LITTLE FALLS, Minn. – After a solid-but-sobering start to the Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) Championships in Saturday's 10km classic, at Camp Ripley, near Little Falls, Minn., sophomore #Waylon Manske# (So.-Bemidji, Minn.) and senior #Tyler Kjorstad# (Sr.-Duluth, Minn./Marshall) had their backs against the wall with only three races remaining in their bids for an NCAA Skiing Championship berth. Today in the men's 20km mass start freestyle, they came out guns blazing, marking every move in the lead pack to emerge at the finish in fourth and fifth places respectively.

From the gun, Kjorstad led the Saints' efforts with Manske in tow. By the end of the first of four 5km loops, both skiers marked the leaders in sixth and ninth place with much of the field still in contact. But by the 10km mark, Kjorstad, still running in sixth, and Manske, still running in ninth, had placed themselves in the lead group of 11, with a comfortable gap to 12th. By the 15km point, the lead group lapping through the stadium for the fourth and final trip around the course, had dropped to nine, with Manske and Kjorstad still in the group. As Northern Michigan University's 2008 NCAA All-American, Martin Banerud, pressed the issue at the 16km mark, the group of eight began to break apart. The move dropped Petter Sjulstad of Michigan Tech and Justin Singleton of NMU out of contention. Then there were seven.

By 18km, it was clear that the duo from St. Scholastica were going to hang in the top of the field to the finish. The final shakeout for places would be a 2km mad scramble as Banerud, teammate Phil Violett, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay's Santiago Ocariz, spit NMU's Tim Cook out of the top group who had gapped the rest of the field by 10 seconds. At 19km, Manske passed teammate Kjorstad and Oeyvind Watterdal of Alaska Fairbanks, and a fading Cook, in a dash for fourth. Meanwhile, Kjorstad sat in seventh behind Watterdal and Cook until the final climb where he pushed past at the top of the hill.

With teammate Manske pulling away, Kjorstad dropped both Watterdal and Cook in the final 500m, and nearly closed the gap on his teammate by the finish line. Manske crossed the line fourth, in a time of 47:04, twenty-one seconds off the winning time of Banerud in 46:43, and three seconds ahead of teammate, Kjorstad in fifth, in a time of 47:07. The performance was only the third time a Saints skier finished in the top five of a CCSA NCAA qualifier, and the first time in program history that two Saints skiers finished in the top five in the same competition. Senior #Jason Kask# (Sr.-Duluth, Minn./East) made a late charge in the final lap to help claim a tie with Michigan Tech for second place as a team . Kask finished 25th in a time of 50:13.

“This was quite simply something huge for our program, to have two guys at the front of the group, mixing it up like this,” commented Saints Head Coach Chad Salmela, about the performance of his team. “This has never happened for us in a mass start. It was just an incredible day after one that was a tad less sparkling yesterday.” Salmela had a sense it might be his team's day as well. “I had a hunch we could do it today when I woke up. It was just one of those things you sensed in your gut. As I was testing waxes and concocting our ski preparation, I felt that we had a good thing going, that everything was coming together for a landmark performance, and just secretly hoped for something like this. But I didn't expect or even hope for two top 5s. I just wanted them to ski the way I know they can and thought two top-10s or three top-20s was a possibility.”

The Saints finished second as a team earlier in the year at Mt. Itasca in the men's 10km freestyle, but it was an abbreviated field. “Today, everyone was here and we tied for second,” said Salmela. “Itasca was nice, but today was the real deal with Banerud back from Norway and Alaska Fairbanks in the field. This is a high-water mark that nobody could expect in such a short existence as a program. I'm just so proud of this team today.”

Alaska Fairbanks' men edged out the Saints men by three points for third place on the two-day combined weekend team standings. Northern Michigan beat Michigan Tech for top honors. The Saint's fourth place finish for the weekend is their best performance since the 2008 NCAA Central Regional Championship.

The Saints compete in the fifth and final NCAA qualifier of the season at the NCAA Central Regional Championships in Houghton, Michigan, February 28th through March 1st. The qualifiers for the 2009 NCAA Skiing Championships will be named at the completion of the Central Regionals.

CCSA NCAA QUALIFIER
CAMP RIPLEY, MN
MEN'S 20KM MASS START FREESTYLE
1 Martin Banerud NMU 46:43
2 Santiago Ocariz UWGB 46:46
3 Phil Violett NMU 46:49
4 Waylon Manske (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji HS) CSS 47:04
5 Tyler Kjorstad (Duluth, Minn./Marshall School) CSS 47:07
6 Oeyvind Watterdal UAF 47:11
7 Tim Cook NMU 47:14
8 Petter Sjulstad MTU 47:39
9 Justin Singleton NMU 47:48
10 Oskar Lund MTU 47:57
25 Jason Kask (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) CSS 50:13
29 Matt Nistler (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji HS) CSS 50:55
37 Kirk Leach (Hopkins, Minn./Hopkins HS) CSS 52:35
41 Stefan Hupperts (North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View HS) CSS 52:56
43 Eric Boyles (Anoka, Minn./Anoka HS) CSS 54:12
54 Joe Wacker (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park HS) CSS 59:06

TEAM SCORES
1 NMU 91
2 CSS 75
2 MTU 75
4 UWGB 68
5 UAF 63
6 GAC 58
7 STO 46
8 SJU 40
9 NOR 24

WEEKEND TOTAL TEAM SCORES
1 NMU 183
2 MTU 166
3 UAF 140
4 CSS 137
5 UWGB 121
6 GAC 100
7 STO 96
8 SJU 89
9 NOR 48