The last two days of Nationals consisted of snowy classic days, with a classic distance mass start on Sunday and a classic sprint on Tuesday. Kjetil Bånerud (NMU) continued his strong week with 8th in the men’s 30k and Reid Goble (MTU) followed as the next CCSA skier in 17th. Henriette Semb (MTU) and Amanda Kautzer (MTU) led the women’s 20k in 18th and 19th, during the almost whiteout blizzard. In the boy’s 10k race, Gus Schatzlein (CSS) was the top CCSA guy of the day in 19th followed by NMU’s Matt Bourne in 26th. In the girl’s race, Savanna Fassio (NMU) held onto 13th, barely nicking Anabel Needham (MTU) for the top CCSA spot.

Freshman Molly Miller charges to the top junior position in the sprints (photo by Chris Schmidt)

For St Olaf and Green Bay, Sunday was the last day of racing, wrapping up a week of lots of CCSA successes. Many teams, prepared for Nationals by resting up and decreasing the training load before the races. “We’ve been on snow since Thanksgiving in Green Bay”, Shad Kraftson wrote when explaining GB’s strong week, “We had an easy week of training prior to Nationals. We were able to be with our families and ski at home over Christmas. That is always fun and I felt rested going into Senior Nationals”. 

GB Senior Sam Meyers in the Classic 30k

Tuesday’s sprint races showcased NMU, Tech and CSS, the three teams that stayed for the last day of racing. On the girl’s side, NMU’s Malin Boerjesjo and Molly Miller had strong performances in the semi-final finishing 8th and 11th respectively. Miller nabbed the top spot for juniors in the sprint race, her 2nd one of the Championship. Kautzer, who felt like she came into the races well prepared, finished her stellar week in 14th. “This year was a bit different coming into US Nationals on our home course. It was the first time in almost 8 years that I’ve been able to have a relaxing Christmas with my family rather than flying off to races somewhere. Mentally that break was huge for me coming into these races. On the men’s side, Kjetil Bånerud finished up his week in 16th, followed by Tobias Moosman and CSS’s Nick Matelich and Emil Book Bratbak.

Teams now get a small break after the busy week. The next races are in Northern Minnesota at Mt. Itasca hosted by CSS.

The CCSA has had a superb start to the new year at the U.S. National Championships in Houghton. Thursday was the skate sprints, and the CCSA put a mark on the field. In the men’s race, three skiers made the top 10- with Kjetil Baanerud (NMU) crushing the heats to get 4th in the final, and Tobi Moosman (NMU) and Mathias Rolid (NMU) placing 9th and 10th in the semi-finals. Seven CCSA women made the top 30 and skied in the senior heats. Amanda Kautzer (MTU) led the women in 7th, and freshman Molly Miller snuck into the top 10, as the first junior. Sarah Goble (MTU), Henriette Semb (MTU), and Katerina Hyncicova (NMU) finished in the top 20. In the junior heats, Adam Witowski navigated the heats to place 7th, Gus Schatzlein finished 9th, and Savanna Fassio finished 4th in the girl’s race. 

MTU’s Witowski leading his heat

Friday brought on another day of strong results for the Central conference with the women starting the day in the 10k skate individual start. Leading the girls was Sarah Goble who had a monster day finishing in 18th. Right behind her was Henriette Semb and Hilde Eide (NMU) in 22 and 23, respectively. In the men’s 15k, Patrick Acton (MTU) led the charge with Kjetil Baanerud (NMU) close behind.

MTU’s Kauzter and Goble chasing the eventual National Champion

Tomorrow, teams get a break from the action, and racing starts back up again on Sunday with the classic mass starts. 

A warm weekend in Houghton, Michigan for the first big match up in the CSSA this season, and it was an excellent preview for U.S. Nationals which is at the beginning of January. It was a highly competitive field on both Saturday and Sunday, with cameos from Stratton Mountain School’s Elite Team members, Ian Torchia and Alayna Sonnesyn and Eastern Colligate skiers who came back to the Midwest for a holiday break.

Women’s A Final Heat on Saturday

Saturday was the exciting skate sprints, with qualifiers in the morning, and heats in the afternoon. Sonnesyn crushed the qualifier, being the fastest skier by 7 seconds. Malin Börjesjö (NMU) was 2nd, and Amanda Kautzer (MTU) was 3rd.  In the heats, Sonnesyn continued her winning streak with a pair of NMU women- Börjesjö and Kateřina Hynčicová on her tail. Kautzer and Sarah Goble (MTU) rounded off the A final for the CCSA, both in their first races of the season after competing in the NCAA Cross-Country Championships earlier this fall. First-year CSS skier Maja Petersson led her team in a strong 15th and Lara Ketterer led GB in 32nd.

CSS’s Gus Schatzlein and NMU’s Matt Bourne battling it out in the finish

NMU’s redshirting Zak Ketterson led teammates Kjetil Bånerud and Tobias Moosman in the sprint qualifier. This is Moosman’s first year at NMU, along with his first year racing in the US, and he was very excited to race hard in Houghton. “Before the sprint race my body was feeling great, and I knew that I was going to be able to push myself to the limit. Going into heats means focusing on many things because you are surrounded by five guys and everything can happen within seconds!”

Aleksi Leino and Adam Witkowski led MTU’s team- an impressive showing from Witkowski, who is coming back from a big injury.

MTU’s Amanda Kautzer leading NMU’s Malin Börjesjö

NMU won the final, with Ketterson, Bånerud, Mathias Rolid, and Moosman taking spots 1-4. Tech’s Reid Goble and Leino rounded out the A final. Tech’s Witkowski was the next CCSA athlete who had a great day in the heats. He wrote, “My goal for the day was to execute a good qualifier and to learn the tactics of how the heats would play out. My body was feeling pretty good throughout the day and I definitely learned some new things about the course so it was both a good day of racing and a productive day of learning.”  Tamer Mische-Richter, Emil Book Bratbak, Ryan Steger led CSS, all doing well in the semifinals and Sam Myers led GB’s team in 14th place and Peter Carlen was the lone St Olaf skier in 58th.

Ian Torchia, Kjetil Bånerud, and Zak Ketterson leading the men’s 10k

On Sunday, rising temperatures were the talk of the stadium. The highs of the day were projected to be around 40 degrees (Fahrenheit), but luckily the early races and dry snow allowed for teams to use hard kick wax (instead of the dreaded klister). The men raced the 2 lap course first at 9:00, and right away, Bånerud, Ketterson, and NMU alumni Torchia pushed the competition. Leading the chase pack was Rolid, Goble, Bratbak, Moosman, Leino, Patrick Acton (MTU), and Xavier Manfield who all rounded out the top 10.

Sonnesyn showed her Midwest racing experience on Sunday, by taking charge of the women’s 10-kilometer race. Börjesjö finished her strong weekend 30 seconds back from Sonnesyn, but 30 seconds ahead of the next CCSA skier, redshirt skier Sophia Mazzoni (MTU). Goble and Hynčicová led the rest of the CCSA’s finishers in the top 10. Hynčicová, who is a sophomore said, “I felt quite tired this whole week, but when I started the [races], I felt that the race season started, and my body felt it too.” Freshmen Emma Stertz and Lara Ketterer were the top finishers for their teams, CSS and GB.

Now with finals done, racers get a week of rest to celebrate the holidays. Teams will return to Houghton for the U.S. National Championships, starting January 2nd. U.S. Nationals not only allows skiers to qualify for World Junior and U23 Championships trips, but it is the first CCSA points race that counts for qualifying for NCAAs.

A busy race weekend across the Midwest proved that the competition between the CCSA teams and individuals will be very close this year. With lows dipping around -17 degrees Fahrenheit in Duluth, the College of Saint Scholastica (CSS) had a strong home race weekend in the chilly opener. In the Upper Peninsula, the more tropical weather (temperatures in the 20s) did not take away from the stiff competition between Northern Michigan University (NMU) and Michigan Technological University (MTU).

Bratbak (1), Schatzlein (2), and Matelich (3) had a CSS podium sweep (CSS Instagram)

CXC Opener – Duluth, MN

CSS opened up the racing season with a big bang, claiming the top three spots in the skate mass start on Saturday. Emil Book Bratbak, CSS’s NCCA qualifier last year, took the lead from the start and won by 12 seconds. “We were really excited to race on our home course here in Duluth, where we’ve done a lot of training so far this year. For my part, Saturday’s race felt pretty good, and I managed to focus on my technique and working very well through important sections of the course” wrote Emil. CSS showed its strength with teammates Gus Schatzlein and Nick Matelich both having phenomenal days, finishing within 2 seconds of each other. Shad Kraftson led a strong Green Bay (GB) squad as the 8th CCSA skier, and Peter Carlen was the lone St Olaf skier racing Saturday.

The CSS men taking charge in Saturday’s Skate Race (Jackie Schneider, Skinnyski)

On the woman’s side, GB’s Lara Ketterer was the first collegiate woman across the line in her debut CCSA race. Because of GB’s final exams, Ketterer said that it was a short race weekend for her, as they only raced on Saturday so they could get home in time for their tests. Regardless, Ketterer had a successful first race in the US. “The race was pretty hard for me because the course was hard with fewer parts to recover. However, it was fun and there were a lot of people who cheered for us”. CSS teammates Emma Stertz, Samantha Benzing, and Maja Petersson took spots 2-4 and Cheresa Bouley led the St Cloud State University team.

Two CSS women racing Saturday (Jackie Schneider, Skinnyski)

On Sunday, the field was much smaller, due to the cold temperature, and Schatzlein followed up his strong Saturday performance by leading the collegiate field in the classic sprint, placing 3rd overall in the final. The young guns led the women’s race with freshmen Mae Barnes and Stertz battling for 1 and 2. “Personally, my mindset was wired to push my limits while focusing on what I can do to get from point A to B the fastest. The cold on Sunday was a battle in itself, but the team atmosphere stayed positive and my focus never faded”, Barnes wrote.

NMU Opener- Ishpeming, MI

Kjetil Bånerud left a strong impact on the field this weekend, taking both wins on Saturday and Sunday. These results were a bit of a surprise for Bånerud, “I didn’t know how fast I would race this first weekend after a little rough fall with a hip injury and a longer period of sickness.”

Goble and Banerud racing on Saturday

Despite that, he dominated the college field by 37 seconds in the skate race Saturday, and almost 50 seconds in the classic race on Sunday. “I am always a little excited to get the season started. What I was most happy about this weekend was that I pushed all the way and was able to stay focused throughout both races.” On Saturday, MTU’s Reid Goble and Patrick Acton went 2 and 3, with Mathias Rolid (NMU) following behind in 4th.

First-year athletes dominated the woman’s side, with the top 6 women racing in their first CCSA race. NMU’s Malin Börjesjö won her first CCSA race on her new home course, “ I have been very nervous because you never really know how your shape is until you lay there in the snow after finishing.” Despite this, Börjesjö finished 8 seconds over MTU’s Henriette Semb, followed by NMU’s Molly Miller, Hilde Eide, and Savanna Fassio took spots 3-5.  Anabel Needman and Oda Hovland rounded off Tech’s top 3.

Anabel Needham starting Saturday’s skate race

On Sunday, Mathias Rolid was second to the strong Baanerud, with Goble, Maurus Grond (NMU), and Action in pursuit rounding off the top 5. Hilde Eide was the fastest around the course in the woman’s race, beating Saturday’s champ, Börjesjöby a second and a half. Close behind was Semb, followed by Tech’s Sophia Mazzoni, Hovland, and NMU’s Miller.

Coming Up…

As the college athletes wrap up their winter semester, they also have the next weekend races hosted by MTU to think about. The CCSA will travel up to Houghton to compete in a skate sprint and classic distance mass start on the new U.S National Championships course. Nationals, the first week of January, will be the first official NCAA qualifying race for the CCSA.

The NCAA National Championships have just wrapped up in Stowe, Vermont. The races, hosted by the University of Vermont, were located at the famous Trapp Family Lodge just outside of Stowe. It was a picturesque week with plenty of sunshine and great weather for all of the athletes. In total, 12 athletes from the CCSA were represented at the championships. NMU qualified a full 6 member team including Kjetil Banerud, Zak Ketterson, Ian Torchia, Julie Ensrud, Abigail Jarzin, and Nicole Schneider. MTU qualified 2 men and 2 women including Patrick Acton, Kristoffer Vollset, Sarah Goble, and Amanda Kautzer. CSS qualified 1 man, Emil Book Bratbak, and UWGB qualified 1 woman, Sadie Peterson.

The first races on Wednesday were the 5 and 10km skate interval starts competitions. The men were the first ones to race on the day and it was clear that the times were going to be very tight from the start. The top 4 skiers were pretty clearly ahead of the rest of the field, with Ian Torchia taking his second NCAA podium finish in 3rd place, less than 1 second away from 2nd place. There was only a 30-second difference between 5th and 25th meaning there was a finisher almost every second after the top 4. Zak Ketterson managed to sneak into the last All-American position in 10th place. Kjetil Banerud finished in 16th, only 10 seconds away from 5th. Kristoffer Vollset, Emil Book Bratbak, and Patrick Acton also finished very close to each other in 31st, 32nd, and 34th. The NCAA skate champion came from the University of Colorado – Boulder, Erik Dengerud.

Shortly afterward the women took to the difficult course to decide the 5km skate NCAA national champion. It was again an extremely tight race with less than 1 second separating the top three women. NMU again had two women earn All-American honor, matching the mark set by the NMU men earlier in the day. Abigail Jarzin finished in 7th, while Nicole Schneider finished in 9th. Sarah Goble finished in 20th, Amanda Kautzer finished in 29th, Julie Ensrud finished in 34th, and Sadie Peterson finished in 38th. The women’s NCAA skate champion came from the University of Utah, Julia Richter.

After a rest day for the Nordic athletes where the alpine competitions took place on Thursday, racing picked up again on Friday with the Classic mass start races. Using the same 5km course that was showcased during the skate races, the women were the first to hit the course skiing three full laps to get to complete the 15km race. The race exploded as soon as the gun went off with skiers putting in big efforts right away and the pack was strung out very quickly. It was a true test of grit to see who could hold on the longest. Abigail Jarzin for the second day in a row was the highest placed CCSA Woman, finishing in 14th. Amanda Kautzer finished shortly behind in 17th, and Sarah Goble reached into the top 20 for the second day in a row in 19th. Nicole Schneider and Julie Ensrud finished back to back in 32nd and 33rd, and Sadie Peterson finished in 38th for the second day in a row. Dartmouth’s Katharine Ogden won her second classic NCAA title in two years, skiing away from the field with one remaining.

For the men’s race coaches had to adapt to the warming conditions to try to find their athletes winning skis. The men’s race was much more tactical than the women’s, but there was still an early breakaway group. An 11 man group formed in the first 2 laps of the race, and it all split apart on the last lap. Ian Torchia was the best placed CCSA skier to come out of the group, finishing in 6th place. An unlucky broken pole for Zak Ketterson with only 2 km to go hurt his chances to fight for the top spot on the podium, but he still managed to hang on for 7th place. Kjetil Banerud held on for an 11th place finish, just 1 spot out of All-American. Kristoffer Vollset had an amazing last race of his collegiate career, finishing in 15th. Emil Book Bratbak moved up through the entire race, finally ending in 28th place. Patrick Acton ended the day of racing in 37th place. The skier that came out victorious on the day was Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier from the University of New Mexico.

The NCAA Championships were the final races of the 2018-2019 ski season. It was a great year for all the athletes and racers from all schools. Montana State University will be hosting the 2019-2020 NCAA National Championships out of Crosscut Ranch in Bozeman, MT.

It was an exciting last weekend of racing in the CCSA at the Central Regional Championships in Houghton, MI. Mother nature threw everything she could must at the athletes and made for an unforgettable weekend. Saturday was a perfect day for the interval start skate races, but things turned interesting on Sunday when the UP snow machine turned on and the winds started to crank up. Nearly 12 inches of snow and wind gusts above 50 mph made for a wild mass start classic race that took more mental strength and perseverance than physical to win the day.

The first race on Saturday was the men’s 10km interval start skate race. This race used the same 5km course that many of the athletes have raced earlier on in the season in December. During the first few kilometers of the race, it was any ones to win with only 20 seconds separating the top 11 men. As the race pushed on, a clear separation was made with Ian Torchia (NMU) taking a 30 second lead after 7km of racing over Patrick Acton (MTU). When everything was said and done, Torchia came home with the victory. Acton faded a little in the latter parts of the second lap and was passed by Xavier Mansfield (NMU). Acton was still able to hang onto third. The College of Saint Scholastica was led by Tamer Mische-Richter in 5th, University of Wisconsin – Green Bay was led by Jake Ajax in 13th, and Saint Olaf was led by Spencer Warejoncas in 32nd.

In the women’s race, it was pretty clear from the start that this was going to be a two women battle yet again to determine the winner of the day. Abigail Jarzin (NMU) and Nicole Schneider (NMU) were only separated by 3 seconds after the first two kilometers of the race, with the Sarah Goble (MTU) being the next competitor a further 10 seconds back. The day ended with Jarzin taking the win, only 5 seconds in front of teammate Schneider. Goble finished strong, keeping the third spot on the podium, 38 seconds behind Jarzin. The University of Wisconsin – Green Bay was led by Sadie Peterson in 5th, College of Saint Scholastica was led by Greta Jenkins in 14th, Saint Olaf was led by Rebecca Walton in 16th, and Saint Cloud State was led by Anna Stockinger in 23rd.

On day two, the women were the first to brave the snowy conditions that Houghton had to offer. The heavy snow and wind did nothing to keep the race from happening and it showed that true mental grit was needed to perform well. The race organizers decided to change from the standard 5km lap to a shorter 3.3 km lap to hopefully keep the track skied in more with the heavy snowfalls. The field stayed in a long single-file line for the first lap and a bit to take advantage of a skied in track. After lap two, things began to string out some with a fairly clear five women lead group. This lead group consisted of two MTU athletes, two CSS athletes, and one NMU athlete. As the race moved into the final stages it was NMU’s Julie Ensrud and MTU’s Amanda Kautzer that would duke it out for the top step on the podium. Kautzer came off victorious, 2.8 seconds in front of Ensrud. Sarah Goble (MTU) would end up staving off Greta Jenkins and Nicole Gilman (CSS) to nab the bronze medal on the day. University of Wisconsin – Green Bay was led by Sadie Peterson in 8th, and Saint Cloud State was led by Anna Stockinger in 19th.

Mother nature did not let up much for the men’s race, which led to another exciting affair. The men had to do six laps of the 3.3 km loop to complete the 20km race. With the conditions being so difficult, nearly the entire field stayed together through the first half of the race. It was not until halfway through that skiers started to push the pace string out the field. Kristoffer Vollset (MTU) took a big lead heading into the 4th lap stretching to nearly 30 seconds at one point. NMU teammates Mathias Rolid and Xavier Mansfield took the charge to try to reel him back in. While the time shrunk towards the end, it was not enough to overtake Vollset who took on the victory. Rolid finished 15 seconds back of Vollset while Mansfield faded back to 5th. It was Saint Scholastica’s Emil Book Bratbak that rounded out the podium, 30 seconds behind Vollset. The University of Wisconsin – Green Bay was led by Shad Kraftson in 16th.

This is the last official race of the CCSA season and the central region qualifiers will be released in the coming days. The athletes that qualify for the NCAA Championships will be competing in Stowe, VT next week on Wednesday (March 6th).

CCSA racing picked back up again at Theodore Wirth in the Twin Cities over the weekend. This was the one local CCSA race that was also a SuperTour event. Being a SuperTour event it brought some of the best senior skiers in the country, which increased the already high level of competition. This made for some exciting racing which included a mass start classic and interval start skate races.

The first race of the weekend was the men’s 20 km classic race. The race used a tough 5 x 3.75km loop that incorporated a lot of small climbs and descents. The first three laps we a very tactical affair with a big 13 men lead group consisting of both collegiate and SuperTour racers. On the fourth lap, it was Zak Ketterson (NMU) and Ben Lustgarten (Craftsbury) that pushed the pace and broke the field. Ketterson Managed to win out the day, besting Lustgarten by 0.9 seconds. NMU showed that they are one of the best teams in the country by taking the next two spots (Mathias Rolid and Kjetil Banerud) after Lustgarten for a 1, 3, 4 finish in the overall SuperTour races. Michigan Tech was led by Reid Goble in 13th overall (5th college), the College of Saint Scholastica was led by Emil Book Bratbak in 22nd overall (7th college), University of Wisconsin – Green Bay was led by Jacob Ajax in 38th overall (16th college), and Saint Olaf College was led by Tyler Radtke in 47th overall (25th college).

The women’s 15km race was slightly less tactical than the men’s event due to the field breaking apart just after the first lap. During the second lap, it went down to a five-woman lead group that included four SuperTour skiers and NMU freshman Abigail Jarzin. On the fourth and final lap the race broke open and Kaitlynn Miller (Craftsbury) crossed the line with the fastest time of the day. Jarzin managed to hang on for a fifth-place finish on the day, which earned her the top spot on the CCSA podium. Nicole Schneider (NMU) was the second collegiate skier (11th overall) and Amanda Kautzer (MTU) was the third collegiate skier (13th overall). University of Wisconsin – Green Bay was led by Sadie Peterson in 24th overall (7th college), College of Saint Scholastica was led by Samantha Benzing in 28th overall (11th college), Saint Olaf College was led by Rose Doda in 32nd overall (15th college), Saint Cloud State University was led by Jamie Herridge in 41st overall (24th college).

On day two of racing, it was the women that were the first to toe the line with a 5 km interval start skate race. It was an exciting day of racing with a large field of both senior and junior women with only 15 seconds separating each athlete. It was one of the strongest days of the season for the NMU women’s team with both Nicole Schneider and Abigail Jarzin landing on the overall SuperTour podium (1st and 3rd respectively). Sarah Goble (MTU) bounced back on day two with a 7th place finish overall (3rd college). University of Wisconsin – Green Bay was led by Sadie Peterson in 21st overall (7th college), College of Saint Scholastica was led by Nicole Gilman in 29th overall (11th college), Saint Olaf College was led by Rebecca Walton in 54th overall (20th college), Saint Cloud State University was led by Jamie Herridge in 61st overall (24th college).

In the men’s race Zak Ketterson proved once again he can compete with some of the best skiers in the country. He was narrowly beaten by Matt Liebsch (Pioneer Midwest) but ended the day as the 2nd place skier. Ian Torchia (NMU) and Kjetil Banerud (NMU) rounded out the CCSA podium in 6th and 8th respectively in the open field. Michigan Tech was led by Patrick Acton in 18th overall (4th college), College of Saint Scholastica was led by Hannes Stenstrom in 29th overall (11th college), University of Wisconsin – Green Bay was led by Quinn Duffy in 44th overall (21st college skier), Saint Olaf College was led by Tyler Radtke in 52nd overall (26th college).

This leaves one last weekend of racing on the schedule before the NCAA Championships take place in Stowe, Vermont. Racers will be back on course this next weekend at Houghton, Michigan to determine who will qualify for the championships.