St. Peter, Minn. – After turning in the best January of her collegiate career, senior nordic skier Marian Lund (Duluth, Minn.) has been named the Gustavus Female Athlete-of-the-Month. Over three competitions during the frigid first month of 2014, Lund led the Gustie women every time out.
At the Minnesota College Championships held at Graystone Prison Trails in St. Cloud on Jan. 11, Lund, alongside teammates Marit Sonnesyn and Mata Agre, took gold in the 6k relay with a time of 50:16.3. Lund recorded the fastest split of any skier at the meet, recording a time of 16:14.6.
The following weekend at the team’s first NCAA Qualifier held in Cable, Wis., Lund finished 28th in the 10k freestyle (32:58.8) on Saturday and 12th in the 5k classic on Sunday (17:22.9).
To cap January, Lund once again paced the Gusties at a second NCAA Qualifier held Jan. 24-25 in Coleraine, Minn. In the 5k classic on Saturday, Lund paced the team with a 13th place finish after crossing the finish line in 16:44.0. On Sunday in the 5k freestyle, Lund posted a time of 15:23.7 to crack the top five with a fifth place finish.
Lund and the rest of the Gustavus nordic skiing team will now gear up for the CCSA Championships set to take place on Saturday, Feb. 8 and Sunday, Feb. 9 in Ishpeming, Mich. Racing will begin at 10:00 a.m. both days.