Men's 10K classic race
By now you know the drill – Freemans go 1-2 in classic race. It has been this way in every classic race the two of them have entered this year. Their dominance is so impressive that it is almost a forgone conclusion. Today it was Kris first followed by Justin 42 seconds back. Kris's classic technique was so quick and powerful that many on the side of the trail were in awe of the way he conquered the hills. Justin also skied very strong, but he had to work hard for the second spot, as NMU's Chris Cook was right behind him. Cook has been skiing well all week, and seems to be getting stronger with each race. He was followed by Dave Chamberlain, Carl Swenson, Andrew Johnson, and Lars Flora.
The race time termperature of 20 degrees along with a mix of sun and light flurries made for excellent hard wax snow conditions.
L-R:Chris Cook, Kris Freeman, Justin Freeman
Justin Freeman had his second second place finish of the week.
Women's 5K Classic
Wendy Wagner (US Ski Team), like Kris Freeman, also posted a dominant win, finishing 26 seconds ahead of second place Canadian Daria Gaiazova and third Norwegian Singrid Aas (University of Alaska Fairbanks). 2002 Olympian Lindsey Weier (NMU/USST) had her best Nationals placing ever, taking the second American spot in fourth place overall. She was followed by yesterday's winner Katja Ivanova (5th) and Aelin Peterson (Alpina Madshus) in 6th. Alison Crocker of Dartmouth College had her second impressive classic race, once again taking 9th.
The next race is the sprints on Thursday which, due to the short distance and exciting format, should give us with a new story line.
