BRILLION, Wis./ISHPEMING, Mich. – The St. Olaf College men's and women's Nordic skiing teams raced at the Ariens Nordic CCSA Invite and Noquemanon Ski Marathon at Ariens Nordic Center and Al Quaal Recreation Area this past weekend.
St. Olaf divided its teams between the two competitions, with nine Oles racing in the 24K Freestyle at the Half Noquemanon and 10 in the 7.5K Classic and 15K Freestyle races at the Ariens Nordic CCSA Invite.
In Michigan, first year
Jack Aldrich led St. Olaf with a runner-up finish in the 24K Freestyle in 1:02:06.0, with seniors
Tait Myers (9th, 1:09.51.6) and
Haakon Erdahl (12th, 1:11:40.4) also in the top 15. Junior
Amae Kam-Magruder was the top female finisher in 13th (1:11:46.4).
In Wisconsin, junior
Lily Ward (2nd, 18:46.5), sophomore
Liesl Cope-Schaeffer (4th, 19:16.1), sophomore
Lizzy Weider (5th, 19:16.6), and first year
Anna Peikert (10th, 19:52.6) all placed in the top 10 in the 7.5K Classic, while sophomores
Daniel Gladkov (6th, 16:17.5) and
Paavo Rova (8th, 16:25.4) did so for the men.
In the 15K Freestyle, Ward led four Ole women in the top 25 in 13th (36:11.8), followed by Cope-Schaeffer in 14th (36:31.1), Peikert in 17th (36:44.5), and Weider in 22nd (37:47.5). Rova was St. Olaf's top finisher in the men's 15K Freestyle in 28th (31:41.0).
St. Olaf will again divide its teams this weekend, sending a group to the Mt. Ashwabay Skiathlon on Saturday, Jan. 31 and others to the Michigan Tech Invite on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.
