Senior Chandra Daw (Duluth, Minn.) and sophomore Laura Edlund (Forest Lake, Minn.) each registered a pair of top-30 finishes to lead the Gustavus women’s Nordic ski team to a third-place team finish at the NorAm SuperTour stop at Telemark Resort in Cable, Wis. last weekend. The event served as the third of five Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) qualifiers for the NCAA National Collegiate Skiing Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo. in March.
Daw and Edlund led four Gustie skiers in the top-20 collegiately of Saturday’s 5K classic race despite icy conditions. Crossing the line together, Daw picked up 12th place among CCSA skiers (25th overall) in a time of 18:39.2, while Edlund was right behind in 13th place (26th overall). The pair was separated by only 0.2 seconds. Kathleen DeWahl (So., St. Paul, Minn.) finished in 15th place (29th overall – 19:00.0), just 20 seconds behind. Sarah Willis (So., Willmar, Minn.) finished 17th (32nd overall), another 8.4 seconds back.
Saturday’s icy conditions gave way to perfect skiing weather for Sunday’s 10K freestyle race. Daw was once again the top Gustavus finisher, placing fifth among CCSA skiers (14th overall) after stopping the clock at 23:25.5. Edlund crossed the line 30 seconds later in eighth place (20th overall). Kelly Chaudoin (Fy., Ely, Minn.) made it three in the top 15 for the Gusties, crossing the line in 15th place (34th overall) with a time of 27:25.6. Willis was next across the line, finishing 16th (35th overall) with a 27:31.0 clocking.
The Gustie skiers were challenged by a range of weather conditions at Telemark this weekend. Balmy weather on Friday forced race coordinators to close the course to try to preserve the snow. Saturday was sunny with fast, icy conditions that made the classic race a bit treacherous on the downhills and turns. It snowed Saturday night and all day on Sunday for the freestyle races.
Classic – College | Division | Overall
Freestyle – College | Division | Overall
5K Women’s Classic — Saturday, January 28
25. Chandra Daw………18:39.0 (12th among CCSA skiers)
26. Laura Edlund………18:39.2 (13th)
29. Kathleen DeWahl…19:00.0 (15th)
32. Sarah Willis………..19:08.4 (17th)
39. Kelly Chaudoin……19:54.7 (23rd)
44. Ritva Talpale………20:10.1 (26th)
64. Allison Bohn……….21:08.0 (N/A)
65. Kirsten DeVries…..21:08.9 (33rd)
75. Nicole Olson………21:57.1 (37th)
10K Women’s Freestyle — Sunday, January 29
14. Chandra Daw………25:23.5 (5th among CCSA skiers)
20. Laura Edlund………26:03.3 (8th)
34. Kelly Chaudoin……27:25.6 (15th)
35. Sarah Willis………..27:31.0 (16th)
46. Ritva Talpale………28:07.4 (22nd)
48. Kathleen DeWahl…28:09.1 (23rd)
49. Nicole Olson……….28:12.8 (24th)
67. Allison Bohn……….29:31.7 (N/A)
82. Kirsten DeVries……31:08.7 (36th)
Team Results
Women………………….CL……FS……Total
Alaska-Fairbanks……..77……72……..149
Northern Michigan…….66……57……..123
Gustavus Adolphus…..48……60……..108
Wisconsin-Green Bay..50……57……..107
Michigan Tech…………35……33……….68
Saint Benedict…………23……28……….51
St. Cloud State………..25……16……….41
St. Olaf…………………..0……36……….36
Finlandia………………….3…….3…………6
Macalester……………….2……..0………..2