Duluth, Minn. - The Northern Michigan University Nordic Ski team spent the weekend in Duluth, Minnesota competing in the Salomon CXC Cup to open their 2022-23 season.
The team had a strong showing over the weekend as Wildcats represented half of the top 10 in the Women's Classic Interval Start and four separate 'Cats found the podium, including first and third-place finishes from
Kristoffer Karsrud, and top-three finishes from
Luke Fricker,
Katerina Hyncicova, and
Merle Richter.
Freestyle Sprint - Men
Kristoffer Karsrud claimed a first-place finish with a time of 2:51.37 in the finals. In his respective heat, Karsrud also posted first-place times of 2:51.74 and 2:53.71 in the semi- and quarter-finals.
Freshman
Luke Fricker also posted a podium finish for the Wildcats, claiming second place behind teammate Karsrud, with a time of 2:52.50. He also posted second-place finishes in his respective heats in the semi- and quarter-final races, with times of 2:52.24 and 2:57.30.
Matt Bourne posted his best time in his quarter-final heat with a time of 2:55.28, and a semi-final time of 2:58.44. Sophomore
Hendrik Peterson also raced in the quarter-finals and posted a time of 2:55.23.
Classic Interval Start - Men
Karsrud posted a podium finish for the Wildcats, taking home third place with a time of 17:41.2. Fricker had a top-ten finish for the 'Cats, finishing seventh with a time of 18:00.5.
Bourne and Peterson rounded out the field for the 'Cats, posting times of 18:32.7 and 18:34.6, respectively.
Freestyle Sprint - Women
Katerina Hyncicova had the best finish for the Wildcats, claiming second place with a time of 3:25.81. Hyncicova placed second in her semi-final heat with a time of 3:23.36, and first in her quarter-final heat with a time of 3:23.63.
Merle Richter rounded out the 'Cats in the final heat, finishing sixth with a time of 3:34.12. She clocked in at 3:30.95 for a second-place time in her semi-final heat and a second-place finish in her quarter-final heat with a time of 3:30.08.
Gretchen Haggenmiller and
Lauren McCollor placed fifth and sixth in their semi-final heat with times of 3:27.05 and 3:27.91, respectively.
Molly Miller,
Kolibri Drobish,
Lily Brown,
Pearl Harvey, and Freshman
Ella Niznik raced in the quarter-finals for the 'Cats.
Classic Interval Start - Women
The Wildcats made up half of the top 10 skiers, with Richter taking second posting a time of 20:50.1, and Hyncicova placed sixth with a time of 21:24.4. Harvey, McCollor and Drobish rounded out the top 10 with times of 21:39.8, 21.40.8, and 21:44.6 respectively
Haggenmiller, Brown, and Niznik also competed, posting times of 21:53.6, 21:59.8, and 22:51.5 respectively.
Up Next - The Wildcats travel up the road to Houghton, Michigan for the Pre-Nationals FIS CXC Cup, taking place December 17 and 18.
