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Women's Nordic Ski

Men's Skiing Jack Belcher - Athletics Communications Assistant

PREVIEW: Nordic Ski at NCAA Central Regionals

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- After a successful result in the CCSA Conference Championship Races in the Twin Cities, where both the men's and women's nordic ski teams took home first place and secured conference titles, they will now hit the road again to head to the NCAA Central Regional Skiing Championships in Duluth, Minnesota at Spirit Mountain. 

The Regional Championships will begin with a 7.5k Classic Individual Start on Friday, February 27th, and will conclude with the 20k Mass Start on Saturday, February 28th. 

Both Wildcat squads will look to add to their trophy case as they head to Duluth, where the weekend forecast at the time of writing calls for partly cloudy skies with a temperature that will begin around the low 40s on Friday and dip to below 20 on Saturday. There is no precipitation called for in the forecast. 

Fans can follow along with live scoring through MyRaceResult. Start time's still TBD.

Last Time Out (Women's Nordic)
On the first day, the team had a strong start to the playoffs as they landed four in the top ten among CCSA racers in the 10k mass start, with all racers finishing inside the top twenty-five in the CCSA. 

The 'Cats were once again led by Henriette Nilssen, who finished first amongst CCSA Skaters, second among collegiate skiers, and ninth overall. She finished with a time of 30:11.3 and was within a minute of the top skier. Coming in second in the CCSA, third among collegiate skiers, and 14th overall was Greta Leitheiser at 30:47.6, which gave NMU the top two CCSA finishes. Della Bettendorf of the College of Saint Scholastica finished in 3rd amongst CCSA skaters. 

Rounding out the top ten for NMU were Lauren McCollor, Emma Klevenburg, and Monet Argeropoulos. McCollor finished in sixth place amongst CCSA skiers, which was seventh among collegiate skiers and 22nd overall, with a time of 31:46.2. Klevenburg finished in eighth amongst conference racers, ninth among collegiate skiers, and 25th overall with a time of 32:17.5. Argeropoulos finished tenth in the CCSA, 11th among collegiate skiers, and 33rd overall with a time of 33:09.5. 

On the second day of the CCSA Championships at Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis, the team was crowned Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) conference champions. 

The team had a strong second half to their first postseason performance as they earned gold and landed four in the top ten among CCSA racers in the 10k Freestyle. Each of the skiers who raced finished in the top-25 in the CCSA. 

The Wildcats were led once again by first-place CCSA finisher Henriette Nilssen, who finished with a time of 25:04.4, which placed her less than a minute behind the overall leader. Nilssen finished second amongst collegiate skiers and seventh overall. 

The 'Cats had three additional skiers in the top ten, which were led by Greta Leitheiser, who finished fourth in the CCSA, fifth amongst collegiate skiers, and 16th overall with a time of 25:31.1. Behind her was Lauren McCollor, who finished seventh among CCSA skiers, eighth amongst collegiate skiers, and 25th overall with a time of 26:06.1. Rounding out the top ten for the CCSA was Emma Klevenberg who finished 11th amongst collegiate racers and 31st overall with a time of 26:57.8.

Last Time Out (Men's Nordic)
The NMU men's nordic ski team performed strongly in the first day of the CCSA Championships at Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis. They landed three in the top five among CCSA racers in the 10k mass start, and all racers finished inside the top twenty in the conference.

The Wildcats were led by Luke Fricker, who finished first amongst CCSA racers, first among collegiate racers, and second overall. Fricker finished with a time of 24:01.2, which was just 0.8 seconds behind the overall leader. Also making the CCSA podium for the 'Cats was Adrik Kraftson, who finished third in the conference, fourth amongst collegiate skiers, and 15th overall with a time of 24:42.2. Michigan Tech's Markus Groethe finished second in the CCSA. 

Rounding out the top five in the CCSA for NMU was Jonathan Clarke, who finished sixth amongst collegiate skiers and 20th overall with a time of 25:01.3.

Caden Albrecht also finished in the top ten for the CCSA, as he claimed the ninth spot in the conference, 10th among collegiate skiers, and 42nd overall with a time of 26:28.2.

The NMU nordic ski team competed well on the second day of the CCSA Championships at Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis and were crowned Central Collegiate Ski Association team champions for the 25/26 season.

The team had a strong second half to their first postseason performance as they landed four in the top ten, including the top two, among CCSA racers in the 10k Freestyle. 

The Wildcats were led by Adrik Kraftson, who earned gold amongst CCSA racers, finished second amongst collegiate racers, and tenth overall. Kraftson posted a time of 22:05.9, which was less than a minute behind the overall leader and was less than 10 seconds behind the overall collegiate leader. Right behind Kraftson, amongst CCSA racers, was Luke Fricker, who finished third amongst collegiate skiers and 13th overall. He finished with a time of 22:13.2 to earn silver.

The 'Cats had two more in the top 10 as Caden Albrecht finished eighth in the CCSA, ninth amongst collegiate racers, and 42nd overall with a time of 23:43.0. Just a bit behind Albrecht was Johnathan Clarke, who finished tenth in the CCSA, 11th among collegiate skiers, and 46th overall.
 
 Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) Points/Rankings (From Feb. 16th through Feb. 27th, 2026)
Full rankings can be found here; NMU-specific can be found below.

Men 

Rank

Name

Age Group

Overall Pts

Best 2 FS

Best 2 CL

All CCSA Pts

2

Luke Fricker

Senior

151

74

77

225

3

Adrik Kraftson

Senior

148

80

68

202

5

Jonathan Clarke

Senior

112

52

60

139

7

Caden Albrecht

Senior

103

57

46

146

T18

Hendrik Peterson

Senior

60

36

24

83

33

Jack Dahlby

U20

13

4

9

13
 

Women 

Rank

Name

Age Group

Overall Pts

Best 2 FS

Best 2 CL

All CCSA Pts

1

Henriette Nilssen

Senior

160

80

80

191

3

Greta Leitheiser

Senior

134

68

66

186

6

Lauren McCollor

Senior

125

60

65

177

9

Emma Klevenberg

Senior

87

43

44

107

17

Jordan Parent

Senior

60

19*

41

76

23

Monet Argeropoulos

U20

50

16

34

62

26

Lena Kjelstrup

Senior

41

7*

34

58

27

Riley Grossklaus

U20

32

13

19

35

34

Meija Peterson

Senior

13

1*

12

13

T38

Ella Niznik

Senior

0

0*

0*

0
 

*DNS IN AT LEAST ONE RACE IN THIS CATEGORY




 
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Players Mentioned

Lena Kjelstrup

Lena Kjelstrup

Sophomore
Lauren McCollor

Lauren McCollor

Graduate Student
Henriette Nilssen

Henriette Nilssen

5' 3"
Junior
Ella Niznik

Ella Niznik

Senior
Jordan Parent

Jordan Parent

Junior
Riley Grossklaus

Riley Grossklaus

Freshman
Emma Klevenberg

Emma Klevenberg

Freshman
Greta Leitheiser

Greta Leitheiser

Senior
Meija Peterson

Meija Peterson

Freshman
Jonathan Clarke

Jonathan Clarke

5' 11"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Lena Kjelstrup

Lena Kjelstrup

Sophomore
Lauren McCollor

Lauren McCollor

Graduate Student
Henriette Nilssen

Henriette Nilssen

5' 3"
Junior
Ella Niznik

Ella Niznik

Senior
Jordan Parent

Jordan Parent

Junior
Riley Grossklaus

Riley Grossklaus

Freshman
Emma Klevenberg

Emma Klevenberg

Freshman
Greta Leitheiser

Greta Leitheiser

Senior
Meija Peterson

Meija Peterson

Freshman
Jonathan Clarke

Jonathan Clarke

5' 11"
Senior