St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s and women’s nordic skiing teams will travel to Houghton, Mich. this weekend to compete in the NCAA Central Region Championships at Michigan Tech University. The two-day event will begin on Saturday, Feb. 15th, and continue on Sunday, Feb. 16th. This weekend’s Championship marks the conclusion of the 2012-13 nordic season.
On Saturday, Feb. 15th, the men will compete in a 10k classic race, while the women will compete in a 5k classic. On Sunday, the men will race a 15k freestyle and the women will race a 10k freestyle. Races will begin at 10:00 a.m. on both days.
The men head into this weekend’s meet after a strong performance at the CCSA Championships in Ishpeming, Mich. last weekend, in which they finished sixth. In Saturday’s classic race, Marcus Speca (So., Minnetonka, Minn.) led the way for the men with a 22nd place finish. Scott Williams (Jr., Maple Grove, Minn.) followed in 26th, and Tyler Gustafson (Jr., Grand Rapids, Minn.) rounded out the men’s team’s top three in 31st. On Sunday, Williams led the charge for the men with a 21st place finish, with Gustafson following in 24th and Josh Blankenship (Jr., Maple Grove, Minn.) finishing in 25th.
The women’s team will look for strong performances from their top skiers this weekend after competing through illness at last weekend’s CCSA Championships where the squad earned a seventh place finish. In Saturday’s classic race, Marian Lund (Sr., Duluth, Minn.) put up another strong performance with an 11th place finish to lead the Gusties. Mata Agre (So., Corcoran, Minn.) followed in 26th and Marit Sonnesyn (So., Plymouth, Minn.) was the third Gustie to cross the line, finishing in 29th. In Sunday’s freestyle race, Gustavus’ top three was again comprised of Lund, Sonnesyn, and Agre, with Lund leading the women with a 14th place finish. Sonnesyn finished in 17th and Agre rounded out the Gusties’ leaders with a 31st place finish.
Results from the NCAA Central Region Championships will be posted on the Gustavus Athletics website shortly following the races.