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25/26 CCSA Conference Championship teams
The 2025/26 CCSA Conference Championship nordic ski teams

Men's Skiing Braden Golisek - Assistant Director of Sports Information

PREVIEW: Wildcat Nordic Qualifies Five for NCAA National Championships

Along with looking ahead to Utah, find out what Wildcats earned awards throughout the season

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The NMU men's and women's nordic ski team is on the road to NCAA Nationals, with five skiers representing the Green and Gold.

Qualifiers include Henriette Nilssen and Greta Leitheiser from the women's side, and Luke Fricker, Adrik Kraftson, and Jonathan Clarke from the men's side. 

The national championships will be held at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in Midway, Utah. The weekend will feature the 7.5km Classic Individual Start on Thursday, March 12, followed by the 20km Skate Mass Start on Saturday, March 14. 

Competition on both days will begin at 10 a.m. MT (12 p.m. ET). Fans can follow along with live timing at MyRaceResult.

The Wildcats are coming off a team win at the NCAA Regional Championships, with the women amassing 135 points and the men 134 to edge out rival Michigan Tech. For the men, Kraftson, Fricker, and Clark swept the podium in the mass start, and Fricker earned silver in the 7.5k. On the women's side, Nilssen won gold in both the 7.5k and 20k mass start.

Those team results can be found below, along with a full list of awards and honors accumulated throughout the season.

 
NCAA Regionals Results

Overall team standings
Team | D1F | D1M | D2F | D2M | Total
NMU | 067 | 062 | 068 | 072 | 269
MTU | 066 | 070 | 062 | 063 | 261
CSS | 041 | 044 | 050 | 050 | 185
UWGB | 027 | 037 | 036 | 039 | 139
SOC | 039 | 005 | 028 | 005 | 077

Day-specific team standings (D01)
Team | D1F | D1M | Total
MTU | 066 | 070 | 136
NMU | 067 | 062 | 129
CSS | 041 | 044 | 085
UWGB | 027 | 037 | 064
SOC | 039 | 005 | 044

 

Day-specific team standings (D02)
Team | D2F | D2M | Total
NMU | 068 | 072 | 140
MTU | 062 | 063 | 125
CSS | 050 | 050 | 100
UWGB | 036 | 039 | 075
SOC | 028 | 005 | 033
 
Gender-specific team standings (Female)
Team | D1F | D2F | Total
NMU | 067 | 068 | 135
MTU | 066 | 062 | 128
CSS | 041 | 050 | 091
SOC | 039 | 028 | 067
UWGB | 027 | 036 | 063

Gender-specific team standings (Male)
Team | D1M | D2M | Total
NMU | 062 | 072 | 134
MTU | 070 | 063 | 133
CSS | 044 | 050 | 094
UWGB | 037 | 039 | 076
SOC | 005 | 005 | 010
 
Awards and Honors

CCSA Coaching Staff of the Year
Both Andy Keller and Ruth Oppliger were honored with the CCSA Coaching Staff of the Year Award after leading the 'Cats to NCAA Regional and CCSA Conference titles. 
 
CCSA Female Skier of the Year
Junior Henriette Nilssen was named CCSA Female Skier of the year after pacing the conference on the women's side. Nilssen won gold in all four events at the CCSA Conference Championships and NCAA Regional Championships, leading the CCSA with 160 overall points and 192 from all races. 

All-Region Finishers
7.5k
Luke Fricker - 1st Team
Henriette Nilssen - 1st Team
Lauren McCollor - 1st Team
Adrik Kraftson - 2nd Team
Jonathan Clarke - 2nd Team
Greta Leitheiser - 2nd Team
Emma Klevenberg - 2nd Team

20k Mass Start
Adrik Kraftson - 1st Team
Luke Fricker - 1st Team
Jonathan Clarke - 1st Team
Henriette Nilssen - 1st Team
Greta Leitheiser - 1st Team
Caden Albrecht - 2nd Team
Lauren McCollor - 2nd Team

All-CCSA 
Henriette Nilssen - 1st Team
Greta Leitheiser - 1st Team
Luke Fricker - 1st Team
Adrik Kraftson - 1st Team
Jonathan Clarke - 1st Team
Lauren McCollor - 2nd Team
Emma Klevenberg - 2nd Team
Caden Albrecht - 2nd Team
 
 Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) Points/Rankings FINAL LIST
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

125

65

60

139

8

Caden Albrecht

Senior

103

57

46

146

19

Hendrik Peterson

Senior

60

36

24

83

33

Jack Dahlby

U20

18

7

11

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

5

Greta Leitheiser

Senior

134

68

66

186

7

Lauren McCollor

Senior

125

60

65

177

10

Emma Klevenberg

Senior

89

43

46

107

16

Jordan Parent

Senior

72

31

41

76

23

Monet Argeropoulos

U20

50

16

34

62

T25

Lena Kjelstrup

Senior

45

10

35

58

T25

Riley Grossklaus

U20

45

24

21

35

32

Meija Peterson

Senior

28*

1*

27

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