The Gustavus men’s and women’s nordic ski teams turned in strong performances at the NCAA Central Region Championships combining to finish fifth out of 11 teams. The races were held in Houghton, Mich. Kelly Chaudoin led the women’s team with a fourth place finish in the 10K freestyle race, while Jens Brabbit led the men’s team with a 12th place finish in the 15k freestyle.
In Saturday’s classic races the Gustavus women placed fifth with a total of 60 points, while Northern Michigan finished first with 95. The Gustavus men placed seventh with 54 points, while Northern Michigan finished first with 93. For the women, Kelly Chaudoin led the way with a 15th place finish in a time of 18:51.9. Allison Bohn was the second Gustie to cross the line in 22nd place in a time of 19:12.7. Gustie finishers behind Chaudoin and Bohn included Erin Eppler (28th, 19:32.9), Danielle Burgmeier (41st, 20:23.0), and Cassandra Brady (56th, 21:26.7). For the men, Jens Brabbit led the way with a 14th place finish in a time of 32:31.8. Anders Bowman joined Brabbit in the top 25 as he finished 21st in a time of 33:03.6. The rest of the Gustavus finishers included Andrew Poffenberger (34:42.0), Elias Anoszko (47th, 35:44.8), Logan Smestad (49th, 35:50.6), and Andrew Tilman (51st, 35:57.9).
In Sunday’s freestyle races, the Gustavus women moved up a spot to fourth place with 64 points. Alaska-Fairbanks finished first with 92 points. The Gustavus men moved up two spots to 7th place with 61 points. Michigan Tech finished first with 89 points. Kelly Chaudoin turned in a terrific performance in the 10K race as she placed fourth with a time of 33:35.5. Chaudoin was just :18 seconds out of first place and :08 seconds out of second place. Allison Bohn was once again the second Gustie to cross the finish line as she placed 19th in a time of 35:44.5. Erin Eppler was right behind Bohn as she finished 24th in a time of 36:23.9. The final two Gusties to cross the finish line included Danielle Burgmeier (32nd, 38:00.4) and Cassandra Brady (37th, 38:46.8). For the men, Brabbit once again paced the Gusties as he finished 12th in a time of 45:06.3. Anders Bowman was two spots back in 14th place in a time of 45:59.7. The rest of the Gustie finishers included Andrew Poffenberger (27th, 48:18.3), Logan Smestad (35th, 50:05.1), Elias Anoszko (46th, 52:13.2), and Andrew Tilman (52nd, 56:35.8).
Listed below is the men’s and women’s combined team score, with the top individual result from each school during the two days of racing:
1. Northern Michigan University, 364 (Laura DeWitt, 1st, CL; Martin Banerud, 1st, CL)
2. Michigan Tech University, 330 (Oskar Lund, 2nd, CL; Jesse Lang, 2nd, FR)
3. University of Alaska Fairbanks, 288 (Julia Pierson, 1st, FR)
4. University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, 264 (Santiago Ocariz, 1st, FR)
5. Gustavus Adolphus College, 239 (Kelly Chaudoin, 4th, FR)
6. College of Saint Scholastica, 213 (Waylon Manske, 10th, FR)
7. St. Olaf College, 148 (Shaina Short, 13th, FR)
8. College of St. Benedict, 105 (Christi Nowak, 9th, FR)
9. St. John’s University, 100 (Grant Cook, 19th, CL)
10. Northland College, 72 (Erin Blow, 49th, FR)
11. St. Cloud State University, 59 (Jenny Beckman, 35th, FR)