Junkkala won Women’s Skate race; Campbell captured Men’s Classic race
The Michigan Tech Nordic Ski Team won its home meet over the weekend at the Tech trails, the MTU CCSA Invitational. The Huskies edged Northern Michigan in the men’s, women’s, and overall team standings, while Julia Junkkala won Sunday’s skate and Wes Campbell won Saturday’s classic.
Tom Monahan Smith:
“It was a truly awesome weekend to be a Nordic Husky! The Men’s Team had a stellar classic race day on Saturday, taking the team win on day one, and the Women’s Team had a dream day in today’s skate race, claiming all three spots on the podium and boosting our team to the overall combined team win for the MTU CCSA Invitational!! The classic race day had extremely close competition with the short 5km race making for exciting racing amongst our CCSA competitors. The skate race day saw packed skiing with the mass start and long 20km distance, and decisive moves that propelled our student-athletes to the front of the field on the last of four laps.
“You couldn’t have asked for better ski conditions at the Tech Trails! We had beautiful weather this weekend with blue skies and snow-covered trees. Getting to ski the Tech Trails in these prime conditions is a huge reason we all love living here!
“We’re immensely grateful to our Race Organizing Committee and nearly 100 volunteers who helped us host the weekend. They truly provide the greatest race experience for all of the competitors, and we’re so grateful to be a part of a community that cares so much about our team and the quality of our events! We also want to thank all of the high school & middle school teams who came out to race in the MTU Invitational this weekend! We hope these athletes come away from this weekend inspired and in love with ski racing! Lastly, thank you to MTU Athletics for all of the support we receive to host these events, and to all the parents, families, and fans who came out to cheer us on at home this weekend. It’s all the support we receive that truly makes us love racing at home!”
Wes Campbell continued his hot start to the season with his third CCSA individual win of the season, beating Luke Fricker of NMU by almost 14 seconds. Markus Groethe and Noa Kam-Magruder placed fourth and fifth in the 5K classic.
Bridget Burns led the women’s team in Saturday’s classic, placing second. Julia Junkkala, Hailee Zimpel, and Hannah Smart finished in sixth through eighth.
Julia Junkkala edged teammate Bridget Burns in Sunday’s 20k skate. Hannah Smart was also on the podium in third. Greta Hansen (8th) and Hailee Zimpel (10th) were also in the top 10.
In the men’s race on Sunday, Wes Campbell again was the top Husky, leading a pack in fourth through eighth, followed by Noa Kam-Magruder, Markus Groethe, Eddie Snider, and Sam Stertz.
The Huskies have Winter Carnival weekend off before the CCSA Championship on Feb. 14-15 in Minneapolis.
