APU’s Scott Patterson and Jessica Yeaton, UAA’s Hailey Swirbul, and the UAF team all skied well in Fairbanks over the weekend in the continent’s first FIS races. Patterson jokes that he plans to purchase a time turner, so that he can “continue to win every single race in the U.S.”
It was a hard decision to leave the Roaring Fork Valley, where Maria Stuber headed the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club nordic team, but the Midwest native is taking the reins at the College of St. Scholastica, and thrilled to build on the program's young-but-strong legacy.
St. Scholastica Head Coach Chad Salmela shares his timeless and Seinfeld-inspired “Death Blow” workout. "What I love about this workout is the raw intensity and guts required while doing it," he writes. "... [It's] primarily for athletes who have raced a bunch but still haven’t seemed to reach into their anaerobic bag of tricks fully."
It was a double delight for hosts Northern Michigan at the CCSA Championships in Ishpeming, Mich. as the Wildcats secured both the men’s and women’s team titles on Sunday. Behind another set of brilliant performances from in-form skiers, Andy Leibner, Martin Banerud and Erik Soderman, the Wildcat men cruised to a 24-point victory over second-place Alaska. Leibner topped the podium in both Saturday’s skate race and Sunday’s mass start classic, while Soderman continued his outstanding freshman campaign with...
A day after a dominant performance in the classic races, Alaska once again were top dogs at U.S. Nationals, though a number of CCSA skiers turned in outstanding performances in the freestyle events at Maine’s Chisholm Ski Club. The Nanooks again swept the association’s top spots, with Raphaela Sieber and Lex Treinen finishing as the top CCSA skiers in the women’s 20K and men’s 30K races, respectively. Green Bay’s Carolyn Freeman and NMU’s Christina Turman...
The CCSA got its competitive season off to an impressive start at the Chisholm Ski Club on Wednesday, as the association’s skiers landed a podium spot, four top-10, and six top-20 finishes in the classic races at U.S. Nationals in Rumford, Maine. In both the men’s 15K and women’s 10K events, the story of the day belong to Alaska. The Nanooks placed four skiers in the top 10 and five in the top 20, landing five of the...
Yet another collegiate ski program is on the chopping block. Due to budget shortfalls in Minnesota, the St. Cloud State University cross-country ski program could be shuttered by the 2011-2012 season. The closure of that program is included in one of three cost-cutting measures being considered by university administrators, who will make a decision by December 6th. “After the last couple of years, when a bunch of schools out west have gone down, it’s not...
The Central Collegiate Ski Association released its coaches and athletes of the year last week. The honors were voted upon by a coach representing each school to reward successes in the 2009-10 ski season. Santiago Ocariz of Wisconsin-Green Bay was the recipient of Male Athlete of the Year, and Northern Michigan’s Laura DeWitt was his counterpart, taking home Female Athlete of the Year. The male coach of the year was Butch Reimer, Ocariz’ coach at...
Fifteen of the Central Collegiate Ski Association’s fastest men and women skied in Thursday’s classic event at the NCAA Championships. The Steamboat Springs, Colorado setup was 5 kilometers for women and 10 for the men. It was the first day of Nordic competition at the championships, and the CCSA skiers were looking to prove themselves against the country’s top collegiate competition. In the women’s race, 3 CCSA skiers finished in the top 15. Although winner Antje...
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo.—Given the length and variability of ski racing, any coach or racer will tell you it is important not to put too much emphasis on a single event. With that said, though, the Central Collegiate Ski Association may have slightly more than usual riding on this week’s NCAA Championships. The events for this year’s championships run from March 10-13 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, with the Nordic events on the 11th and 13th at...
HOUGHTON, Mich — The Northern Michigan Nordic ski teams used dominating performances on the men’s and women’s sides to take home top honors at the NCAA Central Regional Championship on Sunday. The Wildcats were in control after Saturday’s classic race and used Sunday’s 10/15k freestyle to ensure they remained in first. George Cartwright delivered a victory to lead the men, while Christina Gillis claimed top honors for the women. Cartwright’s win was the first in...
HOUGHTON, Mich—Michigan Tech’s Oskar Lund and Northern Michigan’s Laura DeWitt were the individual winners on day 1 of the NCAA’s Central Regional Championship on Saturday. The 5/10 kilometer classic race was held at Michigan Tech’s trails in Houghton, Michigan as part of the CCSA’s final NCAA qualifying weekend. The Northern Michigan women and men were each in first place as a team after the first day of competition. A sweep of the women’s podium put...
The CCSA named its men’s and women’s first and second all-conference teams Wednesday. The All-CCSA teams recognize season-long achievement and were based on points given out in each race. The top 20 finishers received Super Tour Points (points were awarded in each race by a 30-25-21-18-16-15-14… pattern) for each race and the points were added up to get the teams. The top 5 points-getters made the first team, while the next 5 were named to...
ISHPEMING, Mich. — Day two of the CCSA championships brought more excitement and a shuffle in results. The 15/20k freestyle competition took place for the second consecutive day at the Al Quaal Recreation Area in Ishpeming, Michigan. Alaska’s Aurelia Korthauer was an individual winner for the 2nd consecutive day to lead the female Nanooks to a strong team performance. Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Santiago Ocariz continued his dominance in freestyle events by winning the men’s race. The...
ISHPEMING, Mich.—Michigan Tech’s Oskar Lund and Alaska’s Aurelia Korthauer were the individual winners on day 1 of the Central Collegiate Ski Association’s championships. The 5/10 kilometer classic race was held at the Al Quaal Recreation Area in Ishpeming, Michigan. The Northern Michigan women and the Michigan Tech men were the team winners after the first competition. Lund outdistanced the field by 30 seconds in the men’s 10k race, finishing in a time of 26 minutes,...
CABLE, Wis–Michigan Tech’s Henna Riikonen-Purts grabbed her first individual victory of the year, while Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Santiago Ocariz continued his stellar year with another trip to the top of the podium. The 10/15k freestyle event was held as a part of the Central SuperTour in Cable, Wisconsin. Brian Gregg and Rebecca Dussault were the overall winners at Telemark Ski Resort, but a strong field of CCSA skiers was there as a part of the conference’s...
CABLE, Wis–Michigan Tech’s Oskar Lund and Northern Michigan’s Laura DeWitt each grabbed their second individual win of the year in the USSA Central Super Tour race at Telemark Ski Resort in Cable, Wisconsin. The 5/10k classic event was the start of the CCSA’s third qualifying weekend. Northern Michigan was sitting in first place on the men’s and women’s side after the first day of competition. In the men’s race, Oskar Lund triumphed on the 10-kilometer...
MINNEAPOLIS – Michigan Tech’s Oskar Lund and Alaska-Fairbanks’ Aurelia Korthauer were the individual winners in Saturday’s freestyle race. The Central Super Tour event was held at Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the CCSA teams were out in full force as a part of the conference’s second NCAA qualifying weekend. Korthauer’s first place finish was strongly supported by three other UAF skiers in the top 10. She placed 3rd overall on the 5-kilometer course...
Minneapolis, Minnesota – Matt Liebsch and Rebecca Dussault led CXC Team Vertical Limit in a dominating performance this morning as the US SuperTour continued in Minnesota. Liebsch, winner of last year’s American Birkebeiner, posted a convincing win at the head of a trio of CXC skiers. He completed the 10km freestyle race in a time of 22:23, 38 seconds faster than teammate Brain Gregg. Bryan Cook completed the CXC Team Vertical Limit sweep just 4.2...
The Central Collegiate Ski Association is comprised of men’s and women’s teams from eleven schools and is largely based in the Midwest. Of the eleven, six teams are from Minnesota (the College of Saint Benedict, College of Saint Scholastica, Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint John’s University, Saint Olaf College and St. Cloud State University), one from Wisconsin (the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay), three from Michigan (Michigan Tech University and Northern Michigan University), Gogebic Community College and...