Complete Results

IRONWOOD, Mich. – St. Scholastica junior #Julia Curry# (Jr.-Woodbury, Minn.) led the lady Saints in the women's 5km freestyle at the Grandview XC Challenge, finishing 10th overall and first among college skiers, with a time of 15:57.5 seconds.

Central XC's Kelly Chaudoin outpaced St. Paul Academy's Anne Hart, the defending Minnesota high school champion, by 22.8 seconds, to win in a time of 15:01.4. Champlin, Minnesota's, Eleanor Magnuson (Champlin Park, Minn./Champlin Park HS) finished third, 5.2 seconds further back, in 0:15:29.4. It is notable that conference powerhouses Northern Michigan, Michigan Tech, and a good portion of the UW Green Bay teams were not present.

Saints senior #Megan Holmes# (Sr.-Gilbert, Minn./Mesabi East) finished second among the Saints women in 29th place with a time of 16:53.3. Freshman #Lindsey Johnson# (Fr.-St. Louis Park, Minn.) rounded out the Saints top three, finishing 36th in a time of 17:13.0.

“This was a good confidence builder for Julia,” said Saints head coach Chad Salmela. “She had one of her best early season races ever and finished well against the field, but will definitely continue to improve in coming weeks. She's right where I want her right now.”

Curry narrowly missed Saints qualification criteria for the U.S. National Championships in Anchorage, Alaska, January 2-6. Salmela, however, gave Curry the nod for the trip after today's races.

“The standards are set to push athletes to the level they need to be for that level of competition,” said Salmela. “Julia is the kind of racer I don't want to be too fit this early, but I felt today's performance warranted opening the option of the trip up to her. I think she will be at the necessary level in three weeks to deserve the starts in Anchorage.”

The Saints compete tomorrow in the 10km classic in Ironwood.

Grandview XC Challenge
Men's 10km Freestyle
Ironwood, MI
12/12/09

1. CHAUDOIN, Kelly, CXC 0:15:01.4
2. HART, Anne Minneapolis Ski Club 0:15:24.2
3. ELEANOR, Magnuson, Champlin, MN 0:15:29.4
10. CURRY, Julia CSS 0:15:57.5
29. HOLMES, Megan CSS 0:16:53.3
36. JOHNSON, Lindsay CSS 0:17:13.0
43. LUND, Caroline CSS 0:17:56.4
53. JOHNSON, Sarah CSS 0:18:31.3