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HOUGHTON, Mich. – Saints senior #Tyler Kjorstad# (Sr.-Duluth, Minn./Marshall) received the Saints ski program's first ever All-CCSA Conference award today for his strong season of ski racing, but despite being the first skier in program history to receive such honors, he goes into the final day of competition fighting to reach his seasonal goal-an NCAA Skiing Championship berth.

Kjorstad finished 17th today in the 10 kilometer classic at the NCAA Central Regional Skiing Championships at the Michigan Tech ski trails in Houghton, Michigan. He posted a time of 32:40.8, 2:41 behind Northern Michigan's All-American, Martin Banerud. Banerud edged Michigan Tech's Oskar Lund by four-tenths of a second to claim the title. Saints senior #Jason Kask# (Sr.-Duluth, Minn./East) finished 27th (33:42.0) and sophomore #Matt Nistler# (So.-Bemidji, Minn.) 29th (33:54.5) as the Saints final scorers.

Kjorstad's 17th place finish fell shy of sealing his NCAA berth a day early, but did not put him out of the running either. Kjorstad seeks his first qualification berth after two consecutive seasons of finishing in the first alternate's spot for the Central Region.

“We know Tyler can classic ski with the top ten of this field, and I'd be lying if I said we aren't a little disappointed he wasn't up there today,” said Saints Head Coach Chad Salmela. “Every day, we coaches just hope for the athletes to do what they can do at their best, but in a sport like this, it's never that cut and dry. Skating has traditionally been his strong suit, but he has also skied very well early and mid-season in classic. We were looking to sew it up today with a top ten, but he fell a little short."

Kjorstad is ranked fifth in the freestyle technique and could have made Sunday's freestyle race a formality with a top finish in today's classic race. His finish today ranks him 16th for the season in the classic technique and makes his qualification possibility a bit more tenuous, but not impossible. "Tyler fought hard today when he had to fight hard, and I was super proud of his effort," continued Salmela. "He just had to fight to keep his NCAA hopes alive, and he did that. He still has a very reasonable chance to qualify, but as it so often does, it comes down to tomorrow.”

The Saints final NCAA qualification race, the 15 kilometer mass start freestyle, happens tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. EST on the Michigan Tech ski trails.

NCAA CENTRAL REGIONAL SKIING CHAMPIONSHIPS
HOUGHTON, MI
February 28, 2009
MEN'S 10KM CLASSIC
1. Martin Banerud NMU 29:58.9
2. Oskar Lund MTU 29:59.3
3. Phil Violett NMU 30:14.4
4. Jesse Lang MTU 31:01.5
5. Justin Singleton NMU 31:05.0
6. Sindre Stokke NMU 31:13.5
7. Santiago Ocariz UWGB 31:15.0
8. Petter Sjulstad MTU 31:20.3
9. Tim Cook NMU 31:30.0
10. Oeyvind Watterdal UAF 31:45.5
17. Tyler Kjorstad (Duluth, Minn./Marshall School) CSS 32:40.8
27. Jason Kask (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) CSS 33:42.0
29. Matt Nistler (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji HS) CSS 33:54.4
33. Stefan Hupperts (North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View HS) CSS 34:21.6
42. Waylon Manske (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji HS) CSS 34:44.8
55. Eric Boyles (Anoka, Minn./Anoka HS) CSS 35:54.9
64. Joe Wacker (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park HS) CSS 38:39.6