MTU's 5th Overall a Great Accomplishment

US Championships

Mon, Jan  8, 2007 - By Jon Oman - MTU

HOUGHTON, Mich. -- The Michigan Tech Nordic skiing team ranked fifth among 27 teams in the College Cup competition at the 2007 U.S. Cross Country Championships at the Michigan Tech Nordic Training Center. The Huskies finished with 613 points and trailed only Northern Michigan (790), Dartmouth (757), Alaska Fairbanks (702) and Alaska Anchorage (619) in the final points race.

College skiers earned points for their institutions through their finishes in the two distance races during the week-long competition.

"This is a great accomplishment for our program," said head coach Joe Haggenmiller. "Finishing fifth overall and third in our region [CCSA] takes a team effort from everybody and we definitely worked together to earn this result. The final points list also shows how tough it is to the be the top team in this region. We are improving each year and I am proud of how we raced this week."

Eight Tech racers completed the 1.3-kilometer classic sprint races with top 100 performances on Saturday.

On the women's side, Elizabeth Quinley (Anchorage, Alaska/East) took 29th with a time of 3:43.87, Kristina Owen (East Wenatchee, Wash./Eastmont) ranked 50th with a reading of 3:52.22 and Jenna Klein (Ely, Minn.) came in at 69th with a time of 3:56.06.

For the men, Jesse Lang (St. Louis Park, Minn.) continued his breakout week as a Husky with a 57th-place effort after clocking in at 3:08.87. Kevin Heglund (Andover, Minn./Anoka -- 3:11.85) ranked 82nd, Dave Siegfried (Mendota Heights, Minn./Henry Sibley -- 3:13.41) was 89th, Eric Olson (Mora, Minn. -- 3:13.41) took 90th and Adam Airoldi (Everson, Wash. -- 3:14.62) finished in 100th-place.

The 2007 U.S. Cross Country Championships are now complete after the team sprints took place today. For complete results log on to http://www.seniornationals.org.

The 2008 U.S. Cross Country Championships will also be held at the Michigan Tech Nordic Training Center January 1-6.

MTU is scheduled to compete in the first of two Nor-Am SuperTour races in the month of January next Saturday (Jan. 13) and Sunday (Jan. 14) at the Mount Itasca Ski Area near Coleraine, Minn.

2007 COLLEGE CUP
U.S. CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

OVERALL POINTS
1. Northern Michigan -- 790
2. Dartmouth -- 757
3. Alaska Fairbanks -- 702
4. Alaska Anchorage -- 619
5. Michigan Tech -- 613
6. Middlebury -- 599
7. Denver -- 594
8. Utah -- 537
9. Vermont -- 469
10. Colorado -- 410
11. Western State -- 408
12. Gustavus Adolphus -- 404
13. St. Lawrence -- 372
14. Wisconsin-Green Bay -- 360
15. Nevada -- 351
16. Colby -- 290
17. New Hampshire -- 270
18. New Mexico -- 235
19. Montana State -- 230
20. St. Scholastica -- 208
21. St. Olaf -- 202
22. St. Benedict -- 152
23. Bates -- 130
24. St. John's -- 90
25. Williams -- 67
26. St. Cloud State -- 46
27. Cornell -- 44