From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.
Racers power onto the course at the start of the women’s SuperTour classic sprint final on Saturday in Sun Valley, Idaho. From left to right: Hannah Halvorsen, Veronika Mayerhofer, Becca Rorabaugh, Chelsea Holmes, Caitlin Patterson, and Kaitlynn Miller.
SUN VALLEY, Idaho — The opening day of the second SuperTour on the season brought a welcome change from last weekend: warmer weather. After enduring start delays and colder temperatures in West Yellowstone, Mont., racers enjoyed relative warmth and sunshine while sprinting in an open field at the Trail Creek venue in Sun Valley.
The 1.3-kilometer course set up for the classic sprint was ready to go thanks to the work of many coaches and volunteers throughout the week. Though the course started and finished in a flat stadium, it featured two climbs, a small one out of the start, and a larger one that reached the high point before dropping into the stadium. Both climbs represented an opportunity for the athletes to show off their striding ability.
This was something that the women’s race winner, Becca Rorabaugh of Alaska Pacific University (APU), was able to take full advantage of.
“I just love big striding and I knew that was going to be a sweet spot for me,” she said in a post-race interview. “I was really looking forward to that second hill.”
After placing sixth in the qualifier, Rorabaugh skied to a win in her quarterfinal before being narrowly bested by Kaitlynn Miller of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP) in their semifinal. However, Rorabaugh, 26, was able to carry more energy into the final, where she won in 3:38.46, almost exactly one second ahead of Miller and 1.3 seconds ahead of Caitlin Patterson, also of the CGRP.
“I was slowly getting my motor going throughout the day and it turned out that I was able to last perfectly through the final,” Rorabaugh said. “It was just taking me a while to get going. I felt like I was really on it in time for the last heat, so it just worked out.”
Caitlin Patterson (in green) racing head-to-head with CU’s Christina Rolandsen (l) and Petra Hyncicova (center, in white) in their SuperTour classic-sprint quarterfinal in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Miller, meanwhile, skied strong throughout the day, but was unable to stay with Rorabaugh in the final. The 24-year-old CGRP skier won the qualifier in 3:35.73 before dominating her quarterfinal, winning it by over six seconds.
Her strategy of setting a fast pace from the start worked well in her semifinal, too, as she was able to edge Rorabaugh to the line. While Miller didn’t have quite enough energy in the final to stay ahead of the day’s winner, she had just enough to claim the second spot on the podium.
“[It felt] really good. The conditions are great, our skis were working really well, and it’s just a beautiful day,” Miller said after the final.
Miller’s teammate, Patterson was also pleased with how the day went, both for her and her teammates. It started with Craftsbury biathlete Clare Egan notching a career-best 16th in the IBU World Cup sprint in Östersund, Sweden, and Patterson said their team built upon that. She finished second in the qualifier and kept that speed throughout the rounds, winning her quarterfinal and semifinal before placing third in the final.
The women’s Sun Valley Super Tour 1.3 k classic sprint podium: (from l to r) Junior Hannah Halvorsen in sixth, Chelsea Holmes in fifth, Caitlin Patterson in third, Becca Rorabaugh in first, Kaitlynn Miller in second, and Veronika Mayerhofer in fourth.
“We just went for it, especially Kait. I don’t know if you saw her quarterfinal and semifinal, she just took off with it!” Patterson explained. “I felt like I had to fight a little more, but I think all around, a good day for both of us.”
Interestingly, none of the top three women in Saturday’s sprint placed in the top 10 in the skate sprint a week ago in West Yellowstone. Having another week to acclimate certainly helped the women from lower elevations, but the simple fact that this week’s sprint was classic made a big difference, too. Rorabaugh said she enjoys the striding while Miller feels classic skiing at altitude is just a bit easier than skating at some 5,750 feet above sea level.
The trio hopes to build upon their success in the sprint during Sunday’s 10 k classic. For Rorabaugh, a 10 k might just be the perfect race for where she is at right now.
“I’m looking forward to it because I feel like I have pretty good distance fitness. If it took me a whole day to get going today, odds are a 10 k could go alright,” she said.
As for the second- and third-place finishers, they said they were both feeling confident heading into Sunday.
“Watch out for us,” Patterson said of her team in Sun Valley. “All four, in green, watch out. We will be there.”
In fourth, Veronika Mayerhofer of the University of Utah, who won her quarterfinal and placed third in the semi, finished 3.76 seconds after Rorabaugh and 2.46 seconds off the podium. Just 0.25 seconds back, Chelsea Holmes (APU) placed fifth in the final, 4 seconds after Rorabaugh. Last week in West Yellowstone, Holmes placed fourth in the skate sprint, and last weekend’s sprint runner-up 17-year-old Hannah Halvorsen (Sugar Bowl Academy) reached the final again and placed sixth (+19.19).
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Olivia Ekblad of Montana State University crests the second hill before dropping back into the stadium.
In the junior women’s heats, meanwhile, a pair of Montana State University (MSU) skiers took first and second. Freshman Olivia Ekblad from Winthrop, Wash., won with sophomore Gretchen Burkholder from Steamboat Springs, Colo., following close behind in second. Rounding out the podium in the junior heats was Sun Valley’s own Annika Landis.
These spots were good enough for ninth, 10th and 11th junior women overall, as eight others qualified for the open heats. Halvorsen led those top juniors, finishing sixth in the overall standings. Still, the duo from MSU feels the sprint was a great way to start off their season.
“We have a really good group of girls at MSU to train with so its fun,” Ekblad explained. “Awesome coaches too. We’re definitely going to throw down this year, it’s going to be fun.”
Kyle Bratrud (l) and Veronika Mayerhofer (r) are FasterSkier’s collegiate skiers of the year.
With the 2014/2015 season officially in the rearview, FasterSkier is excited to unveil its annual award winners for this past winter. Votes stem from the FS staff, scattered across the U.S. and Canada, and while not scientific, they are intended to reflect a broader sense of the season in review.
We kicked off the series Monday with awards for Junior Skiers of the Year (SOTY), Katharine Ogden and Sean Doherty. This second set of honors goes to outstanding male and female skiers on the U.S. NCAA collegiate circuit.
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Kyle Bratrud, Northern Michigan University
For a 22-year-old, Kyle Bratrud had a momentous 2015 season.
The Northern Michigan University skier came out swinging at the 2015 U.S. Cross Country Championships, winning the 15 k freestyle individual start by 5o seconds over veteran Kris Freeman. The win and his subsequent bronze in the 30 k classic mass start started Bratrud on a whirlwind European adventure that would take him from competing at the U23 World Championships in Kazakhstan to being the second-youngest member of the American FIS Nordic World Ski Championships team in Sweden.
Kyle Bratrud collapses after his 51-second win in the men’s 15 k freestyle at the 2015 Cross Country Championships in Houghton, Mich.
Entering the season, the Eden Prairie, Minnesota native told FasterSkier that his goals for the year were to qualify for the U23 World Championships and earn a podium at the NCAA Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. After his successful week at U.S. Nationals it was clear that the NMU senior was well on his way to completing his goals. At the U23 World Championships, Bratrud’s best finish was 19th in the 15 k freestyle.
When the USST announced its World Championship team in late January many were surprised and pleased to see Bratrud’s name on the list. According to USST Head Coach Chris Grover, the decision to select Bratrud was an investment in the future.
For Bratrud, his selection was a major step in his career that offered valuable experience in the year before he jumped into professional racing. “This is a gigantic accomplishment for me and not necessarily something that I targeted going into this year. I really think this is a step in the right direction towards accomplishing my goal of making the USST,” he wrote in late January. “I am super stoked to see how the big boys race and hopefully I can contribute to the team in some way! It will be a great step in my ski career.”
At World Championships Bratrud raced the 15 k freestyle individual start and as the third leg of the men’s 4 x 10 k relay. The relay was significant for the 22-year-old as it provided him with international experience that is extremely rare for a collegiate skier.
“They asked me if I wanted to be in it and I said sure. I was flattered,” he said after the relay. “It’s another race on the international stage for me so I was all for it. I knew I was going to get my butt kicked around a little bit out there but that’s how you get better, racing these guys.”
Bratrud returned to the U.S. after what he called an exhausting European tour and arrived in Lake Placid for the NCAA Championships. He raced to seventh in both the 10 k freestyle and the 20 k classic. He was the first American in the mass start.
Bratrud will graduate from Northern Michigan University this spring. He plans to race for the CXC elite team in the 2015/2016 season.
Veronika Mayerhofer, University of Utah
University of Utah’s Natalia Mueller (l) and Veronika Mayerhofer (r) at the 2015 U.S. Distance Nationals 30 k freestyle mass start in Sun Valley, Idaho as part of the year’s SuperTour Finals . (Photo: flyingpointroad)
It’s clear that Veronika Mayerhofer is an unassuming and good-natured person. If you meet her in a ski race, however, watch out – the University of Utah skier is always a threat and has the experience to back it up. Her achievements aren’t surprising, as the 22-year-old has competed for the Austrian National Team and raced at the 2013 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships and the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
In her first year as a Ute Mayhofer rose to the top a strong field of international and domestic collegiate women. She ended the regular season ranked second in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) and earned the year’s Women’s Nordic MVP award for the region. She was the only skier to finish in the top five of all regular season races.
At the NCAA Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. the Austrian won the 5 k freestyle individual start by a large 13.2 seconds and finished second in a sprint finish at the end of the 15 k classic mass start.
“It’s my first year of college racing and I was so happy that I could go to the NCAAs,” Mayerhofer said after her NCAA 5 k win. “I really enjoyed it so much because it is so much for the team and not just individual racing, because cross country skiing is so much on your own. It’s maybe less pressure and everyone is so happy for you.”
Mayerhofer’s impressive skiing led the University of Utah women – including Sloan Storey and Anna-lena Heynen – to earn the most team points in both of the NCAA women’s nordic races. Their strong performances contributed to a third-place finish for the Utes.
The Austrian’s season didn’t end there. She competed at the 2015 U.S. SuperTour Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho, skiing amongst the best American skiers throughout the entire week. Her strongest performance was perhaps in the mixed team relay where she brought her team from a far seventh to first. She posted the fastest third leg and overcame a charging and motivated Chelsea Holmes (APU) in the process.
In addition to FasterSkier’s Colliegiate Skier of the Year Award, the 22-year-old was also named the United States Collegiate Ski Association’s skier of the year. Mayehofer will return as a sophomore to the University of Utah in the upcoming season.
Honorable Mentions:
Patrick Caldwell, Dartmouth College
Caldwell also had a breakthrough season that rivaled Bratrud’s. The Vermont native raced to third in the 15 k freestyle at U.S. Nationals which was enough to earn him a spot on the U23 World Championships team. In Kazakhstan Caldwell finished 15th in the 15 k freestyle and 20th in the 30 k skiathlon. Throughout regular the season, Caldwell won all but one of the Eastern Collegiate Ski Association races at which he was present. At the NCAA Skiing Championships, Caldwell won the 10 k freestyle individual start to cap a largely dominant season. He finished 10th in the 20 k classic mass start.
Emilie Cedervaern, University of New Mexico
Cedervaern finished the 2015 season as the RMISA’s top-ranked woman. Over the course of the regular season the Lobo earned seven podiums, four of which were wins. She continued her dominance into NCAA’s where she placed third in the 5 k freestyle and won the 15 k classic in a sprint finish over Mayerhoffer.
The start of the men’s U.S. National Championships 50 k freestyle mass start at the 2015 SuperTour Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho. (Photo: flyingpointroad)
SUN VALLEY, Idaho — Sun, warm weather and abundant smiles welcomed the final day of competition at 2015 SuperTour Finals, which featured the U.S. Distance Nationals 30- and 50-kilometer freestyle mass starts.
The men’s 50 k took place on icy and fast snow that made it difficult for skiers to find traction as they skated around the 9-lap course. The 62 starters of the race remained relatively close throughout the first laps, but as the kilometers continued a pack of 14 skiers gained nearly a minute on the field.
The pack was often led by University of Colorado’s Rune Malo Ødegård while other top skiers such as SSCV’s Noah Hoffman and Tad Eliot, Canadian National Team’s Ivan Babikov and Graeme Killick, Alaska Pacific University’s Erik Bjornsen, New Mexico’s Aku Nikander and Brian Gregg shuffled in the mix as well.
Just before the final two laps, Babikov switched his right and left skis to take advantage of intact, smoother edges for further stability on the icy downhills. Regardless of whether the ski switch helped, the Canadian demonstrated his superiority in the remaining 10 kilometers.
On the eighth lap, Babikov sped up one of the 5 k course’s early hills, leaving the remainder of the leading men behind. He held the advantage until the finish, where he crossed in first with a time of 1:57:06.2. Behind him, a four-man fight for second was brewing as Ødegård, Hoffman, Killick, and Bjornsen drew closer towards the finish. The skiers entered the last meters together, but Ødegård used a strong final kick to claim silver, 51.9 seconds from Babikov. Hoffman crossed the line in a close third, 52.4 seconds from the win.
Bjornsen (+52.8) was fourth, while Killick (+54.5) took fifth.
Canada’s Ivan Babikov celebrates his win in Thursday’s 50 k freestyle mass start at the 2015 SuperTour Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho. (Photo: flyingpointroad)
After his finish Babikov, who is fresh off a week of racing at Canadian Ski Nationals, said that he expected the competition to respond to his game-changing move, but soon realized they were nowhere in sight. “The altitude actually works well for me. I pushed a bit with two laps to go and I was surprised I dropped the guys,” he explained.
Babikov’s strategy for the 50 k was to stay at the front of the pack to avoid any mishaps on what he described as “dangerous” conditions.
“To be honest, even at the end, the track was poorly prepared. The downhills were super dangerous and people were all over the place,” he said. “I just tried to stay ahead, not to get in a crash and not to get into a pile up. Then I wanted to go faster in the last laps and that’s what happened.”
Babikov was pleased with his win, especially given his history with U.S. domestic racing. Babikov was once a member of the Subaru Factory team and a regular at SuperTour and U.S. Championships events.
“This is really important for me,” Babikov said of his win. “ U.S. Nationals, I’ve done it so many times, and doing all the SuperTours. I love coming here, all the people are so friendly. Graeme [Killick] was really surprised because all the coaches were offering help, and everyone was really friendly.”
After his second place finish Ødegård said that since the 50 k was the last race of the season he entered with nothing to lose. Like Babikov, the University of Colorado skier worked to stay at the front to control the speed and avoid crashes on the treacherous downhills. “I felt really good in the warm up so I just felt like I should be offensive today and stay in front and control it, especially the downhills,” he said.
As the race became a four-way fight for second, Ødegård said that he was focused on conserving energy for the final meters instead of chasing Babikov.
“When he got the gap I thought it was not that smart for me to chase that down,” he said of Babikov’s move. “I would die and I probably won’t even be able to take second, so it was better to focus on second place today.”
The senior recently finished his college skiing career with a pair of third-place finishes at the 2015 NCAA Championships in Lake Placid earlier this month. He plans to make the jump into professional skiing within the next year and hopes that Thursday’s performance will catch the eyes of teams in his home country.
“It means a lot,” the Norwegian said. “It’s really good skiers around me today, World Cup skiers, and you know they are top performers in 50 kilometers. I hope people back home can notice that I went fast today and that could help me get in some team for next year.”
Colorado’s Rune Malo Ødegård celebrates his second place finish over Noah Hoffman (r) and Erik Bjornsen (l) in the U.S. National Championships 50 k freestyle mass start at the 2015 SuperTour Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho . (Photo: flyingpointroad)
Hoffman placed third overall and was crowned U.S. National Champion in the 50 k as the first American finisher. Hoffman, who suffered a fractured leg in November and returned to racing in February, said that he was happy to end the season on a high note.
“It’s a good way to end a challenging season,” Hoffman said. “I’m happy with the way I skied today especially given the conditions. It was so hard to stand out there, especially on that hill. It was so icy in places.”
Before the race, Hoffman said he was discouraged from a week of mediocre racing at the SuperTour Finals. In the first laps of the race he felt like the 50 k was headed in a similar direction, but he recovered as the race progressed.
“I wanted to feel it out,” Hoffman said of his strategy. “It’s been such a rough week and not an encouraging two months of racing. To be honest, I was really hurting and I thought it was going to be a really rough day, but then I felt better as the race went on and the conditions softened.”
Hoffman said he was proud of his finishing sprint, which is not something the distance skier is known for; “I’m happy with that finishing sprint. Not that long ago I would have gotten last out of the group,” he said. “Bjornsen is a great sprinter so it’s a little team battle there. It’s fun for me to come out on top.”
Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/Madshus) leads the start of the women’s National Championships 30 k freestyle mass start at the 2015 SuperTour Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Gregg Skis Away with 30 k Victory
The women’s 30 k welcomed vastly diverse conditions as the sun and warm weather transformed the icy course into a wet, speed-sucking loop. From the start of the race USST/Burke’s Liz Stephen took an early lead on the first uphill. By the top it was just Stephen and Team Gregg/Madshus’ Caitlin Gregg with he rest of the field several seconds behind. Originally suggesting to work together, Gregg took the lead on the downhill but at the bottom of the course her superior skis gave her a large lead over Stephen.
Over the course of the 30 k Gregg increased her lead and crossed the finish line in first with a time of 1:42:46.2. Stephen maintained her second-place standing throughout the race and crossed the line 2:40.8 behind Gregg.
The fight for third proved more competitive, with four skiers – APU’s Sadie Bjornsen, Rosie Brennan, Chelsea Holmes, and Utah’s Veronika Mayerhofer – vying for the final spot on the podium. The three APU skiers eventually dropped Mayerhofer and entered the finish together. In the end it was Sadie Bjornsen who claimed bronze, 3:54.0 behind Gregg.
Brennan (+4:01.8) and Holmes (+4:05.7) finished fourth and fifth.
Gregg’s victory was reminiscent of the 2014 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Midway, Utah where she skied to a massive victory in the 20 k freestyle mass start. Unlike 2014, many strong skiers from the USST like Stephen and Bjornsen were present in Thursday’s 30 k, making the blowout win even more impressive.
Although it was apparent that Gregg was in top-shape, she was unsure if she would participate in the 30 k prior to its start. Earlier this month, Gregg suffered a concussion after being hit with a feed in the Homenkollen 30 k. She explained that she hadn’t raced or trained significantly since the incident.
“To be quite honest I woke up this morning and I sat a little bit and thought I wasn’t going to race,” she said in a post-race interview. She explained that after watching the men’s 50 k she began to change her mind especially as the snow became slower.
Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/Madshus) hugs her husband, Brian, after her large win in the 30 k freestyle mass start at the 2015 SuperTour Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho.
As the conditions began to change more rapidly than expected, Gregg realized she had skis that would match the wet conditions – a pair of new Madshus that she hoped to use in the Holmenkollen 30 k that were ultimately never skied on due to the lack of a ski switch. As the race began, it was clear the skis were the answer to the warm Idaho afternoon.
Gregg said that she had originally wanted to ski at the front and slow the pace. However, after a couple hard pushes from the start she realized it was just her and Stephen ahead of the pack.
“Liz skied an amazing first climb and I was doing everything I could do to hang on,” Gregg said of the first part of the course. “I could tell we had a lead and I said, ‘let’s work together, I’ll lead on the downhill because I’ll be a better draft.’ I started going on the downhill and I turned around and she just looked at me and couldn’t keep up.”
Once alone in the front Gregg said her strategy was to ski the uphills efficiently and the downhills aggressively – knowing that was where she could make up the most time. Even with her large lead, Gregg said that there were times when she doubted her ability to maintain the distance.
“There were moments out there where I felt like ‘oh man maybe I only have 10 k in me,’ but after you get positive feedback you just start to build on that,” she said.
Thursday’s win marks the end of a historic season for Gregg where she earned a bronze medal in the 10 k freestyle at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun, Sweden in February. Originally, Gregg wasn’t sure if she would continue to pursue international racing in the upcoming season, but with her continued successes she plans to try and prove herself on the World Cup circuit once again.
“I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep racing, but it seems kind of silly to stop now,” she explained. “I feel great and we are really fired up about the rest of our careers going forward. I know what I need to work on and where I’m at. I have a lot more confidence after this year.”
The start of the women’s 30 k freestyle mass start at the 2015 SuperTour Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho. (Photo: flyingpointroad)
In second, Stephen said the 30 k was the hardest race she’s ever completed and was happy to end the season knowing that she earned a break. “I’m really psyched to put an end to the season. It’s been awesome and I’m ready for a break… and to find a beach,” she explained after her finish.
Stephen skied the majority of the race alone and said that she played some “little games” to keep her mind from the slowing and wet conditions. Whenever she hit the shade she would work as hard as possible until she reached the slow snow in the sun.
“Dropping out definitely goes through your head,” Stephen said with a laugh, after being asked what was on the Burke Mountain Academy skier’s mind throughout the lonely 30 k. “You just ski it in and keep fighting. I was focused on not having the pack behind me catch me.”
As Stephen crossed the finish line she collapsed from exhaustion and burst into tears. “Sadie and I have been calling this the trail of tears,” Stephen explained of the finish. “The last five weeks we’ve done three 30 kilometers. Today the trail was definitely a teary one. I was just so happy to be done and have my team around me.”
Although Stephen is focused on getting as much rest as possible in the coming weeks, she said that her mind is already going to next season.
“We’ve had a great season as a team and we’ve all had highlights,” she said. “Even though I’m so exhausted, I am looking forward to making some changes and starting the training up again.”
Taking the final podium position, Bjornsen was happy to ski the race with two APU teammates. She explained that the three were able to take advantage of eachother’s strengths to ski the long race in the most efficient way possible. “It also made for some more smiles than we would have had in a 30 k,” she added.
“It’s a great way to end the season with my teammates,” Bjornsen said of the final race of the year. “I’m really glad we had spring series because I finished the World Cup wanting more. I never felt like I found that shape and had some unlucky things at the end. It was fun to come here and go into the training season with some confidence and believe in my shape.”
SuperTour Final Rankings
With the culmination of the 2015 SuperTour, Brennan and Kris Freeman (Freebird) were named the overall leaders. The two will automatically earn starting rights on the World Cup this coming fall.
Holmes claimed the distance title, while Bridger Ski Foundation’s Jennie Bender won the women’s sprint rankings. For the men, Freeman was the top-ranked distance skier while bend Endurance Academy’s Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess earned the sprint title.
Brennan and Freeman also won the titles of U.S. Grand Champion after earning the most points combined from Thursday’s races and the week of racing in Houghton, Mich. in January at the 2015 U.S. Cross Country Championships.
The final award of the season, the National Nordic Foundation Cup, was given to APU for its domination on the domestic circuit in the 2015 season.
Fredrik Schwencke (9) of NMU celebrates his win in the 2015 NCAA 20 k classic mass start with teammate Kyle Bratrud.
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – The second day of nordic racing at the 2015 NCAA Championships was exciting to say the least, with both the 15 and 20 kilometer classic mass starts coming down to a sprint finish. In the women’s race a fight between two skiers resulted in a new NCAA champion, while the men’s race saw a controversial 100-meter sprint between four competitors.
Ahead of the final sprint’s mayhem, Northern Michigan’s Fredrik Schwencke crossed the finish line with a time 56:12.3 to earn his first national title. He was followed by the University of Colorado’s Mads Ek Strøm and Rune Malo Ødegård who finished 0.6 seconds and 6.9 seconds behind the winner respectively.
In fourth was New Mexico’s Aku Nikander (+11.4), while Utah’s Niklas Persson (+21.2) ended his day in fifth.
The 20 k began with a blistering pace as the Colorado skiers led the group of 40 men through the hilly 5 k Olympic course that features almost 600 feet of elevation gain per lap. As the pack progressed through the four-loop race its size dwindled and by the first kilometer of the final lap there were four remaining skiers in the lead pack – Schwencke, Strøm, Ødegård, and Nikander. The New Mexico skier led for much of the final lap until the final downhill where all four skiers jockeyed for the lead.
They rounded the corner into the final 100 meters with Scwencke in first and Strøm in second. Behind them, Ødegård and Nikander skied in the farthest left-hand lane, with the Colorado skier in the tracks and the New Mexico skier just outside the tracks to Ødegård’s left.
Aku Nikander of NMU leads Rune Malo Ødegård of CU and Fredrik Schwencke of NMU in the final lap of the 2015 NCAA 20 k classic mass start.
All four skiers were in the hunt for gold until Ødegård and Nikander suddenly crashed. While the Colorado skier said it was unclear why he fell, video footage later revealed that Ødegård had planted his pole on Nikander’s ski and lost balance. He fell to the left taking Nikander with him.
By the time the two got up they were far from the win, as Schwencke and Strøm crossed the line in first and second. Ødegård was the first to recover from the crash and nabbed the final podium position. Race officials said that there was no disqualification due to the nature of the crash and the lack of obstruction by either skier.
Ahead of the messy fight for third, Schwencke celebrated his win amongst the many Northern Michigan teammates and coaches who came swarming into the finish pen. At one point the first-time NCAA Champion was hoisted upon the shoulders of a coach to the cheers of the crowd.
After the jubilation of the finish, Schwencke said that he didn’t expect to be on top of the classic podium due to his wellbeing the previous day. The Norwegian from Oslo said he didn’t feel well and had trouble sleeping. Despite his misgivings, Schwencke explained that he kept faith in his skiing throughout each of the four laps in the 20 k.
“I know that I am better in classic so I was just kind of hoping for the best. I just tried to ski smart and save as much energy as possible,” he said. “Then after a while, one by one they dropped off and we were four guys in the very end there and I just gave it my all.”
Due to the falling snow throughout much of the race, the Northern Michigan skier said that his plan was to stick behind the leaders and make a move in the final meters. “I sort of wanted to be third or fourth position because it was snowing so it was a bit slower to be leading so I sort of wanted to be a bit back there and be ready to attack,” he said. “Then they went for it and I felt good so I just tried the best I could to be first in the last turn. The plan worked out very well.”
Schwencke led the Northern Michigan Wildcats to earn the most team points in the 20 k, as teammate Kyle Bratrud was the first American in seventh and Erik Søderman placed 11th. The Norwegian attributed much of his success to his teammates and said that their collective performances were especially pleasing after a freestyle race that was below their expectations.
“We have a really strong team and we really wanted to do well. Wednesday wasn’t up to our potential so we really wanted to go for it today and do well and prove that we should be up there,” he said.
Bratrud, who recently returned from the 2015 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun, Sweden echoed Schwencke’s sentiments and said that he was happy to be the first American across the line. At the 2014 NCAA Championships, Bratrud was also the first American in the 10 k classic and finished sixth.
“Freddy [Schwencke] and I, we are rooming together and both of us woke up and felt really bad this morning. He has been sick, and after the skate race I was pretty much done with the season,” he said. ” I am happy with the day, I didn’t think I was going to finish in the top 30 today so to finish seventh is pretty sweet.”
“Now the three NMU guys here have all won a national championship at some point so it is a pretty sweet team to be on,” he added. Søderman won the 10 k freestyle at the 2012 NCAA Championships, while Bratrud won a national title in the 15 k freestyle at the 2015 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Houghton, Mich. earlier this year.
In second, Strøm received a written warning after the Colorado skier took more than one skate before entering the tracks in the final 100 meters. Officials said that they chose not disqualify Strøm because they believed he gained no clear advantage from the technique violation. Before he received the written warning, Strøm explained that the extra skate was due to the layout of the tracks into the finish.
Colorado’s Rune Malo Ødegård leads teammate Mads Ek Strøm in the first lap of the 20 k classic mass start at the 2015 NCAA Championships.
Strøm, who set the race’s pace for much of the fist half of the 20 k, said after the race that he was pleased with second place, especially after finishing fourth in Wednesday’s 10 k freestyle – a race he hoped to win. Strøm also added that he was dealing with a sore throat and had been on antibiotics for several days.
“The race overall was really good and I think it was a high-level race, especially the four in front there. There were a lot of good skiers that couldn’t keep up today,” he said. “Of course I wanted to win but second is not bad, especially with everyone crashing in the end. I could have been fourth.”
After his third place finish, Ødegård said that he enjoyed the majority of the race and was glad that the pace was challenging from the start. Like Schwencke, the Colorado skier avoided the lead to save energy given the falling snow, and by the time he reached the final turn Ødegård believed he was in good position to take the win.
“I think I had a really good turn into the sprint, and I gained a spot or two in the finish,” he said about his standing before the crash. “I don’t know what happened. Stuff happens in a sprint and when there’s four people coming in and two meters apart, a lot can happen.”
The Norwegian has won the last two NCAA Championships classic races, and is the only NCAA male in history to win back-to-back classic titles. His third place finish is his second of the 2015 Championships. While Ødegard was disappointed to miss a third Championship, he said that Schwencke and Strøm deserved to finish ahead of him.
“I think the best skiers manage not getting into trouble like that, so today I got into trouble so maybe I wasn’t the best skier,” he said.
As a senior, the 20 k was Ødegård’s last race as a collegiate skier. While he may be done racing for the Buffs, the Norwegian explained he plans to race professionally next year. “I had a great career at CU and I really enjoyed all four years of it,” he said. “Right now I really wanted that win today so I’m a little disappointed with that but I guess to get two third places at NCAAs is good. It shows that I’m consistent and up there. I’m going to ski professionally next year and see if I can do better.”
New Mexico’s Emilie Cedervaern celebrates her win in Friday’s 15 k classic mass start at the 2015 NCAA Championships in Lake Placid.
Cedervaern Out-Sprints Mayerhofer For 15 k Victory
The women’s 15 k classic mass start also featured a sprint finish, but instead it featured two skiers – New Mexico’s Emilie Cedervaern and Utah’s Veronika Mayerhofer. The two began the race at the front of the lead pack, which eventually whittled down to three skiers as Denver’s Sylvia Nordskar entered the fray.
Nordskar lost contact with the Cedervaern and Mayerhofer in the third and final lap as the New Mexico and Utah skiers battled for the lead. Each tried to make a move on the course’s many hills to no avail, util Cedervaern crashed on the last major downhill of the course. The fall gave Mayerhofer a roughly 20 meter advantage as she entered the stadium, but Cedervaern eventually caught the Utah skier and strode into the final meters to take the win.
The Lobo finished with a time of 47:40.3 and bested Mayerhofer by 1.5 seconds. Nordskar took the final podium spot, 1:11.0 behind the victor. The top three women also finished on the podium in Wednesday’s 10 k freestyle, with Mayerhofer taking the win over Nordskar and Cedervaern.
Rounding out the top five were Colorado’s Maja Slobakken (+1:15.2) and Utah’s Sloan Storey (+1:15.7).
Cedervaern said that she believed the win was out of reach immediately after her crash. As she made gains on Mayerhofer, however, she began to realize victory was possible.
“I fell on the last corner, so I was like ‘oh shoot’ because I felt so good and was like ‘why did I mess this up,’” she said. “But then I was very strong in the double poling so I felt like I was catching her all the time. On the last turn when I was on her back I thought that I should go for it.”
New Mexico’s Emilie Cedervaern leads Utah’s Veronika Mayerhofer in the first kilometers of Friday’s 15 k classic mass start at the 2015 NCAA Championships in Lake Placid.
The win marks Cedervaern’s first NCAA title and second podium at her first Championships. The New Mexico junior said she believed it was possible to win Friday’s race due her successful season on the RMISA circuit. She entered the 2015 NCAA Championships as the top ranked skier from the region.
“It was so close on Wednesday and we have been close the last weeks of the season too, so I thought it was possible, but you never know,” she said. “It is so hard with classic, you have to have good skis and a good day and everything, but I definitely thought that it was possible to do it.”
In second, Mayhoffer said that she was pleased with her placement despite being out-sprinted in the final meters. The Ute explained that she experienced breathing problems throughout race, which affected her ability to find the energy needed to stave off Cedervaern’s advance.
“Today I had some breathing problems. I had that last year but this time was the first time I had hard time for breathing, so I didn’t have any energy left for [the finish],” she said. “I just tried my best but [Cedervaern] was definitely stronger today. She was leading more and she was stronger so it’s good that she won.”
The Austrian said that she didn’t expect to have such a successful NCAA Championships in her first year of collegiate racing due to the challenges of balancing school and skiing. She explained that the support of the Utah team was essential to her and her teammates’ success. With Storey’s fifth place finish and Ane Blomseth’s 10th, the Utah women earned the most points in Friday’s 15 k.
“Everybody supports each other, and the coaches too do an awesome job. They do everything they can, not just great skis but they try to make everything as easy for us as possible,” she said. “The team spirit is one of the important things because we spend time skiing but also free time most of the time together so that’s the most important advantage for the Utes I think and I really enjoy that.”
Over a minute behind the fight for first, Nordskar earned her second podium of the week with her third place finish in the 15 k. The Norwegian dealt will illness for much of the 2015 season and given the circumstances, Nordskar was pleased to be in the fight for a top position. Although she struggled with kick and energy the last lap of the course, Nordsakr said the prospect of team points motivated her to maintain third position as Slobakken and Storey attempted to catch her.
“Today was a very tough day, it was really just getting through because my body is not a 100 percent ready and healthy after this long illness period,” she said. “But I am very satisfied that I got the podium and I got to hold the other girls behind me. It was really important to get these points for the total.”
Nordskar, a sophomore, earned both second and third in the 2014 Championships – a feat she repeated in 2015. “I got second and third place last year so I kind of wanted to get the first place, but when you are not 100 percent that is not possible. You have to be ready and in good shape to win NCAAs,” she said.
“I have two more years so four more chances,” she added with a smile.
After the third day of competition, Colorado leads the 2015 NCAA Championships standings with 288 points. Utah is in second and only seven points behind while New Mexico trails by 61 points.
The men’s 10 k freestyle interval start podium at the 2015 NCAA Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. Taking the top three spots were Dartmouth’s Patrick Caldwell, Denver’s Moritz Madlener (not pictured), and Colorado’s Rune Malo Ødegård.
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Excitement was high in upstate New York as the 2015 NCAA Skiing Championships kicked off in Lake Placid with the men’s 10 kilometer and women’s 5 k freestyle interval starts. Dartmouth’s Patrick Caldwell claimed his first national title, while the University of Utah’s Veronika Mayerhofer led a western sweep in the women’s race.
While Lake Placid has faced a colder-than-average winter, Wednesday welcomed temperatures in the 40s and occasional sun. Snow was hard packed for the men’s race, and conditions were incredibly fast despite the difficulty of the course.
Caldwell finished the 10 k with a time of 25:09.1. The University of Denver’s Moritz Madlener placed second, just 2.1 seconds off the Big Green skier’s winning time. The Univeristy of Colorado’s Rune Malo Ødegård finished third, 26 seconds behind.
Fellow Buff, Mads Ek Støm (+29.8) took fourth, as Montana State University’s Forrest Mahlen (+1:00.7) finished fifth.
Dartmouth’s Paddy Caldwell hugs Vermont’s Rogan Brown at the finish of the 10 k freestyle at the 2015 NCAA Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y.
Starting in bib 40, Caldwell was the last skier to begin the two-lap race on the challenging Women’s Cross Country Olympic 5 k course at the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Nordic Center. Given the conditions, the Dartmouth sophomore said he entered the race planning to begin fast and maintain high speed until the finish line.
“With the fast conditions I just wanted to go as hard as I could. I tried to get a fast pace from the start and hold it,” he said in a post-race interview.
Caldwell notched the fastest time at the halfway mark, 8 seconds ahead of Madlener. As the Big Green’s skier traversed the second lap his lead over Madlener gradually decreased – at one point it reached 10 seconds but eventually whittled down to 2 seconds. Cakdwell said that he was fading fast by the last kilometers. “The wheels were coming off at the end but I was able to hold it just long enough,” Caldwell said in an interview.
After his victory, Caldwell said that the 10 k freestyle was a target of his in the 2015 season. “I was definitely shooting for this race,” he said. “This is one of my favorite events. I definitely wanted to have a good one today.”
Caldwell is also a member of the U.S. Ski Team D-Team. Given his position between collegiate and national team skiing, the 20-year-old faced a decision – focus solely on skiing or continue racing for Dartmouth. Caldwell chose to spend the winter at school and said that his focus of the season has been to have strong individual and team performances in Lake Placid.
Moritz Madlener of The University of Denver skied to second in the 10 k freestyle at the 2015 NCAA Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y.
In second place, Denver sophomore Madlener earned his best finish at a NCAA Championships. Last year the German skier placed fifth in the 10 k classic individual start and said his goal was to top the result in either race in Lake Placid. Although he hoped to place better than fifth, Madlener never expected to land on the freestyle podium. The Pioneer said that he was surprised by his second place finish because he is traditionally performs better in the classic technique and didn’t feel strong in the days prior to Wednesday’s race.
Although Madlener was one of the highest ranked skiers he started his race in bib 1, a position that he said had benefits and a drawbacks. “In some ways it’s a disadvantage because you don’t know what the other guys are doing, but I think I had better conditions. I didn’t get information about the others and I think that was good too because you start thinking during the race what the others are doing,” he said.
Madlener has played second fiddle to the dominating Colorado duo of Ødegård and Strøm for the entirety of the western collegiate season. He said it felt good to finish higher than third, especially at the year’s most important races. “There’s always been two Norwegian guys in our region who got third and fourth today. They always tease me and tell me it’s my favorite spot to be third, so I thought today I’m going to show them that I like the second spot too,” he said with a smile.
Ødegård, a senior at CU and two-time NCAA champion, said that the 10 k was one of the best freestyle races of his career. He explained that he paced his race to start slow and finish strong.
“I felt like I had a really strong race, it’s probably one of the best skate races I’ve ever done,” the Norwegian said. “I felt like started smart and I skied faster and faster throughout. I couldn’t believe I was behind because I had a super, super strong race.”
One of the later starters, Ødegård explained he spent much of the race chasing Madlener’s time, which he was ultimately unable to match. He said was impressed with Caldwell’s finish, especially given the slowing conditions that the last starters faced.
“I lost a lot from the top and the end of the last lap. Probably conditions were slowing a bit down there in the last lap but you saw by Caldwell that it was possible to beat it. I just wasn’t strong enough,” he said, adding that he was looking forward to Friday’s classic mass start. Ødegård won the 2013 and 2014 classic races at the NCAA Championships.
The women’s podium in 5 k freestyle at the 2015 NCAA Championships in Lake Placid. Utah’s Veronika Mayerhofer took the win, while Denver’s Sylvia Nordskar placed second and Emilie Cedervaer claimed third.
Mayerhofer Victorious in 5 k
In the women’s 5 k freestyle the University of Utah’s Veronika Mayerhofer skied to a convincing win with a time of 14:21.4. She bested Denver’s Sylvia Thorson Nordskar by 13.2 seconds. Emilie Cedervaern of the University of New Mexico raced to third, 15.8 seconds back from the victor.
The first American skier, Montana State’s Cambria McDermott (+15.9), finished fourth and 0.1 seconds from third. In fifth was Utah’s Sloan Storey (+22.7).
The women began their race two hours after the men to slightly warmer temperatures and softer snow. Despite the change, the course remained fast and intact for all 40 starters. The western women swept the top 11 to dominate the 5 k. The eastern skiers originally hoped to capitalize on a home course, but their best finish on the day came from Mary Kate Cirelli in 12th. The central regions best finisher was Jordyn Ross in 13th.
Mayerhofer, a freshman, entered Wednesday with low expectations. She had a cold in the days prior to the race and was feeling flat in training. At the start of the race Mayerhofer said her race felt slow. Everything changed after a coach told her she had a one second lead over Nordskar in the first kilometers. According to the Austrian, the news of the lead motivated Mayerhofer to fight for the win and reach the next level of exertion.
The Ute said that she had no particular strategy while fighting on the challenging course that featured several kilometers of climbing. “In a 5 k you have to go as fast as you can,” she said. “Through the first kilometer you have to not kill yourself because it’s a tough course. I think it’s one of the toughest. We are very used to high elevation so you never know how you’re going to feel.”
Veronika Mayerhofer en route to a win in the 5 k freestyle at the 2015 NCAA Championships in Lake Placid.
Mayerhofer said that she enjoys the collegiate circuit because of its focus on the team rather than the individual. With her teammate, Storey also in the top five, Mayerhofer said she was happy to see the team’s training be rewarded at the end of the season.
“It’s my first year of college racing and I was so happy that I could go to the NCAAs,” she said. “I really enjoyed it so much because it is so much for the team and not just individual racing, because cross country skiing is so much on your own. It’s maybe less pressure and everyone is so happy for you.”
Nordskar entered Wednesday’s race with little training or racing logged since the start of the new year, as she sat out much of the season due to illness. Her last race before the Championships was at the Colorado Invite in late January. Although she complained of breathing troubles, Nordskar said she was happy to race again after the draining illness. “I’ve been sick the whole last month and haven’t been able to train,” she said. “That has been difficult but I think I’ve done a good job to comeback and now race.”
Like her DU male counterpart, Nordskar was also the first starter and set the time to beat early on in the race. She said that while the course was challenging, she enjoyed racing at the Olympic venue.
“It was a very hard race but I really liked the course. It’s some brutal hills,” she said. “I really pushed myself today. It was fun and I’m satisfied with my race today even though I couldn’t get to the very top, which was my goal.”
Cambria McDermott, fourth place and top American finisher in the 2015 NCAA 5 k, high fives Montana State University Head Coach Kristina Trygstad-Saari.
In third was Cedervaern, a New Mexico Junior from Falun, Sweden. The trip to Lake Placid was the Swede’s first NCAA Championships.
“That was good. I was very tired after 2.5 k so I just tried to hammer all the way in,” she said of her race. “5 k is too short to think and I was just trying to hammer the whole way.”
McDermott, a senior at Montana State, said her achievement as the 5 k’s first American was especially satisfying because she was able to share it with her friends and family in attendance. “I’m really excited. It was an awesome course. It was a lot of climbing but I had fast skis and that made it pretty quick,” she said. “I was so happy that my family here to cheer me on and all my friends from home.”
NCAA Standings
With the first races of the 2015 NCAA Championships complete, the University of Colorado leads the points with 155. The Buffs have won the last two Championships in the East and Wednesday’s race gives them a good beginning to their quest for their 28th championship title. They will have to overcome the University of Utah which sits in second and less than 25 points behind.
The NCAA championships continue on Thursday with the giant slalom at Whiteface Mountain,
2015 NCAA Championships standings after Wednesday (link):
The men’s podium in the 20 k freestyle mass start at the 2014 NCAA Championships in Soldier Hollow. (Photo: http://bertboyer.zenfolio.com) All proceeds from photo sales will be directly donated to NNF.
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Come Wednesday, the 148 best collegiate skiers in the U.S. will descend upon Lake Placid for the 2015 NCAA Skiing Championships. Hosted by St. Lawrence University, NCAA’s will serve as the premier collegiate races of the season as skiers aim for both individual and team success. The last time Lake Placid hosted the Championships was 33 years ago in 1982, when the national races were only for men.
The nordic portion of NCAA’s will take place on the trails of the Mt. Van Hoevenberg, the site of the cross-country events in the 1980 Olympic games. The first day of competition on Wednesday will comprise of the 5- and 10-kilometer women’s and men’s freestyle interval starts, while Friday will feature the 15/20 k classic mass starts. Conditions should be pristine in the Adirondacks as recent weather has provided ample snow and below average temperatures.
The 2015 NCAA Championships will have similar team favorites in 2014. At last year’s championships in Park City, Utah, the University of Denver dominated the nordic races to win the overall team title. With several departures from the Pioneers’ squad, however, other schools from the west and east will look to capture the trophy.
The University of Colorado enters the NCAA’s as the top-ranked team from the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA). The Buffs earned the most combined points throughout the season and were recently crowned the RMISA regional champions. If that wasn’t enough to boost their pre-championships confidence, their history in the east certainly will. Colorado has won the last two national collegiate titles in the east in 2011 and 2013.
Utah and Denver followed close behind in the 2015 RIMSA points rankings and will likely be Colorado’s top competition in New York, while the University of Vermont will look to extend its Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) dominance to the national stage. The last time Vermont won the NCAA team title was in 2012 in Bozeman, Mont.
University of New Hampshire’s Annika Taylor races in the 2013 NCAA Championships.
The East:
If there are two skiers from the EISA to know before the start of NCAA’s, they are Middlebury College’s Heather Mooney and University of New Hampshire’s Annika Taylor.
With five wins apiece in the 2014/2015 season, Mooney and Taylor have shut out the rest of the eastern competition from the top of the podium. While their fight for eastern dominance will continue in Lake Placid, it remains to be seen how they will match up with the western and central women.
The Middlebury College women’s nordic team has qualified a full team for the first time in many years, including Mooney, Kelsey Phinney and Stella Holt. The trio has won many women’s nordic competitions throughout the season and will look to do the same in Lake Placid. If the recent EISA Regional Championships results are any indication — where Mooney and Phinney finished second and third, respectively, in the 15 k classic mass start — the Panthers are well on their way to their goal.
Paddy Caldwell (Dartmouth College) finishes the men’s 15 k freestyle in fourth place at the 2015 Cross Country Championships in Houghton, Michigan.
If the eastern women have been defined by two individuals, the region’s men are characterized by dueling schools — Vermont and Dartmouth. The Vermont trio of Rogan Brown, Jørgen Grav and Jack Hegman ended the eastern season ranked second, third and sixth, while Paddy Caldwell, Fabian Stocek and Silas Talbot took the first, fourth, and fifth spots.
Caldwell, who spent a large chunk of the season in Europe at the U23 World Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, enters as one of the favorites at NCAA’s. Last year, his best finish was fifth in the 20 k freestyle mass start. Talbot’s best finish at 2014 NCAA’s was 11th in the 20 k freestyle.
Brown’s best finish at the same championships was 13th in the 20 k freestyle, while Grav’s was 20th in the 10 k classic.
The West:
Rune Malo Ødegård of CU races to first in the 10 k individual classic at the 2014 NCAA Championships in Soldier Hollow. (Photo: http://bertboyer.zenfolio.com) All proceeds from photo sales will be directly donated to NNF.
If Caldwell wants to step atop the NCAA podium, he’ll have to overcome the RMISA frontrunners from the University of Colorado, Rune Malo Ødegård and Mads Ek Strøm. With the exception of one race, the two have alternated on the top rungs of the 2014/2015 RIMSA podium in every single competition. By the end of the regular season, Ødegård won five of 10 races while Strøm won four.
Ødegård is no stranger to NCAA’s as the Norwegian won two national titles in 2013 and 2014. His wins made NCAA history, as he is the first collegiate skier to repeat as an individual national championship in the classic discipline. Strøm earned his national title in the 20 k freestyle mass start in 2014.
While the two Buffs are the RMISA favorites, there are several other standouts to watch in this week’s races. German Moritz Madlener of DU and enters Lake Placid as the third-ranked westerner after earning bronze in four western qualifiers. The University of Utah’s Niklas Persson is another potential top finisher. The Ute finished third at 2014 NCAA’s in the 10 k classic. Mats Rudin Resaland of the University of New Mexico is also another top contender, and will look to improve on his bronze from last year’s 20 k freestyle.
The University of New Mexico’s Emilie Cedervarn is the top-ranked western woman after winning the last four RMISA races of the season. The Utes’ Veronika Mayerhofer is close behind for total wins in the west with three. Denver’s Sylvia Nordskar will look to repeat her podium performances from 2014 NCAA’s where she placed second and third. The Norwegian only raced the first four RMISA races this season. She won both the races in the Utah qualifiers and placed first and second at the Colorado invite before taking a six-race hiatus.
Other skiers to watch from the West are the Buffs’ Petra Hyncincova and the Utes’ Sloan Storey.
Central:
Kyle Bratrud of Northern Michigan University racing to 52nd in the men’s 15 k freestyle at 2015 World Championships in Falun, Sweden.
Kyle Bratrud of the University of Northern Michigan is the favorite from the central region after a successful season that saw him win the 15 k freestyle at the 2015 U.S. nationals and compete at the U23 World Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, followed by senior World Championships in Falun, Sweden.
Bratrud will look to overcome the fatigue of weeks of international racing and travel to fight for a spot on the NCAA podium. In 2014, he was the top American in the 10 k classic in sixth overall.
Joining Bratrud in the quest for collegiate success will be teammates Fredrik Schwenke and Erik Soderman. If the UNM trio can repeat their impressive performances from U.S. nationals, they have the possibility of leading the men’s nordic at NCAA’s. Last year, the men finished third overall in the 10 k classic and helped their coach, Sten Fjeldheim, earn 2014 national coach of the year.
Logan Hanneman of the University of Alaska – Fairbanks is another strong skier to watch from central.
Despite the graduation of Rosie Frankowski, the central women have a chance at top performances from NMU’s Jordyn Ross and Michigan Tech’s Deedra Irwin, among others. They will look to build on the region’s successful 2014 Championships to gain more starting spots in future national events.
Live timing will be available at BartTiming.com. FasterSkier will be on site for both days of nordic racing, so stay tuned for recaps from Wednesday and Friday.
University of Colorado’s Mads Stroem on his way to victory in the 7.5 k classic race at Kincaid Park, part of the University of Alaska Anchorage Invitational held last week. (Photo: Tim Whiton)
After a three-week break of racing after the University of New Mexico Invitational in Red River and the University of Colorado Invitational in Steamboat Springs, the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) shifted gears to sea level and the University of Alaska Invitational and this year’s RMISA Championships. The UAA Invite was originally scheduled to be held at Girdwood, but a lack of snow and an abundance of cold rain moved all four of the final RMISA races to Anchorage.
“Seven days ago at this time, we didn’t have hardly any snow on the ground and we were in the middle of three days of steady rain,” the UAA team wrote on their blog this weekend. “We’d scrapped our original plan to race our first two (of four) races on the new Girdwood racing trail because there was no snow at all in Girdwood. Not even a thin film of ice. Just brown dirt and gray rocks. Skis hardly glide on that kind of surface.”
Cambria McDermott of Montana State, who would eventually finish eighth, leading Emilie Cedervaern in the interval-start 5 k skate held at Hillside. (Photo: Tim Whiton)
Despite the wet weather that greeted most teams on Saturday’s arrival, races began on Monday, Feb. 23, at the Hillside Nordic trails with 5- and 10-kilometer skate races for women and men respectively. The course was fully saturated with some standing water, dirt, and icy uphills. Using the Spencer loop as the beginning of the course, racers faced a challenging climbing section for roughly two kilometers before a slow, grinding descent past the start, and two kilometers of short, steep uphills and downhills before the finish.
As much of the season has gone, the University of Colorado’s duo of Mads Strøm and Rune Ødegård paced the men’s field. Ødegård won the 10 k in 25:18.6, after starting slowly and speeding up on the second lap, with Strøm nipping University of Utah’s Niklas Persson by two-tenths of a second in 25:26.4. The rest of the men’s top ten was over thirty seconds back, but tightly bunched together despite the tough conditions and hilly course.
Race winner Rune Oedegaard of the University of Colorado leads Michael Fehrenbach of University of Alaska Fairbanks in the 10 k skate at Hillside. Fehrenbach placed 16th. (Photo: Tim Whiton)
In the women’s 5 k race, University of New Mexico’s Emilie Cedervärn led New Mexico to the team win over Utah. Cedervärn won in 14:46.9 to Utah’s Veronika Mayerhofer’s 14:58.9 and New Mexico’s Eva Severrus’ 15:11.5. Much of the women’s top ten was strung out, finishing less than a minute out of the lead.
After the first day of racing, the University of Utah led the University of Colorado by eight points.
With the skate races finished, it was obvious the Hillside courses would not allow for another day of racing. With a return of freezing temperatures Monday evening, the trails turned to a sheet of ice and Tuesday’s races were tentatively postponed to Wednesday with the prospect of shifting even to Thursday depending on how Kincaid park, the site of the weekend’s RMISA Championships looked in the morning.
Conditions at Kincaid Park were not always ideal, but organizers and racers made the best of things. (Photo: Tim Whiton)
Luckily, Kincaid did manage (mostly) to freeze over night. The traditional stadium remained under water so the courses focused on short 2.2 k loops starting and finishing in the biathlon stadium and racing resumed on Wednesday morning with five and seven and a half kilometer classic races. Despite aggressive grooming, the course was mostly chunked ice and sugar, resulting in fast times and challenging conditions.
In the women’s race, Cedervärn made it two wins in a row in a time of 15:50 by beating Mayerhofer, who had started wearing the yellow discipline leader bib. Mayerhofer’s 15:57.8 put her in front of teammate Sloan Storey’s 16:01.9 and UAA’s Manon Locatelli’s 16:06.1. The top four women were clearly in a league of their own, with a gap of 25 seconds between Locatelli and fifth-place Kathrin Schratt of UAA. However, after that it was again close racing for the women, with places five through nine separated by less than nine seconds.
Storey’s third place finish was the only time in four days of racing in Alaska that an American skier stood on the podium in an RMISA race.
Macjenzie Kanady of University of Alaska Anchorage, who finished seventh, and runner-up Veronika Mayerhofer of the University of Utah in the 5 k skate at Hillside. (Photo: Tim Whiton)
The men’s race saw the same top three from Monday’s race, but with a small shift. Strøm and Ødegård used some fine classic skiing to distance themselves, once again, from the men’s field. Strøm won in 20:22.2 and Ødegård finished second in 20:33.5. Persson finished third again in 20:57.4, just ahead of Clement Molliet of UAA. Places five through 18 were separated by only 35 seconds, making for some tight and exciting racing. Interestingly, four of the men’s top 10 raced the steep uphills on skate skis and double poling. Moritz Madlener of Denver University led the four in seventh place, while Montana State University’s threesome of Forest Mahlen, Erik Axelsson, and Martin Muan finished close together in 8th and tied for 10th respectively.
After the two races of the UAA Invitational, the University of Utah won the team competition on the nordic side with 351 points to the University of Colorado’s 319. University of New Mexico rounded out the top three teams with 299 points. Combined with alpine, Utah took overall top honors.
CU’s Rune Oedegaard racing to second place in the 10 k skate at Kincaid Park as part of RMISA Championships. (Photo: Tim Whiton)
After a training day at Kincaid on Thursday marked by late morning grooming that left the track soft and sugary, RMISA regional championships commenced on Friday with 5/10 k skate races. Thankfully, the Kincaid groomers did incredible work which, coupled with overnight lows around 15 degrees, made for a first and fast track. The extensive work allowed for an increase in track length to 3.7 k with several short, steep climbs and limited rest.
Strøm made quick work of the challenging three lap course and stormed to a nearly twenty second victory in 22:49.3 over his teammate Ødegård’s second place 23:08.1. One second behind was Denver University’s Dag Frode Trollebø. Just as in the classic race on Wednesday, places four through 17 were separated by 35 seconds. The women’s race saw domination by New Mexico’s Cedervärn and Severrus. Cedervärn won the lap and a half course in 13:40.5 ahead of Severrus in 13:49.3 and Colorado’s Petra Hyncicova’s 13:51.1.
Unfortunately, Anchorage, as it has much of the year, did not see very cold temperatures and come Saturday morning the track was soft and quickly turned into a loose mealy ice. Nevertheless, great racing occurred on the same courses at Kincaid with 15/20 k classic mass start races.
The women raced first on a slightly longer course and the lead pack of seven stayed tightly bunched through about halfway despite some aggressive skiing. Early on the third lap, Cedervärn made a hard push on the steep climbs, breaking apart the field, and dropping everyone except Utah’s Mayerhofer. Despite a gritty chase, Mayerhofer lost time on the final lap and Cedervärn won in 42:35.3 with Mayerhofer in 42:59. UAA’s Locatelli finished strong in third in 43:10.8.
Mads Stroem of the University of Colorado was the RMISA Champion in the 10 k skate at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. (Photo: Tim Whiton)
The men’s race, despite the end result, was quite different and more exciting than any other race this season.
A large pack 11 formed on the first of six laps and stayed bunched together through four laps. Several skiers made hard pushes to get off the front and ski away, but the fast conditions, lack of long uphills, and strong drafting made the chase pack very strong. Aku Nikander of New Mexcio was aggressive in covering many of the attacks and Ødegård of Colorado also brought the race back together several times.
Ultimately, the race came down to the last lap with Colorado’s Ødegård and Strøm attacking the uphills and creating some separation. Nikander continued to fight and managed to solidify a podium spot partway through the lap by closing down the gap several times. The three were together in the last climb, but the CU boys made a gap on the final downhill and rise into the stadium, distancing Nikander by two seconds at the finish.
In the last hundred meters, Ødegård, visibly tiring from pushing the pace hard for the last two laps, was overtaken at the line by Strøm by three tenths of a second. The men finished in a blistering 50:20 for the over-21 kilometers. The rest of the men’s top ten was within 45 seconds of the lead.
With final scores for RMISA Championships tabulated, Colorado won the nordic standings with 337 points to New Mexico’s 324 and Utah’s 295; CU also took the overall title, this time over New Mexico.
The Western schools are looking forward to heading east shortly for NCAA’s. After racing at sea-level for a week, the RMISA skiers are psyched for some fast skiing and ready to see how the other divisions are skiing. Mostly though, they are all hoping for some cold snow and extra blue skiing, something not seen out west yet this season!
![Skiers power onto the course at the start of the final. (From L to R: Veronika Mayerhofer, Becca Rorabaugh, Chelsea Holmes, Caitlin Patterson, Kaitlynn Miller)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/12/IMG_3812-e1449381823773.jpg")
![Caitlin Patterson tries to get the upper hand on CU's Christina Rolandsen and Petra Hyncicova in the quarterfinals (From L to R: Christina Rolandsen, Petra Hyncicova, Caitlin Patterson)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/12/IMG_3357-e1449381893459.jpg")
![The women's Sun Valley Super Tour 1.3 k classic sprint podium. (From L to R: Hannah Halvorsen, Chelsea Holmes, Caitlin Patterson, Becca Rorabaugh, Kaitlynn Miller, Veronika Mayerhofer)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/12/IMG_3941-e1449382924584.jpg")
![Olivia Ekblad of Montana State University crests the second hill before dropping back into the stadium.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/12/IMG_2600-e1449381872275.jpg")
![Kyle Bratrud and Veronika Mayerhofer are FasterSkier's collegiate skiers of the year.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/05/FS-Awards-2015-COLLEGE.jpg")
![Kyle Bratrud collapses after his 51-second win in the men's 15 k freestyle at the 2015 Cross Country Championships in Houghton, Mich.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/01/bratrud6.jpg")
![University of Utah's Natalia Mueller (l) and Veronika Mayerhofer (r) at the 2015 U.S. Distance Nationals 30 k freestyle mass start in Sun Valley, Idaho as part of the year's SuperTour Finals . (Photo: flyingpointroad)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/1400x900-8821.jpg")
![The start of the men's U.S. National Championships 50 k freestyle mass start at the 2015 SuperTour Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho. (Photo: flyingpointroad)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/unnamed-23.jpg")
![Canada's Ivan Babikov celebrates his win in Thursday's 50 k freestyle mass start at the 2015 SuperTour Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho. (Photo: flyingpointroad)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/1400x900-8742.jpg")
![Colorado's Rune Malo Ødegård celebrates his second place finish over Noah Hoffman (r) and Erik Bjornsen (l) in the U.S. National Championships 50 k freestyle mass start at the 2015 SuperTour Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho . (Photo: flyingpointroad)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/1400x900-8755.jpg")
![Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg) leads the start of the women's National Championships 30 k freestyle mass start at the 2015 SuperTour Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/womens_start.jpg")
![Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg) hugs her husband, Brian, after her large win in the 30 k freestyle mass start at the 2015 SuperTour Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/SMF0112.jpg")
![The start of the women's 30 k freestyle mass start at the 2015 SuperTour Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho. (Photo: flyingpointroad)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/SMF3918.jpg")
![Fredrik Schwencke (9) of NMU celebrates his win in the 2015 NCAA 20 k classic mass start with teammate Kyle Bratrud.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/fist.jpg")
![Aku Nikander of NMU leads Rune Malo Ødegård of CU and Fredrik Schwencke of NMU in the final lap of the 2015 NCAA 20 k classic mass start.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/leaders_men.jpg")
![Colorado's Rune Malo Ødegård leads teammate Mads Ek Strøm in the first lap of the 20 k classic mass start at the 2015 NCAA Championships.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/CU_men.jpg")
![New Mexico's Emilie Cedervaern celebrates her win in Friday's 15 k classic mass start at the 2015 NCAA Championships in Lake Placid.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/cedervaern_finish.jpg")
![New Mexico's Emilie Cedervaern leads Utah's Veronika Mayerhofer in the first kilometers of Friday's 15 k classic mass start at the 2015 NCAA Championships in Lake Placid.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/Women_lap1.jpg")
![The men's 10 k freestyle interval start podium at the 2015 NCAA Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. Taking the top three spots were Dartmouth's Patrick Caldwell, Denver's Moritz Madlener (not pictured), and Colorado's Rune Malo Ødegård.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/Men_podium.jpg")
![Dartmouth's Paddy Caldwell hugs Vermont's Rogan Brown at the finish of the 10 k freestyle at the 2015 NCAA Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/hug.jpg")
![Moritz Madlener of The University of Denver skied to second in the 10 k freestyle at the 2015 NCAA Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/madlener1.jpg")
![The women's podium in 5 k freestyle at the 2015 NCAA Championships in Lake Placid. Utah's Veronika Mayerhofer took the win, while Denver's Sylvia Nordskar placed second and Emilie Cedervaer claimed third.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/women_podium_better.jpg")
![Veronika Mayerhofer en route to a win in the 5 k freestyle at the 2015 NCAA Championships in Lake Placid.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/mayerhofer_hill.jpg")
![Cambria McDermott, fourth place and top American finisher in the 2015 NCAA 5 k, high fives Montana State University Head Coach Kristina Trygstad-Saari.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/Cam_and_kristina.jpg")
![The men's podium in the 20 k freestyle mass start at the 2014 NCAA Championships in Soldier Hollow. (Photo: http://bertboyer.zenfolio.com) All proceeds from photo sales will be directly donated to NNF.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/03/Mens-full-podium.jpg")
![University of New Hampshire's Annika Taylor races in the 2013 NCAA Championships.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/03/IMG_0215.jpg")
![Patrick Caldwell finishes the men's 15 k freestyle in fourth place at the 2015 Cross Country Championships in Houghton, Michigan.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/01/Cadlwell2.jpg")
![Rune Malo Ødegård of CU races to first in the 10 k individual classic at the 2014 NCAA Championships in Soldier Hollow. (Photo: http://bertboyer.zenfolio.com) All proceeds from photo sales will be directly donated to NNF.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/03/Oedegaard-11.jpg")
![Kyle Bratrud of Northern Michigan University racing to 52nd in the men's 15 k freestyle at 2015 World Championships in Falun, Sweden.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/02/Bratrud-1st-lap.jpg")
![Colorado University's Mads Stroem on his way to victory in the 7.5 k classic race at Kincaid Park, part of the University of Alaska Anchorage Invitational held last week. (Photo: Tim Whiton)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/Mads-Stroem-UAA-Kincaid.jpg")
![Cambria McDermott of Montana State, who would eventually finish eighth, leading Emilie Cedervärn in the interval-start 5 k skate held at Hillside.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/Cambria-McDermott-and-Emilie-Cedervaern-Hillside.jpg")
![Race winner Rune Ødegård of Colorado University leads Michael Fehrenbach of University of Alaska Fairbanks in the 10 k skate at Hillside. Fehrenbach placed 16th. (Photo: Tim Whiton)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/Rune-Oedegaard-and-Michael-Fehrenbach-Hillside.jpg")
![Conditions at Kincaid Park were not always ideal, but organizers and racers made the best of things. (Photo: Tim Whiton)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/IMG_20150224_132717712.jpg")
![Macjenzie Kanady of University of Alaska Anchorage, who finished seventh, and runner-up Veronika Mayerhofer of the University of New Mexico in the 5 k skate at Hillside. (Photo: Tim Whiton)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/Mackenzie-Kanady-and-Veronika-Mayerhofer-Hillside.jpg")
![CU's Rune Ødegård racing to second place in the 10 k skate at Kincaid Park as part of RMISA Championships. (Photo: Tim Whiton)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/Oedegaard-RMISA.jpg")
![Mads Strøm of CU became the RMISA Champion in the 10 k skate at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. (Photo: Tim Whiton)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/03/Stroem-RMISA.jpg")