Three members of the Michigan Tech Nordic Ski team scored podium finishes as the Huskies kicked off the championship portion of their season at the 2020 CCSA Championships on Saturday (Feb. 15) and Sunday (Feb. 16) from the Michigan Tech Recreation Trails.
Aleksi Leino and Amanda Kautzer finished second in Sunday’s classic races, while Reid Goble took third in the sprint race on Saturday. Leino finished the men’s 20K classic in a time of 1:01:58.4, and Kautzer crossed the finish line of the women’s 15K classic at 51:32.8. In Saturday’s men’s 10K sprint race, Goble skied over the line at 26:09.2 to earn himself a podium finish.
Michigan Tech finished second in the men’s and women’s races with a combined 357 points, with 182 points for the women’s team and 175 points from the men’s performance. Northern Michigan claimed the CCSA team title with 412 total points, followed by Michigan Tech in second, College of St. Scholastica in third (289 pts.), UW-Green Bay in fourth (211 pts.), St. Olaf College in fifth (180 pts.), and St. Cloud State in sixth (69 pts.).
“We’re really proud of our kids today. They had a solid weekend of racing,” said head coach Tom Smith. “There were a number of breakthrough results over the weekend as we enter the championship season, and that’s a great sign for the team going into Regionals in terms of qualifying for the National Championships.”
Two other Michigan Tech men’s skiers scored top-10 finishes in the 10K skate race, as Patrick Acton placed eighth in a time of 26:25.9 and Mitch DeLong took 10th in a time of 26:57.5. In the women’s 5K skate race, Kautzer, Sarah Goble, and Oda Hovland all finished inside the top 10 for Tech as Kautzer took fourth with a time of 15:18.3, Goble placed fifth in 15:19.8, and Hovland recorded a time of 15:31.9 to place eighth.
Joining Leino in Sunday’s men’s 20K classic race was Reid Goble, Patrick Acton, and Mitch DeLong. Goble recorded a time of 1:02:19.4 to finish fifth, Acton crossed the finish line in 1:02:30.4 to place eighth, and DeLong completed the course in 1:02:41.2 to finish in ninth. In the women’s 15K classic race, Oda Hovland, Sarah Goble, and Anabel Needham all joined Kautzer in the top 10 for Michigan Tech. Hovland took fourth in a time of 51:32.8, Goble finished sixth in a time of 52:32.4, and Needham placed ninth in a time of 54:04.3.
The Huskies continue their championship schedule at the NCAA Central Region Ski Championships in Ishpeming, Michigan on February 22-23.
