as well, taking second spot among CCSA skiers and tied for 17th overall – equaling the time of former Green Bay standout Santiago Ocariz.

“I was really impressed with Kjell’s race today,” Jerome said. “It’s good to see to him and Logan have good races today – it’s good for our region to have the young guys doing so well.”

Wildcat teammate Erik Soderman, an NCAA qualifier a year ago, took third in the CCSA with his 21st-overall finish in 31.32.2. Northern’s George Cartwright finished fourth (32nd overall) in 32:08.5, showing no rust after a redshirt season in 2011.

Alaska’s Tyler Kornfield was next across the line for the CCSA. The Anchorage native, who earned a bronze medal in Tuesday’s freestyle sprints, placed 34th overall with a time of 32:13.9. Teammate Alex Morris finished sixth among CCSA skiers with his 32:45.5.

Michigan Tech’s Matthew Dugan made a late charge to rise to 59th overall with his 32:47.8, following soon after by another Nanook freshman, Ludwig Schott: the German native taking 64th overall in 32:53.3.

Fellow Nanook Ian Wilkerson (72nd overall) and Northern’s Chris Bowler (74th overall) rounded out the top 10 for the CCSA.

On the women’s side, Markvardsen, an NCAA qualifier a year ago, announced her intent to repeat that feat this year, just missing out on a top 20 finish by four seconds. Alaska’s Raphaela Sieber earned the conference’s second spot, finishing 34th overall with a time of 28:28.9.

Michigan Tech sophomore Alice Flanders continued her steady climb toward the CCSA elite with an impressive 35th place finish, placing less than a second behind Sieber. The Nanooks’ Heather Edic took fourth among CCSA skiers: the sophomore’s time of 29:02.0 good enough for 53rd overall.

“Heather Edic had a solid race today,” Jerome said, “and Raphaela is making progress as well. Hopefully this will give them a good starting point for the rest of the season.”

Northern’s Rosie Frankowski took 55th overall, rounding out the CCSA top five with her 29:04.0. Michigan Tech’s Lynn Duijndam was next across the line in 29:14.9, putting her in 63rd overall, followed closely by Alaska’s Alyson McPhetres, who was 65th overall in 29:17.2.

NMU’s third finisher, Jordyn Ross, placed 71st overall with her 29:26.2, while a pair of Nanooks (Heidi Brook and Crystal Pitney) completed the CCSA’s top ten, finishing 73rd and 74th, respectively.

Despite a grueling race today, there is little rest for the CCSA competitors as they return to the course Friday for a mass start classic race. The women’s 20K event is schedule to start at 9 a.m., while the men’s event kicks off at 11 a.m.

“It’s going to be really tough to have back-to-back races like this,” Jerome said. “What the student-athletes did this afternoon in terms of taking care of themselves will go a long way tomorrow. It’s always interesting to see how people are able to recover and bounce back – some do it better than others.”

For complete results, or to follow along with tomorrow’s action, please visit www.uscrosscountryskichampionships2012.org.

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• Women’s Freestyle Results
• Men’s Freestyle Results