Frred, Solberg first and second in 20K Skate
DULUTH, Minn. – Michigan Tech won the overall team title at the St. Scholastica CCSA Invitational in Duluth over the weekend. The Huskies trailed Northern Michigan in the team standings after Saturday’s classic but edged the Wildcats in Sunday’s freestyle to take the victory.
“We’re so incredibly happy for the team to win the overall team title on the weekend,” Tech coach Tom Monahan Smith said. “We were trailing after day 1 in both the men’s and women’s but had an absolutely incredible day today in the skate mass start. We truly competed as a team, really helping pull each and every teammate up to their best possible performance. Every single student-athlete stepped up today and just had an outstanding performance.
“We had a big improvement in the classic race compared to how we skied at US Nationals and Ariens and really just showed how strong we can be when we compete as a team in the mass start races. I couldn’t be more happy to take away this team win, and it’s a foreshadow to what we’re looking forward to the rest of the season.”
Colin Freed won Sunday’s 20K skate, finishing 1.3 seconds ahead of Tryg Solberg who joined the podium in second. Wes Campbell placed fifth with Parker Courte-Rathwell coming in seventh for a top 10. Greta Hansen led a pack of three Huskies in third in the women’s skate race followed by Marie Sølverud Wangen (4th) and Alice McKnight (5th). Bridget Burns was 1:10 back in the seventh position.
In Saturday’s 7.5K classic, Wes Campbell led the Huskies with a podium-placing third-place finish. Colin Freed (5th), Caden Albrecht (6th), and Tryg Solberg (10th) also placed in the top 10. Alice McKnight led the women’s team in the classic, finishing third for a spot on the podium. Greta Hansen and Marie Sølverud Wangen were sixth and seventh while Bridget Burns rounded out the top 10.
The Huskies take the weekend off before hosting the CCSA Championships & GLD CXC Cup Finale on Feb. 15-16 at the Tech Trails.
