Led by a strong showing by the women’s team, the Gustavus Adolphus Nordic skiing finished 12th in the College Cup at the U.S. Cross Country Skiing Championships this past weekend in Houghton, Mich. The Gusties finished with 404 points, four back of Western State (Colo.) and six back of defending NCAA Skiing Champion University of Colorado. Northern Michigan edged the Dartmouth Outing Club, 790-757, for the title.
The Gustie women finished seventh in the freestyle competition (132 points) and eighth in the classic competition (142 points) for a total of 274 points. The Gustavus men placed 18th in the freestyle (69 points) and 19th in the classic race (61 points) to finish in a tie for 19th place with 130 points.
Northern Michigan rode the skis of two Olympic veterans, Lindsey Weier and Lindsay Williams, to the victory. Weier and Williams placed first and second among collegians in both the 5km classic and 10km freestyle races.
On the men’s side, Darmouth had strong showing in both the 15km freestyle and the 10km classic races. Michael Sinnott and Benjamin True placed in the top ten in both races. Glenn Randall joined them in the top ten in the freestyle race, placing second. Dartmouth’s men’s squad outdistanced NMU by almost 30 points, but the strong Northern Michigan women’s team – taking the top four spots in the freestyle race – had a 61-point lead on Dartmouth.
Rounding out the top five were the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, the University of Alaska-Anchorage and host Michigan Technological University. A total of 27 teams participated in the College Cup competition.
The College Cup is part of the U.S. Cross Country Championships. College skiers earn points for their institutions through their finishes in the two distance races during the week-long competition.
The Gusties also earned points in the Central Collegiate Ski Association standings. The Gustavus women finished fourth out of nine CCSA teams with 114 points, one behind host Michigan Tech, while the Gustie men placed sixth in the eight-team CCSA men’s field with 71 points, two back of the College of St. Scholastica. Northern Michigan edged Alaska-Fairbanks for both titles, edging the Alaska Nanooks 144-138 for the men’s title and 155-132 for the women’s crown.
Gustavus’ sprinters will compete in the Capitol Square Sprints, a non-CCSA event, on Sunday, Jan. 14 in Madison, Wis. The next CCSA points races will be Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 20-21 at Coleraine, Minn.
CCSA Team Standings
U.S. Cross Country Skiing Championships
Houghton, Mich.
Men
School – Cl – FS – Total
Northern Michigan – 69 – 75 – 144
Alaska-Fairbanks – 73 – 65 – 138
Michigan Tech – 61 – 63 – 124
Wis.-Green Bay – 49 – 48 – 97
St. Scholastica – 33 – 40 – 73
Gustavus – 32 – 39 – 71
Saint John’s – 25 – 21 – 46
St. Olaf – 9 – 24 – 33
Women
School – CL – FS – Total
Northern Michigan – 77 – 78 – 155
Alaska-Fairbanks – 63 – 69 – 132
Michigan Tech – 56 – 59 – 115
Gustavus – 62 – 52 – 114
St. Benedict – 38 – 32 – 70
Wis.-Green Bay – 32 – 35 – 67
St. Olaf – 28 – 32 – 60
St. Scholastica – 13 – 6 – 19
St. Cloud State – 7 – 5 – 12