Korthauer and Dewitt Repeat, NMU takes overall

Mon, Jan  21, 2008 - By Matias Saari

Marius Korthauer of the Alaska Nanooks barely won his second straight race on Sunday but the Northern Michigan University Wildcats claimed the team title over two days of racing on their home trails in Marquette, Mich.

Sunday’s grueling classic technique races at the NTN Trails — 15 kilometers for men and 10-K for women — were another NCAA qualifier for the Central Collegiate Ski Association, and the temperature at the start of the men’s race was -4 Fahrenheit, the minimum allowed for NCAA races. Throw in windy conditions, and the interval-start event was a chilly affair.

NMU’s Laura DeWitt didn’t seem to mind, however, taking her second race in as many days in 34 minutes, 35 seconds. The sophomore from Rhinebeck, N.Y., has recovered nicely from a hand injury that required surgery and forced her to take a medical redshirt last season.

Morgan Smyth of NMU was again runner-up in 34:59.7, with teammate Maria Stuber placing sixth overall (and fourth collegian), as NMU handily claimed the women’s overall team standings. Alaska and Gustavus Adolphus College were second and third, respectively.

Aurelia Korthauer of Alaska took third in 36:00, while Jenna Klein of Michigan Tech was ninth (and fifth among college racers). Laura Edlund and Kathleen DeWahl of Gustavus Adolphus College took 11th and 12th to lead all finishers from the Minnesota schools.

In the men’s race, Marius Korthauer trailed NMU’s Phillip Violett by seven seconds with two kilometers to go before finding another gear despite the mostly flat and downhill finish. Korthauer finished in 46:08.8 with Violett just 1.1 seconds back.  

Despite the disadvantage of an early start position, Alaska’s Vahur Teppan placed fourth, then immediately was driven to Minneapolis. Then he planned to fly to Calgary, Alberta, in order to compete at upcoming World Cup races in Canmore as a member of the Estonian National Team.

Michigan Tech had its best race in recent memory, as Jesse Lang (fifth), Adam Airoldi (sixth) and Kevin Heglund (ninth) cracked the top 10 overall.

Craig Hertz of Wisconsin-Green Bay was 11th and Jens Brabbit of Gustavus Adolphus led Minnesota in 19th.

NMU, with four in the top 12, edged MTU 78-76 in Sunday’s men’s team standings. The Wildcats also took the men’s overall 154-151 over Alaska.

The next races (and another NCAA qualifier) for the CCSA is a SuperTour event at Telemark Resort in Cable, Wisc., Jan. 26-27.

The top finishers from each school from Sunday’s races were as follows (overall place):

Northern Michigan, Laura DeWitt, 1st.
Alaska (Fairbanks), Marius Korthauer, 1st.
Michigan Tech, Jesse Lang, 5th.
Gustavus Adolphus, Laura Edlund, 11th.
Wisconsin-Green Bay, Craig Hertz, 11th.
St. Olaf, Shaina Short, 18th.
St. Scholastica, Jason Cask, 26th.
St. Benedict, Anna Roessler, 27th.
St. Cloud St., Diane Vezendy, 32nd.
St. John’s, Mason Basco, 33rd.
Northland, Sara Domek, 43rd.

Men’s team standings from Sunday:

1. Northern Michigan University, 78    
2. Michigan Tech, 76
3. University of Alaska-Fairbanks, 68
4. University of Wisconsin Green Bay, 60    
5. College of St. Scholastica, 45
5. Gustavus Adolphus College, 45
7. St. John’s University, 33
8. St. Olaf College, 29
9. Northland College, 6

Women’s team standings from Sunday:

1. Northern Michigan University, 86    
2. Gustavus Adolphus College, 70
3. University of Alaska - Fairbanks, 69
4. Michigan Tech, 61
5. University of Wisconsin Green Bay, 50 6. St. Olaf, 42 7. College of St. Benedict, 29 8. College of St. Scholastica, 25 9. Saint Cloud State University, 21 10. Northland College, 11

Overall two-day standings:
Men:
1. NMU, 154
2. UAF, 151
3. MTU, 136
4. UWGB, 116
5. CSS, 108
6. GAC, 84
7. SOC, 69
8. SJU, 60
9. NC, 17

Women:
1. NMU, 171
2. UAF, 146
3. GAC, 139
4. MTU, 105
5. UWGB, 103
6. SOC, 80
7. CSB, 67
8. CSS, 55
9. SCSU, 35
10. NC, 27

Combined:
1. NMU, 325
2. UAF 297
3. MTU, 241
4. GAC, 223
5. UWGB, 219
6. CSS, 163
7. SOC, 149
8. CSB, 67
9. SJU, 60
10. NC, 44
11. SCSU, 35