MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The Northern Michigan University men's and women's nordic ski team traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the 2023 Mayor's XC Ski Challenge, a two-day event that featured a freestyle sprint on Saturday, and the classic mass start on Sunday. 

NMU, as a whole, took first place out of all the collegiate schools taking place in the event with 134 points. Michigan Tech placed second with 127, and the College of Saint Scholastica placed third with 106. The women placed first with 70 points and the men came in second, one point off first place (MTU, 65). 

Individually, Kristoffer Karsrud and Katerina Hyncicova led the way for the 'Cats men's and women's squads. Karsrud captured gold in the men's freestyle and was the top-finishing collegiate athlete in the 20KM mass start, placing sixth overall, and Hyncicova was the only collegiate athlete to compete in the women's sprint finals heat, finishing fourth, and was the first collegiate athlete to cross the finish line in the women's mass start, placing eighth overall. 

Full standings from the weekend can be found below.

Overall team standings

       Team | D1F | D1M | D2F | D2M | Total
        NMU | 070 | 064 | 000 | 000 | 134
        MTU | 062 | 065 | 000 | 000 | 127
        CSS | 049 | 057 | 000 | 000 | 106
       UWGB | 017 | 027 | 000 | 000 | 044
       SCSU | 010 | 000 | 000 | 000 | 010


Day-specific team standings (D02)

       Team | D2F | D2M | Total
        NMU | 070 | 064 | 134
        MTU | 062 | 065 | 127
        CSS | 049 | 057 | 106
       UWGB | 017 | 027 | 044
       SCSU | 010 | 000 | 010


Gender-specific team standings (Female)

       Team | D1F | D2F | Total
        NMU | 070 | 000 | 070
        MTU | 062 | 000 | 062
        CSS | 049 | 000 | 049
       UWGB | 017 | 000 | 017
       SCSU | 010 | 000 | 010


Gender-specific team standings (Male)

       Team | D1M | D2M | Total
        MTU | 065 | 000 | 065
        NMU | 064 | 000 | 064
        CSS | 057 | 000 | 057
       UWGB | 027 | 000 | 027
       SCSU | 000 | 000 | 000


Full results from both events and all heats can be found here.

Saturday
Men's Open
Kristoffer Karsrud found gold in the men's freestyle sprint, posting a time of 2:30.66 in the final heat. Karsrud got to the finals after he posted the second-highest qualifying time in the field of 2:36.69, a 2:34.46 in his quarter-final heat, and a 2:36.66 in his respective semi-final heat.

Luke Fricker also found his way to the final heat, finishing sixth with a time of 2:54.13. Fricker posted the sixth-highest qualifying time on the field with a time of 2:39.76, first in his respective quarter-final heat with a 2:46.74, and second in his semi-final heat with a 2:37.21. 

Women's Open
Katerina Hyncicova was the only collegiate athlete to participate in the final heat of the women's freestyle sprint, finishing fourth with a time of 3:01.22. Hyncicova got there after posting a 3:06.68 in the qualifier, a 2:56.81 in her respective quarter-final heat, and first in her respective semi-final heat with a time of 2:58.38.

Sunday
20KM Men's Open/College
Kristoffer Karsrud once again led the way for the Wildcats, placing first of all collegiate athletes and sixth overall, with a time of 51:48.0. Karsrud posted lap times of…

Lap    Gun Time    Sector        Overall
Lap 1    06:08.0    06:08.0    6
Lap 2    13:31.1    07:23.1    1
Lap 3    21:12.1    07:40.9    9
Lap 4    28:50.7    07:38.6    8
Lap 5    36:31.5    07:40.8    2
Lap 6    44:03.9    07:32.3    8

Two other 'Cats finished in the top twenty, as Luke Fricker placed 15th overall (fifth collegiately) with a 54:03.6, and Jonathan Clarke placed 19th (eigth collegiately) with a 54:34.0. Just outside the top 20 was Adrik Kraftson at 21 (tenth collegiately), with a 55:11.6.

20KM Women's Open/College
Katerina Hyncicova once again highlighted the women's team, as she was the first collegiate athlete to cross the finish line and eighth overall with a time of 1:00:37.9. Hyncicova posted lap times of…

Lap    Gun Time    Sector        Overall
Lap 1    07:13.4    07:13.4    11
Lap 2    15:53.1    08:39.6    9
Lap 3    24:34.9    08:41.7    10
Lap 4    33:20.9    08:46.0    10
Lap 5    42:22.9    09:01.9    10
Lap 6    51:29.4    09:06.5    9

Merle Richter also found the podium, placing third collegiately and eleventh overall with 1:01:29.5. Kolibri Drobish placed fourth collegiately with a time of 1:03:48.2, and Lauren McCollor and Pearl Harvey placed sixth and seventh collegiately with times of 1:04:45.8 and 1:05:12.3, respectfully.  

Up Next
The 'Cats come home and host the NCAA Central Region Skiing Championships, which will take place Saturday, February 25, and Sunday, February 26 in Ishpeming, Michigan.