Kraftson, Fricker and Albrecht pace Wildcats
HOUGHTON, Mich. — In the final race before conference championships, the NMU men’s nordic ski team swept the podium in the 20k mass start on the campus of Michigan Tech.
Adrik Kraftson and Luke Fricker paced the field the entire race, and would end up finishing one and two at 52:33.0 and 52:37.4. Kraftson was second to Fricker through the 15k marker, but the teammates swapped positions after Kraftson posted a final 5k of 12:57.8 compared to Fricker’s 13:02.8, en route to finishing just 4.4 seconds apart.
Caden Albrecht and Wes Campbell were caught in a photo finish, as both the racers crossed the line at 53:26.2, but Albrecht would inch out Campbell by 0.1 seconds to earn bronze. Albrecth climbed the leaderboard, as he was in sixth through the halfway point and fifth place at the 15k mark mark before turning in the second-fastest final 5k time of 13:01.1.
A full list of results from today can be found here.
Hendrik Peterson was the only other Wildcat to record a finishing time, placing 18th at 57:20.9. Jack Dahlby DNF before the 15k mark, and Jonathan Clarke DNS.
The ‘Cats now look ahead to the beginning of the postseason, as the CCSA Conference Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota begin on Friday, February 13, at Theodore Wirth Park.
