The Gustavus nordic ski teams combined for a 14th place finish in the College Cup at the United States Cross Country Ski Championships in Houghton, Michigan. The Golden Gusties also finished fifth among Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) schools. Northern Michigan University took first place for the second straight year nationally and in the CCSA. Final standings for the College Cup were determined with results from each school’s top three skiers in each gender comprising an overall score.
The Gustie women’s squad turned in a third place finish in the CCSA women’s standings with 143 points behind Northern Michigan University and University of Alaska-Fairbanks. The Gustavus men’s team finished fifth in the CCSA men’s standings with 102 points. Northern Michigan finished first with 176 points.
None of the Gustavus sprinters qualified for elimination rounds, but Kathleen DeWahl (Sr., St. Paul, Minn.) had the highest finish of all of the Gustie sprinters at 45th place with a time of 3:26.99. Erin Eppler (So., Salt Lake City, Utah) turned in a 105th place performance in 3:44.13. Jens Brabbit (Fy., Winona, Minn.) crossed the finish line in 2:57.90 for 110th place, while Andrew Tilman (Fy., St. Louis Park) finished 175th with a time of 3:14.91.
Gustavus will compete in a Minnesota Collegiate Series Event on Sunday, January 13 in St. Cloud, Minn.