The Gustavus women’s nordic ski team claimed first place at the Saints Invitational in Collegeville, Minn. on Sunday afternoon by capturing the top three finishes. The Golden Gusties earned the highest point total possible of 78 in the 6K Freestyle race, well ahead of second-place Saint Benedict, which had 62 points.
Seven seconds separated the top three finishers in Sunday’s race as Kathleen DeWahl (Sr., St. Paul, Minn.) edged out teammate Laura Edlund (Sr., Forest Lake, Minn.) by two seconds to capture first place with a time of 17:55.0. Kelly Chaudoin (Jr., Ely, Minn.) earned third place overall as she crossed the finish line in 18:02.0.
Sarah Willis (Sr., Willmar, Minn.) finished sixth overall with a time of 18:25.0. Another Gustie skier, Erin Eppler (So., Salt Lake City, Utah), turned in a top ten time as she finished ninth with a 19:15.0 time. Other Gustavus finishes included Kathryn Ladig (Jr., Bemidji, Minn.) at 14th place (19:27.0), Cassandra Brady (Fy., Apple Valley, Minn.) at 18th place (19:57.0), Allison Bohn (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.) at 27th place (20:39.0), and Olivia Karns (Fy., Fairbanks, AK) at 30th place (21:48).
Gustavus will travel to Coleraine, Minn. to compete in the NorAm SuperTour/NCAA Qualifier on Saturday, January 19 and Sunday, January 20.