MTU Skiers battle sub-zero temperatures at US Nationals

Tue, Jan  6, 2009 - By Michigan Tech

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The Michigan Tech Nordic ski teams had three men finish in the top-100 in the 10-kilometer freestyle race at the US National Championships Monday (Jan. 5). The race, originally scheduled for Sunday, was postponed until today due to sub zero temperatures.

Junior Jesse Lang posted the top finish for the Huskies finishing 82nd in a time of 28:28.1. Freshman Petter Sjulstad was 12 spots back in 94th in 28:53.5. Junior Erik Mundahl rounded out the top three for Tech finishing 98th in 28:59.2.

“Todays race was a decent performance for our men’s team,” said head coach Joe Haggenmiller. “I would have liked to see our men a little higher up, especially with our racers from our region, but the weather was not helping us today.”

Sophomore Jackie Pribyl paced the women’s team with a 106th place finish in the women’s five-kilometer freestyle in 17:59.6. A pair of juniors rounded out the top three for Tech after Jenna Klein finished 126th (18:27.8) and Liz Quinley was 143rd (19:11.7).

“Our women struggled with the cold temperatures today,” said Haggenmiller. “We have to put today’s performances behind us and focus on the classical races.”

A pair of Michigan Tech alumni also enjoyed strong days at the championships. Kristina Owen finished 17th in the women’s race in 16:02.6 and Karl Walczak was 41st in 27:16.0.

The Huskies will continue competition in the classical races scheduled for tomorrow (Jan. 6).

Complete Men's and Women's Results