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April 3rd, 2013

Members of the University of Vermont (UVM) women’s nordic ski team got more than they bargained for while backcountry skiing on Dix Mountain near Keene Valley, N.Y., on Saturday, helping to evacuate a snowshoer who injured her ankle.

According to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, the group was skiing the mountain’s slides five or six miles into the woods and below the snowshoers when they heard about the injury. Julie Rheaumb, 30, of Montreal, Quebec, slid and injured her ankle that morning, and members of her party used a cell phone to call the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation’s dispatch center. Seven forest rangers and a state police helicopter responded, with some rangers heading out on foot and Forest Ranger Kevin Burns flying in via helicopter.

Burns was lowered near the side of the slide to reach Rheaumb, and he created a makeshift sled from ski poles, skins, a harness, and rope to keep her leg elevated. With the UVM contingent, including Janey McClelland, her father Scott, and Scott’s brother Vinny, who owns The Mountaineer outfitter shop in Keene Valley, the group worked together to move her to a clearing.

Rheaumb was evacuated by helicopter and transported to Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake for medical attention.

As witnessed by FasterSkier, the UVM group completed its journey around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, with a couple women having enough energy to race each other to the parking lot. Coming off a third-place finish at NCAA Championships in early March, Vinny McClelland said they were having a fun end-of-season outing.

“It was full-on winter conditions up there,” McClelland said. “It was powder skiing.”

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March 29th, 2013

This CCSA press release can be viewed here.
It was a clean sweep of the postseason awards for Northern Michigan, as the Wildcats’ Rosie Frankowski and Erik Soderman earned regional skier of the year honors, and head coach Sten Fjeldheim collected both the men’s and women’s coach of the year award.
“It feels awesome,” Fjeldheim said. “I have a lot of respect for all the other coaches, so it’s quite an honor. I’m really happy for both Erik and Rosie as well – they worked hard all season and really deserve it.”
Frankowski earned the region’s best finish on the women’s side at this year’s NCAA Championships, collecting her first All-American honor with a seventh-place finish in the 15K skate. Initially a walk-on to the heralded Northern Michigan ski team, Frankowski finished the year as the region’s top female skier, an all-CCSA first-teamer, and earned the conference’s top skier in four events this season, including both the freestyle and classic events at U.S. Nationals.
“Rosie made me a believer,” Fjeldheim said. “She’s one of the hardest working athletes I’ve ever seen. “
Soderman, meanwhile, collected his second and third career All-American awards at this year’s NCAA Championships, earning a first-team spot with his fourth place finish in the freestyle event and a second-team spot with a 10th place finish in the classic race. Also an all-CCSA first-team member and the top scoring skier in the region this season, Soderman won six CCSA races, including sweeping both events at the CCSA Championships in February.
“Erik is just such a solid character,” Fjeldheim said. “He doesn’t say much, but when he does, its usually funny and just makes a lot of sense.”
Fjeldheim oversaw another hugely successful season at Northern Michigan, adding four All-American awards, both the men’s and women’s CCSA Championships and the men’s and the overall NCAA Central Region Championships to the school’s already impressive trophy cabinet. Under his guidance, four of the region’s top 10 skiers on both the men’s and women’s side wore the Wildcats’ green and gold.
“It’s a real honor, but I couldn’t have done it without my assistant coaches – Ingrid, my daughter, and Martin Banerud have worked really hard this year,” Fjeldheim said. “It takes more than just one coach to make a successful program, there’s no magic wand you can wave. It just takes consistency, day in and day out, and that’s a culture that the athletes themselves set. Rosie and Erik have both had a lot of great role models before them, and now they are the leaders helping set the tone for the rest of the team.”
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March 26th, 2013

Middlebury College announced on Tuesday that its search for a new nordic ski coach concluded following Andrew Gardner’s decision to leave the position earlier this season. Andrew Johnson, who has been an assistant coach at the University of Vermont for three years, will take over the program starting next season. Below is the official press release from the college:

 

Former Middlebury skier and two-time U.S. Olympian Andrew Johnson has been named the new head coach of the nordic ski program at Middlebury College. Johnson comes to Middlebury from the University of Vermont, where he served as an assistant coach for the past three years, helping the Catamounts to the 2012 NCAA title.

“I couldn’t be happier to be joining the Middlebury athletic department and ski team,” said Johnson. “The strong culture and history of skiing at Middlebury makes it a unique place to be, both for students and as a coach.”
Before joining the Catamounts, Johnson was an assistant nordic coach at the University of Utah during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. While at Utah, he earned a B.S. in Environmental Studies.
“We are thrilled to welcome Andrew Johnson back to Middlebury to take over as the head coach of the nordic skiing program,” said Director of Athletics Erin Quinn. “Andrew brings a wealth of skiing experience at the highest levels of the sport, as well as excellent coaching experience.  Most importantly, he is an outstanding teacher and his philosophies of coaching and building teams will be an excellent fit with Middlebury College.”
A native of Greensboro, Vermont, Johnson was a member of the U.S. Ski Team from 1999-2007. He competed in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy. He also competed in the Nordic World Ski Championships in 2003, 2005 and 2007. Johnson was the U.S. National Champion in cross-country skiing in 2005 and 2006.
Johnson began his career at Middlebury College where he was a three-time NCAA All-American from 1997-99 under head coach Terry Aldrich. He was the U.S. Junior National Champion in cross-country skiing in 1996.

“Middlebury’s demonstrated commitment to skiing coupled with its outstanding campus facilities and impressive upgrades at Rikert Nordic Center make it an ideal place to be,” added Johnson. “Having attended Middlebury College and skied for the program, it’s a bit of a dream come true to be able to return and help lead the ski team into its next chapter.”

Link to press release.

 

 

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March 19th, 2013

 

 

2013 NCAA Championships from Stella Holt on Vimeo.

 

If you’re like us and wish the college season could keep going indefinitely, check out this great video of the nordic races from NCAA Championships put together by Middlebury College skier Stella Holt. There’s only a few hundred days before racing starts up again, right?

 

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March 14th, 2013

The CCSA skiers ended the 2013 season on a positive note, capturing three All-American spots and placing five student-athletes in the top 15 (and seven in the top 25) at the final day of the NCAA Championships at  Middlebury College.
Northern Michigan’s Erik Soderman led the way for the region, earning first-team All-American honors with his fourth-place finish in the men’s 20K mass start freestyle race. Teammate Kyle Bratrud finished 10th to earn a second-team All-American spot in the same event, while St. Scholastica’s Jeremy Hecker just missed out on the top 10 in his final collegiate race, taking 11th in the Saints’ best ever NCAA finish.
On the women’s side, the Wildcats’ Rosie Frankowski crossed the line in seventh in the women’s 15K skate, collecting her first All-American award as all the Northern Michigan women finished among the top 20.
“I think today was super critical for our region,” St. Scholastica head coach Chad Salmela said afterward. “This is much more indicative of how good we are as a region. It felt good to be out there showing what we can do, and hopefully we earned a couple of qualifying spots back for our region.”
Warm temperatures throughout the races (the mercury would soar as high as 40 degrees during the men’s event), led to quick conditions on the Rikert Nordic Center course. The blend of mostly manmade and some natural snow stayed surprisingly firm during the women’s race, and largely kept its integrity during the men’s race as well, though some wet spots began to appear in areas affected the sun.
The fast conditions didn’t seem to faze Frankowski, however. A strong skater, she never drifted out of the top 11, springing up into seventh midway through the race and never looking back.
“Rosie just had a great race,” Northern Michigan head coach Sten Fjeldheim said. “She’s worked so hard to get where she has, and this was just the crowning moment of her year.”
Teammate Mary Kate Cirelli finished off a solid week with a 14th place finish in the freestyle race – the freshman’s second top-15 finish of the NCAA Championships. NMU’s Jordyn Ross wasn’t far behind, either, taking 17th in her first trip to nationals as well.
Alaska’s Crystal Pitney finished 27th in the event, crossing the line just ahead of teammate, Aly McPhetres, who, unfortunately, battled an ear infection most of the week and was unable to perform at her top level. McPhetres, only a sophomore, had finished the season as the region’s top scoring freestyle skier.
St. Scholastica’s Sharmila Ahmed, battling health issues of her own which caused difficulty turning on downhills, finished 36th.
On the men’s side, a somewhat cautious start led to a large lead pack sticking together throughout most of the early stages.
“No one pushed it,” Salmela said. “I think everyone was waiting for someone else to push the pace, and no one did. That helped skiers like Jeremy and Erik Soderman, who typically start slow and go hard at the end. Every lap, a couple more skiers would fall back, and they kept moving up.”
When the pace finally did increase, it was Soderman who was instigating it – the defending NCAA freestyle champion surged into the lead near the beginning of the final lap, and stretched the lead pack . Though Utah’s Miles Havlick would eventually take the national title, Soderman’s fourth-place finish earned him the third career All-American spot, and second of the week.
Northern Michigan’s Kyle Bratrud turned plenty of heads as well – the sophomore more than holding his own among the leaders before crossing the line in 10th overall to wrap up his first NCAA appearance.
St. Scholastica’s Jeremy Hecker, meanwhile, shook off back spasms to turn in arguably the performance of his career, hanging with the lead pack through most of the race and crossing the line in 11th place – the school’s best ever finish at an NCAA Championship.
“Jeremy has been the most pivotal skier in the history of our program,” Salmela said. “He’s a culture setter – he has set an example for everyone. He raced today as he always races – really smart. I told him to give it everything he had today, and he did. He may not have finished as an All-American, but he skied like one today.”
Alaska’s Logan Hanneman crossed the line in 25th, just ahead of Northern Michigan’s George Cartwright, who placed 28th. The Nanooks’ Michael Fehrenbach and Jonas Loffler both got tangled up and broke poles in an early crash, finishing 29th and 40th, respectively.
Source: CCSA


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March 9th, 2013

Miles Havlick (c) of University of Utah shares the 20 k freestyle mass start podium at the 2013 NCAA Championships with teammate Einar Ulsund (l), who placed third, and Rune Ødegaard of Colorado University, who was second.

RIPTON, Vt. — University of Utah senior Miles Havlick went out on a high note on Saturday, defending his 20 k mass start title in the 2013 freestyle edition at the NCAA Skiing Championship at Rikert Nordic Center. Havlik outsprinted nearly 10 others at the finish, edging Colorado University’s Rune Ødegård, who won Thursday’s 10 k classic individual start, by 0.6 seconds.

Havlick finished in 50:13.4 and teammates Einar Ulsund and Niklas Persson took third (+1.0) and fifth (+3.1), respectively. A 2012 NCAA individual start champ, Erik Soderman of Northern Michigan University placed fourth.

Colorado University (CU) clinched the combined-team title with 708 points, 43 ahead of Utah in second and 55 ahead of the University of Vermont, which led through two alpine races and one nordic competition coming into Saturday.

Men’s results

Final team results

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March 9th, 2013

Winner Joanne Reid (c) and runner-up Eliska Hajkova (r), both of Colorado University-Boulder, celebrate after Saturday’s 15 k freestyle mass start at the 2013 NCAA Skiing Championships at Rikert Nordic Center in Ripton, Vt. Marine Dusser of the University of Alaska-Anchorage (l) placed third for the second-straight race at NCAAs.

RIPTON, Vt. — Colorado University senior Joanne Reid put down a commanding performance in Saturday’s 15-kilometer freestyle mass start at the 2013 NCAA Skiing Championships at Rikert Nordic Center to win comfortably by 26.8 seconds and carry the  CU flag across the finish.

Teammate Eliska Hajkova, also a senior, placed second after outsprinting Marine Dusser of the University of Alaska-Anchorage by 0.4 seconds. A former French national team biathlete, Dusser notched her second podium of the two-race championships and finished 27.2 seconds behind Reid’s winning time of 38:17.8 (unofficially).

The men’s 20 k freestyle mass start begins at noon Eastern time.

Unofficial results

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March 7th, 2013

Unofficial results are in from the women’s NCAA Championship 5 k classic: Anja Gruber (University of Vermont) countered CU’s win in the men’s 10 k with a victory in the women’s race a few hours later to keep UVM in the lead at conclusion of day two of the championships. She finished the 5 k course at Rikert Touring Center in 15:31.1, 11.1 seconds ahead of Dartmouth’s Mary O’Connell. Marine Dusser (University of Alaska, Anchorage) took third (+ 11.9).

Joanne Reid (Colorado University) finished fourth (+13.1), Sloan Story (University of Utah) took fifth (+31.0) and Maria Nordstroem (CU) rounded out the top six (+32.2).

At the halfway mark of the Championships UVM still (unofficially) sits in the lead and CU moved into second place headed into the last two events of NCAAs.

Live timing results (unofficial)

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March 7th, 2013

RIPTON, Vt. — Colorado University’s Rune Oedegaard is unofficially a national champion in the first of two races at the 2013 NCAA Nordic Skiing Championships. A junior, Oedegaard won Thursday’s 10-kilometer classic individual start at Rikert Nordic Center in 26:00.2, more than five seconds ahead of runner-up Mats Resaland (UNM).

After Resaland in second (+5.2), Viktor Brännmark of the University of Alaska-Anchorage was third (+28.3). Brännmark is from Sweden and the top two are Norwegian.

Benjamin Lustgarten of Middlebury College was fourth (+32.4) on his home course, and Dartmouth’s Silas Talbot placed fifth (+36.5).

Unofficial results

Women’s 5 k classic individual starts at noon. Watch it live at NCAA.com.

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March 6th, 2013

The CCSA skiers begin their national championship adventure in earnest tomorrow, as they line up against the nation’s top collegiate skiers at the NCAA Championships in Middlebury, Vt. Of the thirteen skiers, representing three schools (Northern Michigan, Alaska and St. Scholastica), eight will be making their first appearance at nationals.

 

The event kicks off bright and early Thursday morning with a 10K men’s interval start classic race, beginning at 10 a.m. EST, followed by a 5K classic ski for women at noon. The distances, and the chaos level, only increase on Saturday, with a 15K mass start women’s freestyle event scheduled for 10 a.m., followed by a mass start 20K skate for men at noon.

 

For those unable to make the trip to Vermont, all events at this year’s NCAA Championships will be streamed online at www.ncaa.com/liveschedule.

 

“Making it to NCAAs is certainly never anything that we take for granted,” Alaska head coach Scott Jerome said. “It’s always a big accomplishment, and I think every athlete is very grateful to have the opportunity to race on this big stage. It’s very satisfying.”

 

In addition to individual championships and coveted All-American postions – the top five skiers all gain first-team All-American status, while the rest of the top 10 finishers collect second-team honors – there’s plenty more at stake when the CCSA skiers toe the line this week. Each year, the NCAA evaluates each region’s performance at nationals, and adjusts the number of berths for each region accordingly. Do well at NCAA, and your region will be able to send more skiers to next year’s championships. Each skier, therefore, has the opportunity to benefit not only themselves, but the entire region with a good performance.

 

Despite that added pressure, CCSA coaches, such as St. Scholastica’s Chad Samela, focus on keeping their athletes grounded.

 

“We are here to win, and to go about our business but, at the same time, I want our athletes to be able to relax,” Salmela said. “I think when they are relaxed and enjoying themselves, but also focused, that’s when they ski their best.”

 

Having arrived at the Rikert Nordic Center last week, the CCSA skiers have had a chance to get a number of practice runs in on what looks to be a fair but challenging course.

 

“There’s a really good mix on this course,” Salmela said. “There are some very challenging downhills with some tight turns – you are going to have to get into a nice rhythm to get through it. It’s a great course – it’s hard enough to be an NCAA championship race, but easy enough that it’s still enough about ski racing.”

 

This year’s NCAA Championships has added sentiment for Salmela – hosts Middlebury College is his alma mater.

 

In addition to the live broadcast at the NCAA website, fans of CCSA skiing can also follow live results at http://www.barttiming.com/eisa/Results13/ncaa13.htm.

 

Source: CCSA

 

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