CCSA Performers of the Week! After last weekend's

A very close battle this weekend had the @mtunordi

NCAA Regional starts tomorrow in Ishpeming, MI at

Performers of the Week! After a fantastic day of

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NCAA Preview: Who to Watch

CCSA News

NCAAs is March 12th and 14th in Bozeman, Montana. CCSA Teams are already making their way out West, a week and a half in advance, to adjust to the altitude, as Bozeman approaches 5,000 feet above sea level. The Central region had 8 men’s spots and 7 women spots for Nations this year, based on the previous year’s results, but each team is only allowed to send a maximum of three athletes. Both Northern Michigan University and Michigan Technological University are sending full mens and women teams to NCAAs, while the College of Saint Scholastica sends two men and the University of Wisconsin- Green Bay sends one woman.

The CCSA is sending a strong crop of athletes to compete against the best collegiate athletes in the United States. There are quite a few athletes from the Central Region who look to be in the running to grab an All American place at this NCAA National Championship (Top 10 in either race). The top 10 in the Central Region on both the men’s and the women’s side has been very close all season, but there are some standouts who have a chance of making a splash on the big stage.

On the men’s side, Mathias Rolid (NMU) finished the season with a big bang, being the leader in the Region’s point’s list and coming away with the most amount of wins. Expect to see him high up on the results list in both the 10k skate race and the 20k classic mass start, as he has been the most consistent athlete this season. Right on his heels, be on the lookout for Kjetil Bånerud (NMU). He has already proven that he can not only compete well at altitude but also at NCAAs, as he was an All-American in 2018 when NCAAs was in Steamboat. Bånerud started the season out with a bang, and was undefeated in the CCSA for the earlier part of the season, but was swept under the rug in the second half of the season when Rolid went on his rampage. Nonetheless, Bånerud should not be underestimated. He still finished 2nd in the CCSA points and is a fierce racer and competitor, so expect to see a standout performance from him in either the skate or classic race. Another skier to watch is CSS’s Emil Book Bratbak. Bratbak had a very solid season, finishing it off with a win at the NCAA Central Regional Championships, the first Regional win for CSS ever. Anticipate Bratbak to have a strong and tactical race in the 20k Classic Mass Start. Wildcards include the MTU duo of Reid Goble and Patrick Acton. This is each Goble’s and Acton’s 2nd NCAA appearances, and they both have popped out strong performances this season.

Patty Molly

On the women’s side, it is just as much of a toss-up. Malin Bojesjo makes her NCAA debut, and she could have strong performances in either the 5k skate race or the 15k classic race, as she leads the Central women in points from the season. She has been the most consistent female competitor this season, so we put our bet on Bojesjo at for having a knockout performance at Nationals. Sarah Goble (MTU) and Amanda Kautzer (MTU) are both NCAA veterans in this CCSA women’s field, but they, along with the Canadian freshman, Molly Miller (NMU) will fight exhaustion and jet lag as they arrive back to the US from U23/World Junior National Championships in Germany. Nonetheless, expect Goble to have an assertive 5k skate race, and Kautzer to stand out in the 15k classic race.

Mathias Oda

At US Nationals in Houghton, Michigan, in January, the CCSA teams had really strong showings, with 3 men teams in the top 6 and 2 women teams in the top 3 in the College Cup. Not all of the Eastern and Western teams had their full squads, but it gives a decent prediction that the Central Region competitiveness within the NCAA is only growing year after year.

Outside the CCSA

Expect the Western Conference (Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association) to look very strong this spring. Based on this season’s results, virtually, any member of the University of Utah’s Men’s Nordic Ski Team could win a National title on a given day. Especially strong is American Luke Jager (who just nabbed a top 10 at World Juniors), Samual Hendry, and Maximilian Bie. Also, keep an eye on the University of Colorado’s Magnus Boee and UAA’s Sigurd Roenning. In the Eastern Conference, one men’s team stands out, and that is the University of Vermont. Compiled by Karl Schulz, Bill Harmey, Matias Oevrum, and Ben Odgen, UVM could put their whole team of three in the top 10 of the NCAA on a good day, and it will be interesting to see the Kings of EISA match up with the Western and Central schools. Also, keep an eye out for Remi Drolet (Harvard). This freshman is known for competing well in high stakes situations, and he may be able to pop out a strong race despite the odds.

Lara Donny

Similar to the men, the RMISA women are very strong. The CU and UU’s women team are especially strong, with Leah Lange (UU), Guro Jordheim (UU), and Anne Siri Lervik (CU) making strong statements throughout the season. Eveliina Piippo (DU) also finished her season very strong, so she may be one to look out for at Nationals. It would also be impossible not to bring up the returning Skate NCAA National Champion, Julia Richter (UU), as a strong contender.

Amanda Aleksi

The other returning National Champion hails from the Eastern side of the NCAA, with the Eastern Intercollegiate Skiing Association. Katerine Ogden, a 3-time NCAA National Champion is leading a very strong Dartmouth team that has been having performances in the Eastern Carnivals. Alexandra Lawson and Sophia Laukli have been nipping on Dartmouth’s toes with a stacked up and coming Middlebury team, and Evelina Sutro (UVM) should be one to watch out as well at the NCAA National Championships.

The countdown for NCAA begins!!

CCSA Recap: NCAA Central Regional Championships

CCSA News, Race Results

Teams brought warm weather into Ishpeming, Michigan this past weekend for the final weekend of CSSA racing in the Midwest. Competing for the final positions for NCAAs, teams fought hard in the final weekend. In the women’s 5k skate on Saturday, it was a close battle up until the line, with Malin Börjesjö (NMU) nabbing the win over teammate Molly Miller (NMU) by just 3 seconds. Sarah Goble (MTU) was just .3 seconds behind Miller to take 3^rd. In the men’s 10k, Mathias Rolid (NMU), and Kjetil Bånerud(NMU) were just .1 of a second apart after the first 5k, but in the second half of the race, Rolid finished up his strong CCSA season by putting 8 seconds on Bånerud. Reid Goble (MTU), who was 7^th after the first lap, had a similar race strategy to Rolid. “On Saturday’s skate race, I started off at a comfortable pace and felt strong going into the second lap so I really focused on making up time and ended up in third place”.

Women’s field in the 15k

The men had the cooler temperatures on Sunday, benefiting them in the form of faster tracks and easier kick waxing. A fairly big pack stayed together for the first half of the race before the leaders began to spread out. “On Sunday’s classic race the pace for the first half was relaxed and going into the third lap I decided to push it and broke away along with three others,” Goble said. On the last lap, Emil Book Bratbak (CSS) and Kjetil Bånerud broke away from the rest of the field, and had a battle to the finish, with Bratbak taking the win in the finishing stretch- CSS’s first-ever Regional Championship win.

Bratbak’s first Regional Win

The women struggled with quickly rising temperatures, and with half of the racing course being in the woods and half being in a field, it was inconsistent waxing conditions. Similar to the men, the women had a strict pack for the first 10k until Hilde Eide (NMU) and Malin Börjesjö made a break for the win right after the pack went through the stadium. Börjesjö took a fall on one of the downhills of the course on the last lap, leaving Eide to take her 2^nd CCSA win. Nadine Matter (NMU) finished 2^nd, Sarah Goble was 3^rd, and Bojesjo took 4^th. “I think this course is one of the hardest courses I have ever skied, but I enjoyed it. The classic was different from [previous] races because it was a klister race and I think everyone had problems with icing skis. I personally had to stop a few times to remove the snow on my skis because I couldn’t move”. Green Bay’s Lara Ketterer said.

Eide watching the women battle it out for the podium

While the CCSA racing season is over, CCSA athletes still have plenty of racing to do! Amanda Kautzer (MTU), Sarah Goble (MTU), Molly Miller (NMU), and redshirt skier Zak Ketterson (NMU) are all competing at the Junior World Championships/ U23 World Championships in Oberwiesenthal, Germany, starting February 29^th. 8 men and 7 women have qualified from the NCAA Central Region for the NCAA National Championships in Bozeman, Montana, March 12^th and 14^th and several CCSA athletes will also compete at Jr Nationals in Northern California in early March!

Photos from NMU Athletics

CCSA Recap: Conference Championships

CCSA News, Race Results

Championship Season has begun, and it started off with a bang in Houghton, Michigan with the CCSA Conference Championships! Throughout the season, individuals and teams are competing for NCAA Qualifying Points, to gain a spot at Nationals in Bozeman, Montana this upcoming March. Based on the previous year’s CCSA performances at NCAAs, the men have 8 qualifying spots, and the women own 7 (each team is limited to only 3 athletes at NCAAs). As the season goes on, the points from each race are more heavily weighted, putting more pressure on these Championships races- this past weekend at Conference Championships, and next weekend at Regionals.

The men on the first uphill of the mass start

This weekend in Houghton saw the same format from all season (and the same we’ll see at NCAAs), with a 5k/10k skate race Saturday, and a 15k/20k classic race Sunday. On Saturday, Mathias Rolid (NMU) took his fourth CCSA win of the season in the men’s 10k, besting teammate Kjetil Bånerud by 13 seconds. “I got in a very solid training block after the races in Rhinelander so I was excited to see how my body felt after all of that volume” Rolid commented after the weekend, “The skate race was pretty hard. I started early in the A seed group and decided to go out fast, down and up the hairpin climb. I got some back splits that said it was a close race between Kjetil and me, so I had to push hard all the way in. I feel like I paced it well and overall it was a very good race”. Reid Goble (MTU) added onto his already strong season with another podium finish, finishing just a second in front of Xavier Mansfield (NMU).

Women fighting during the mass start

In the women’s 5k, Nadine Matter (NMU) took her first-ever CCSA win and leading an NMU sweep on the podium, as Malin Börjesjö and Molly Molly finished within the same second. Amanda Kautzer (MTU) has been one of the most consistent forces out on the course this winter, finishing in 4^th, “On Saturday, I wasn’t feeling very good before the races, but when I started and realized how fast my skis were, I knew it was going to be a good day. I was hoping to be on the podium, it didn’t quite have the gas on the last climb to quite get there”.

The chase pack during the men’s mass start

In Sunday’s 20k Classic Mass Start, Mathias Rolid (NMU) continued his reign with a dominating win. “The 20km mass start race was an interesting one. A cold day with some light snow coming down before the start. It stopped snowing right before the start, but the tracks were not skied in. Therefore, the first lap was very tactical, because no one wanted to take the lead. It was very difficult to ski away at that point. However, after we had raced one lap around the course the tracks became a lot faster.” Right before the last lap, Rolid took control and broke away, and ended up finishing a whopping minute and 11 seconds ahead of the field. Aleksi Leino (MTU) took 2^nd, claiming his first CCSA podium after struggling with some injuries earlier in the year. “My strategy was just to keep myself in top positions, but not to lead because it was so much easier behind someone. I was feeling good from the beginning and first two laps, we were skiing pretty slowly. I lost my pole tip at 4k but thanks for Adam Witowski, I got a new one pretty soon. Then I was just hanging with the group until 2k before the finish, I put it all in and that was enough for second position”. Nick Matelich (CSS) scrambled for 3^rd, also claiming his first CCSA podium, claiming credit to fast skis and having fun.

Matelich after his third-place finish

In the women’s 15k mass start race, the ladies had a competitive race, with the top 8 ladies striking out a competitive battle. “I felt very confident racing on our home course”, runner-up Kautzer said, “The race did not split up as much as I anticipated, but there was no one else really pushing the pace out front, so I ended up leading more in the race than I have in any other mass start. I felt really good going into the last lap, and even into the last hill but unfortunately got tangled with Malin [Börjesjö] and broke a binding, which is what cost me the win today”. “I felt good this entire weekend” commented Börjesjö, “But it was not a fair fight for the finish today, and I hope for a new fair fight with Amanda next weekend”. Molly Miller grabbed another 3^rd place finish, wrapping up a very successful weekend after she returned from the Canadian World Junior Trials (where she qualified for World Juniors).

The dual between Kauzter and Börjesjö

Next weekend is the final CCSA race in Ishpeming, Michigan. It looks to be a very warm weekend with highs of 38 degrees F both Saturday and Sunday.

CCSA Spotlight: St Olaf

CCSA Spotlight

Base in Northfield, MN, the St Olaf Nordic Ski Team is growing a reputation with its promising close-knit community and growing success. Although with the Ole’s rapid improvements in the CCSA trails, the St Olaf Team also has a strong legacy at the USCSA National Championships, often being a contender for Individual and National Championships.

St Olaf team members after intervals earlier this winter

One major draw to the program is Head Coach Kevin Brochman. Brochman in a renowned Nordic Skiing coach in the United States, having been a two time U.S. Olympian himself, along with coaching several Olympians. He not only coached the 1984 and 1988 Olympic teams but also was named the 1997 U.S. Ski Team Coach of the Year award. Brochman is in his 8th year coaching at Olaf, and he has led the athletes to numerous U.S. College Skiing Association National Championships titles, along with coaching both Paige Schember in 2014 and Jake Brown in 2015 to the NCAAs. “The nordic team is a very close group of skiers,” says former Olympian and Head Coach, Kevin Brochman, “They often study together, eat together and still have time to train together. Their cohesiveness makes it easy to coach in many ways”.

Members of the St Olaf Women’s team

Hosting one of the larger rosters in the CCSA, Olaf draws many of its athletes from Minnesota and the team bonds quickly, building a community within the team. “I love my team. Everyone is so supportive of one another which creatures a great team atmosphere. This allows us to have fun where we go while maintaining a high level of competition,” expressed Lucia Wyland. The team not only has the custom of traveling to West Yellowstone every Thanksgiving for a training camp, but Brochman also says the team trains a lot during the summer together, often getting together at cabins in Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin for mini-training camps and bonding time. “One of my favorite traditions that the ski team has is that most years is that around finals time in December, we have a holiday gathering. We watch the movie Elf, and have pasta in the style of the movie (with maple syrup and candy), and follow it up with a gift exchange! It’s a wholesome break to finals stress!” stated Ware-Joncas.

The St Olaf team after a very success weekend in Rhinelander, WI this season

The St Olaf team after a very successful weekend in Rhinelander, WI this season

One of two liberal art schools in the CSSA, Olaf is a great choice for a student who is looking to ski on a college team but also wants to pursue other experiences. “[Skiers] go to college at St Olaf to be well-rounded student-athletes” Brochman states, “Often they are part of the band, the choir, or doing a fall sport before they join the nordic team. In the fall some are on the soccer team and some are on the cross country team”

“St Olaf for me had a little bit of everything I wanted. I chose the school because of its strong background in health sciences, and the focus on study abroad and music” expressed Spencer Ware-Joncas. “I loved that I could truly do a liberal arts experience and study Exercise Science and German. I wasn’t completely certain what I wanted in a college, so I came to St Olaf, partially because I could try so many different things!”

CCSA Spotlight: University of Wisconsin Green Bay

CCSA Spotlight

Sadie Peterson and Coach Jeremy Hecker at NCAAs last year

The Green Bay Nordic Ski Team hosted a successful weekend in Rhinelander, Wisconsin this past weekend. While Green Bay is not necessarily known for its annual snowfall (hence having their home meet 2 1/2 hours away), the University of Wisconsin Green Bay allows for student-athletes to succeed in strong academic programs and benefit from the top of the line ski coaching. In his second year of coaching at the university, Jeremy Hecker is taking steps to make the Green Bay Nordic Ski Team stand out. “We are the only collegiate ski program in Wisconsin, and the only fully Division I program in the CCSA. We have the ability to give athletes a Division I school experience which is very unique. We have a very competitive campus, and it is fun to be a part of the Division I culture”. Hecker is familiar with competitive teams, as he formally was an assistant coach at Williams College and Stratton Mountain School, where he worked with some of the most successful juniors and professional skiers in the country.

GB Women training this fall

Last season, Hecker coached Sadie Peterson to the NCAA Championships, and he is hoping to build on that this year. Sam Meyers and Shad Kraftson are on the cusp of qualifying on the men’s season, and Lara Ketterer currently in contention on the women’s side, showing the growth for the Phoenixes. “While I do look at performance and results as a factor in the recruiting process, my biggest focus is on how the athlete will fit in with the team,” said Hecker.

Working hard in the rain this fall

The Green Bay Team emphasizes that having similar-minded athletes helps increases the overall team performances, and there are plenty of opportunities to bond at Green Bay’s Training Camps. “I make sure that we spend as much time together as possible and we have at least 1 or 2 camps per year. This fall we had two training camps, one in Door County in late September and another in Cable over Thanksgiving. It is during these training camps that we get closer as a team because we will eat, train, and sleep together. We usually try to get at least 1 or two games of Settlers of Catan going during these camps as well!” Green Bay’s ability to have fun is a big part of them being able to push hard in the workouts. “Whether its intervals, long ODs, or volunteer work the members of the team know how to have a good time!” said redshirt junior Sadie Peterson, “I think my favorite thing about the GB team is our capability to have fun with whatever we are doing.”

GB Team enjoying themselves last winter

The close-knit culture is an important part of the Green Bay Team, senior Cory Rouw explained, “My favorite part about the Green Bay team is the community we have within ourselves. We are a group of different people working together towards a common goal. As they get on their goals in the CCSA, it will only transfer onto the National level. “The thing I like about racing in the CCSA is the competitiveness of the region,” Peterson wrote, “I think it is impressive that the CCSA is competitive on a national level despite not having the opportunity to win a national championship (lacking alpine). It’s fun to be a part of the speedy group of gals and it’s so fun to watch the guys too!”

CCSA Recap: UWGB Invite

CCSA News, Race Results

A warm weekend in Rhinelander, Wisconsin wrapped up the last racing block for the CCSA before the Championship races. Races got switched to the Classic Mass Start on Saturday and Skate Individual Start on Sunday to make classic waxing easier, as Sunday had incredibly warm temperatures. This weekend, was a standardized glide wax weekend for the CCSA, so on Sunday, teams only had to worry about kick wax in the unpredictable temperatures.

The women leaders in the 15k

The women thinned out right away in their 15k race, with four women, Hilde Eide and Malin Borjesjo of NMU and Sarah Goble and Amanda Kautzer of Tech in a lead pack at the end of the first lap. Eide dropped off of the lead pack just after 10k, and Borjesjo took the lead in the last 2k to grab her 2^nd college win of the season. “this weekend was a little bit of revenge for me” Bojesjo commented, “I have felt good on race weekends before, but everything has not worked at the same time. This weekend, it did”.

The temperatures were expected to warm up for the men’s race, but temperatures rose a little more than expected when the sun made an appearance about 20 minutes before the men’s start. Some teams made a quick change of kick wax before the races, opting for zero skis- which seemed to be the best case in the rapidly warming afternoon, as the top three men were on zeros. Zak Ketterson, Kjetil Baanerud, Mathias Rolid (NMU) and Emil Book Bratbak broke away on the first lap, with Reid Goble and Patrick Acton chasing them down. “The classic race went out at a good pace but I unfortunately lost contact with the lead on the A climb and then fought the rest of the first lap to get on the back of Reid,” Acton said, “We skied laps 2 and 3 together, switching off leading on the terrain we were respectively stronger on. Going into the last lap, I felt good and knew that [Daniel] Streinz [NMU} was within striking distance of us so I focused on pushing through the early parts of that lap and then carried it through the A climb and the final kick to the finish”. Ketterson broke away from Baanerud and Rolid on the final A climb, and Rolid just out sprint Baanerud on the final climb of the race, nabbing the college win. “I came into this weekend in Rhinelander feeling pretty good,” Rolid wrote after the races, “It was nice to have my roommate Zak on the start line for the classic race, and together with Kjetil we decided to make this 20k as hard as possible to prepare for NCAAs. It was brutal but it ended up being a good race for me”. Emil Book Bratbak had another strong performance to finish 3^rd for the CCSA, Patrick Acton was 4^th, Daniel Streinz had one of his strongest races of the season to finish 5^th, and Reid Goble was 6^th.

Goble and Acton in the men’s 20k

Although it was warmer temperatures on Sunday, the course firmed up enough during the night, for the skate races to be fast. Once again, the CCSA had standardized glide wax, but many athletes were feeling Saturday’s battle. The women’s race again was first and was very close all throughout the 2 laps. Malin Borjesjo skied away from the field, finishing over 20 seconds in front of Henriette Semb (MTU), and Hilde Eide took 3^rd. “I enjoyed the courses in Rhinelander” Bojesjo expressed, “They were tough but it allowed you to ski big and relax, which fits me. I changed my past week of training, to trade a speed session for my normal mid-week intervals so I could work on my weaknesses, and it helped me give me energy”. Semb, who is ranked 4^th in the CCSA points list after this weekend, was pleased with her weekend. “It was a fun and technical course with a lot of transitions so I tried and work well over the tops of the hills. I also paced the race well and pushed it all to the finish line.”

Women’s 5k Skate

The course did not change much for the men’s race, and Mathias Rolid took the charge. I could really feel the classic race from the day before when I was warming up. I felt really flat, so I knew it was all about finding that pace I could hold for 10k. It was a challenging course with no rest, so my focus was on a steady pace off the line, for even splits on all four laps. I was always riding the edge of how much lactic acid I could handle, and my coaches didn’t really tell me how I was doing so I was fighting for every second!” Emil Book Bratbak grabbed his second podium of the season after being caught by Rolid and drafting off of him for the majority of the race, and Kjetil Baanerud took third. Patrick Acton nabbed his second 4^th place finish of the weekend, putting him in 4^th in the overall CCSA Point rankings. “Quite pleased with 2 fourth-place finishes on a weekend, especially when 1-3 were Norwegian men who were really strong at this point in the season. Looking forward to being back in Houghton in a couple of weeks!”

Strong performances by Ole Tyler Radtke, with his first top 10 finish

Team results are still close, as the Michigan Tech women have gone back and forth in team points with Northern Michigan the last couple of weekends, and the Michigan Tech men and Saint Scholastica men have been back and forth. Teams get a week break before the Conference Championship, back in Houghton, Michigan.

CCSA Spotlight: College of Saint Scholastica

CCSA Spotlight

The Central region historically has been dominated by the Michigan schools (Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech), but as the CCSA grows, one team starts to stand out as another challenger. Earlier this month at the U.S. National Championships, the Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech men’s teams both had strong team finishes with 2nd and 4th respectively in the College Cup. One team that took everyone by surprise was the College of Saint Scholastica. Their men’s team placed 6th, putting the three CCSA teams in the top 6 of all college teams across the nation. This drive from CSS has not stopped, with a huge surge this past weekend in Cable, Wisconsin. The men’s team pulled off the biggest upset so far this season, beating Michigan Tech by 4 points.

CSS skiers having fun earlier this winter (photo- Cece Boyle)

On Sunday, CSS’s top three strong performances pushed them to their 2nd place team finish. Emil Book Bratbak, who has been a vigorous force all season nearly pulled out a win in Mt Itasca, and had another strong day this past Sunday with 3rd place in the classic individual start. Nick Matelich placed an impressive 7th, and Tamer Mische-Richter finished the deal in14th place. What makes this such a remarkable accomplishment for CSS is that, as a Division III school, none of their student-athletes receive athletic scholarships (NMU and MTU are both DII with athletic scholarships). “Our student-athletes are the most special thing about this program” Stuber expressed, “Something about St. Scholastica attracts the best people. Our student-athletes are hard-working, smart, and compassionate”.

Brothers Ty and Jack Christianson (photo CSS Skiing Facebook page)

CSS is the also the largest ski team in the NCAA fielding a roster of 15 women and 22 men. “Maria has set up a program that is unique for U.S. Skiing because we have a development team along with our varsity team,” explains Junior Samantha Benzing. “Every athlete on the ski team works towards our program goals and plays a part in team success, even if they are not starting the CCSA races.” With 21 freshmen this season, CSS is continuously working on building their team successes. “I think our team develops a strong connection to each other and to the school because they are really proud of what we do and who we are,” Stuber wrote, “We do a good job of showing our freshmen right off the bat (what we do and who we are). Our team’s success depends on our athletes helping each other and understanding each other.”

Working with the kids at the Duluth Center (CSS Ski team Facebook page)

Maria Stuber not only is pushing her athletes, but she also is the founder of the Women Ski Coaches Association, which is pushing to bring more women into ski coaching. Stuber is one of five NCAA head nordic coaches in the NCAA and in recruiting, this can be a big selling point. “As soon as Maria was hired, I knew that St. Scholastica was at the top of my list,” wrote Benzing, “Skiing for a female-led program is an experience that is unfortunately too far and few and I knew it was something that I wanted to be a part of. Skiing on such a large team at the NCAA level is a unique experience that allows us to compete at the high level of the CCSA and create a team of developing athletes that will positively influence the U.S. Skiing scene for years to come”.

Members of the CSS Ski team earlier this winter (CSS Ski Team Facebook page)

Recruiting for a team that does not have scholarships can be tricky, but for CSS, the culture of the program speaks for itself. “I do my best to recruit student-athletes bursting with potential, ” Stuber explained. “For the most part is an attitude. Regardless of how fast you are when you get here, I want everyone on our team to be striving to get A LOT better. We don’t compete for spots on the team or to improve a couple of places, we are looking to be the best athletes we can be, big picture. Potential can also be physical. We have a ton of people on our team that have been exceptional at something else in their life, and I find that this type of person is more likely to be exceptional at another thing if given the chance, regardless of their experience. We had lots of great runners, we have a nationally competitive sailor, Irish dancer, and road biker. If you understand the process it takes to be nationally competitive at something, I don’t care if it’s basket weaving, I will gladly take a chance on you. Most importantly, I am looking for people who love to ski. At the end of the day, we need to be doing this because skiing is fun.”

CCSA Recap: Gitchi Gami Games

CCSA News, Race Results

CCSA teams met in Cable, Wisconsin this weekend for the Gitchi Gami Games at the famous American Birkebiner start line. While typically the college teams will compete in two races in a weekend- this weekend, many of the college teams chose to forgo Saturday’s Skate Sprints because they did not count for NCAA Qualifying.

emma

Regardless, Saturday’s skate sprints allowed for some standout performances from CSS and GB athletes. In the Men’s final, Green Bay athletes finished 1, 2, 4, and 5 with redshirting freshman Jackson Adler edging out Sam Myers for the win. CSS skiers Jack Christianson and Cody Schneider were in the mix finishing 3rd and 6th. On the women’s side, Maria Schoening of Green Bay had a dominant day, winning every single heat she was in. “I definitely surprised myself in the heats. I just focused on pushing myself up and over the top of that gnarly hill and into the finish!” Schoening ended up dominating the final, winning by four seconds. CSS women Mae Barnes and Annika Viren capped off their strong days with 2nd and 3rd.

On Sunday, the force of all whole CCSA came out again, with every team showing up to battle it out. On the men’s side, there was no surprise that Kjetil Bånerud (NMU) won the individual start by 17 seconds. Coming off of strong performances from last weekend, Mathias Rolid (NMU) and Emil Book Bratbak (NMU) finished within the same second to place 2nd and 3rd. Patrick Acton (MTU) finished 4th, and Daniel Streinz, finished 5th, pushing NMU to the win. “I started this fall out lacking fitness due to being sick for 2 months in late summer,” Streinz wrote, “But it seems I’ve gotten into good enough shape for racing and I’ve been exceeding my expectations.” Nick Matelich had a standout day finishing in 7th, leading the CSS Men’s team to possibly the biggest upset so far this season, over MTU, finishing 2nd. Joshua Albrecht of MTU had his best race this season, finishing in the top 10. “During the race, I made a stronger effort to start fast and not lose sight of the two people in front of me, since starting 3rd meant I didn’t have many good drafting opportunities on the first lap. I also focused on having a strong last lap, as I knew the last kilometer was a rest into the stadium. My new season goals will be to finish top 10 in each race to have the opportunity to be a scoring member of the team.” Shad Kraftson led the way for Green Bay, finishing in 16th, and Kieran Mullen led St Olaf in 26th.

spenserw

The women’s race was just as competitive, with only 10 points between Michigan Tech and NMU for the team win. Sarah Goble has been a strong contender this season, and she added another win to her belt today, as she led MTU to a team victory. One of the strongest performances of the day went to Oda Hovland (MTU) who finished in 2nd. “I started hard and got good splits for all of my laps which of course helps a lot, and I got podium splits from the beginning so that was cool!” NMU’s three team scorers, Malin Boerjesjo, Molly Miller, and Nadine Matter took the next three positions to push NMU to 2nd as a team, but the Wildcats showed their depth as each one of their women made it into the top 10. “Today it felt like I had a really good average pace, “ Boerjesjo said, after coming in 4th, “but I still feel that the top speed is not really there yet, so that will be my focus in training, forward”. Lara Ketterer (GB) is fighting for an NCAA spot, finishing the day in 13th and Samantha Benzing (CSS) is right on her tail, in 16th. Erica Meyers was the top finisher for St Olaf, and freshman Cheresa Bouley was the top Saint Cloud State skier.

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Next weekend is in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, hosted by Green Bay’s Nordic team. Rhinelander will be the last races before a week break, and then the Conference Championship in Houghton, MI.

CCSA Spotlight: NMU Ski Team

CCSA Spotlight

The NMU Ski team has historically had a lot of success, including 9 past NCAA National Champions, 103 All-Americans and countless Olympians. This success has continued this season when the team claimed the overall College Cup, as the best College Team at the U.S. Cross Country Championships. The Wildcats then followed up that success with strong performances this past weekend in Coleraine, Minnesota, with 3 wins out of four races and 8 podiums out of 12.

The Women’s Team at Mt. Itasca- the NMU Ski team has athletes from the US, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, and the Czech Republic

These successes have come out of a huge turnover of the team’s athletes this year- almost have of the team is new, and only one of last year’s six NCAA athletes is competing this season. With these new athletes comes an increase of European athletes.

Men’s Team training earlier this winter

There are many benefits to having such a diverse squad, as evident in Northern’s results this season. European athletes tend to be a bit older when they first start racing collegiately in the US, not only giving them more racing experience than the average collegiate freshman, but the racing experience they have in Europe is typically much more competitive than we see in the Midwest. “In Europe, or at least in Sweden, most races are national, which means that you always compete against the best skiers in the nation,” says Malin Bojesjoe (Umeaa, Sweden). This past weekend at Mt. Itasca, 9 of the 12 of CCSA podium spots were filled with non-American athletes (the other three were from the Tech’s Goble siblings, Sarah and Reid), demonstrating the higher standard these athletes convey to the Midwest racing scene. “I really like having European teammates because they bring so much knowledge,” Freshman Matthew Bourne (Lake Elmo, MN) said, “As the youngest person on the team, both my European and American teammates help me and teach me to become a better skier. They bring in a lot of racing experience, and I have learned so much”.

Members of the women’s team celebrating after a win

Recruiting European athletes is much different than recruiting American athletes, as very few can see the university and team before they arrive on campus, and many times, athletes hear about American collegiate teams through word of mouth. “I first heard about NMU through some friends from home. A former coach of mine was at Michigan Tech and told me that if I wanted to ski on the top level, I should go to NMU. Most importantly was the recommendation from the former Austrian national coach who used to be the Norwegian head coach as well as a good friend of [Sten Fjeldhelm].” Tobias Moosman (Kossen, Austria) wrote, “The biggest difference between Europe and the US in racing is that we are fighting for one team and the university. If somebody has a bad day, your teammates help you get through.” Pauline Forren (Snillfjord, Norway) also commented on the strong team dynamics in Marquette, “What I really like about the team is how we look out each for each other and at the same time, we push each other every day to become better skiers”.

The Men’s podium at PreNationals in Houghton

The NMU ski team plans on building on their successes this season, with the goal of sending a full team (3 men and 3 women) to NCCAs, and they hope to have some All-American worthy performances in Bozeman, Montana at NCAA Championships. “We are getting stronger together,” says Moosman.

CCSA Recap: Mt. Itasca

CCSA News, Race Results

The CCSA traveled to Northern Minnesota this past weekend to race at Mt. Itasca in Coleraine- typically known for its cold weather and biathlon center. The weather did not disappoint, with cold temperatures threatening the possibility of racing the mass starts on Sunday, but in the end, it was just warm enough (above -4*F).

On Saturday, CCSA athletes took around the course in the skate individual start. With a bunch of fresh snow from the night before, the course was a bit soft, but it did not stop the skiers from racing fast. “The skate race went surprisingly well,” NMU’s Mathias Rolid said after placing 2^nd behind teammate Kjetil Baanrud. “I’ve never been really good in soft conditions before, so that race was a pleasant surprise. I never felt that I was skiing particularly fast, but I guess that’s how it goes in conditions like that”. Reid Goble of MTU placed third, finishing the men’s podium. Emil Book Bratbak was the top athlete for the College of St Scholastica in 5^th, followed closely by his teammate Tamer Mische-Richer in 8^th. Sam Meyers was the top Green Bay Men’s team skier in 17^th place, and Peter Carlen led the St Olaf team.

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On the women’s side, MTU’s Sarah Goble topped the field. “I was pretty tired coming off of US Nationals so I made sure to do what my body needed to do to recover”. Goble said after taking the win 5k win, “My skate race felt really good, I skied the course smart and to my strengths”. NMU took the rest of the podium with Katerina Hyconovia in 2^nd, and Nadine Matter grabbing her first podium of the season in 3^rd. Samantha Benzing was the top CSS woman of the day in 14^th, Lara Ketterer was the top Green Bay woman of the day in 19^th, Stephanie Balas led the St. Olaf women in 21^st, and Cheresa Bouley was the top finisher from St Cloud State.

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Sunday, racers lined up with breathing masks and face tape to avoid frostbite for the mass start distance races. Both the men’s and the women’s races came down to dramatic finishes. In the men’s race, Mathias Rolid and Emil Book Bratbak pulled away from the field around the second lap, pushing each other for the last 10k. “It was a lot of fun to work with Mathias, although he had a faster gear in the end” Bratbak said. Rolid’s race was all about skiing relax and conserving energy, “I was confident that I would beat Bratbak in a sprint finish, so he did most of the pacing (I’m sorry Emil). Fun day!” wrote Mathias. He ended up edging Bratbak out by less than 3 seconds at the end. Sam Meyers once again led Green Bay with his top 20 finish, and Peter Carlen was the first across the line for St. Olaf in 21^st.

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In the women’s race, a larger pack of athletes pushed each other through the whole race. “It was really a tactical mass start, a lot of different women took the lead throughout the race, and it seemed like a lot of us were trying to race smart.” NMU’s Hilde Eide commented. On the last downhill, Eide was in a pack with teammates Molly Miller and Malin Bojesjoe, along with MTU skiers Sarah Goble and Henriette Semb. On the last uphill, Eide finally broke away, bringing Miller and Bojeseoe with her for an NMU podium sweep. “The Itasca races were tough! It was very cold weather and steep hills, but fun races all of the same. My favorite part of the weekend was sharing the classic podium with my two teammates” NMU freshman Miller wrote. Henriette Semb, Sarah Goble, and Oda Hovland took places 4, 5, and 6 for Michigan Tech, Lara Ketterer was the top woman for Green Bay in 10^th, Samantha Benzing and Rana Kraftson led CSS in 13^th and 15^th places, Stephanie Balas finished in 17^th, pulling the St Olaf women to a 4^th place finish for the team. Cheresa Bouley finished her first 15k race in 23^rd, first for the St Cloud team.

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CCSA athletes get a week before racing in Cable, Wisconsin next weekend. Because the sprint races on Saturday do not count for NCAA qualifying, some teams are forgoing the race, and planning to only race on Sunday.