Jens Brabbit turned in two top 25 finishes to help the Gustavus men’s nordic ski team earn sixth place at the Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) Qualifier held in Marquette, Mich. on January 19-20. The Gusties posted 84 points in the 10K freestyle and 15K classic races behind first place Northern Michigan University with 154 points.
Brabbit (Fy., Winona, Minn.) finished 21st in the freestyle race on Saturday as he crossed the finish line in 30:14.2. Kevin Patzoldt (Sr., Grand Rapids, Minn.) completed the race with a time of 30:39.3 for 29th place. Other Gustie finishes included Eli Anoszko (Jr., Dousman, Wis.) in 45th place (32:38.6), Andrew Tilman (Fy., St. Louis Park, Minn.) in 53rd place (33:25.2), and Phil Cleary (Fy., Willmar, Minn.) in 63rd place (35:26.3). Marius Korthauer of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks (UAF) won the race in 27:22.1. Gustavus earned 39 points for seventh place during the freestyle race as UAF won the freestyle team competition with 83 points.
Sunday’s classic race showed higher performances for the Gustavus skiers as the team tied for fifth with 45 points. Brabbit was again the highest finisher for the Gusties with a 19th place finish in 50:17.4. Patzoldt recorded a 34th place time of 52:00.2, while Tilman finished 38th with a time of 52:30.7. Anosko completed the race in 54:05.1 for 47th place as Cleary turned in a 60th place finish (58:08.8). Korthauer posted a winning time of 46:08.8 for the first place sweep, but Northern Michigan University won the team competition with 78 points.
Gustavus will compete in another CCSA qualifier on January 26-27 at Cable, Wis.