HOUGHTON, Mich. – Saints senior #Tyler Kjorstad#'s (Sr.-Duluth, Minn./Marshall) defining moments in his collegiate skiing career came down to three laps, head-to-head, around the challenging Michigan Tech 5 kilometer ski course.

After a challenging 10 kilometer classic day Saturday, Kjorstad needed to cross the finish line today in the men's 15 kilometer mass start freestyle ahead of Gustavus Adolphus sophomore, Jens Brabbit, to ensure an NCAA berth. Brabbit beating Kjorstad did not necessarily mean Kjorstad would not qualify, but crossing ahead of Brabbit all but ensured Kjorstad would punch his ticket to the NCAA Skiing Championships in Maine.

Kjorstad and teammate, sophomore #Waylon Manske# (So.-Bemidji, Minn.), maintained their positions in the second pack of skiers between eighth and 12th position, with Brabbit in tow in the same group. With two kilometers left in the race, Kjorstad pushed the pace, and while he could not drop the group, it was enough to put a gap on Brabbit. While Kjorstad had the most on the line for the Saints, it was Manske who would lead the Saints effort today, edging Kjorstad at the line for 10th in a time of 44:41.0, garnering the final NCAA All-Region spot in the freestyle technique. Kjorstad's effort put him 19.9 seconds ahead of Brabbit, finishing 11th with a time of 44:46.4 with Brabbit in 12th in 45:06.3. The University of Wisconsin Green Bay's Santiago Ocariz won in a time of 42:52.0, with Michigan Tech's Jesse Lang in second (:43:02.8), and Northern Michigan University's Sindre Stokke finishing third (43:52.3). #Jason Kask# (Sr.-Duluth, Minn./East) finished in 17th position to round out the Saints team scoring.

According to Saints Head Coach Chad Salmela, Kjorstad revealed to him Saturday night that he had not been feeling fully healthy all week. “I was surprised at how flat Tyler looked in the classic race on Saturday. I just thought his fitness was higher than that,” said Salmela. “He told me he didn't want to tell me, but he'd been fighting off a cold all week but didn't want to tell me and stress me out. He really had not choice at this point but to race anyway. All things considered, I'm just glad he was able to race well enough to potentially hold onto a qualifying spot.”

Manske also finished the season never outside the top 10 in freestyle races. “Waylon capped off a great sophomore season. It was kind of nice that he managed an all-Region performance after such a solid year. I think we'll see a lot from Waylon in the future.”

The Saints finished sixth Saturday as a team, but improved to fourth today in the team scoring, edging Alaska Fairbanks by one point on the combined two-day score to claim fourth in the men's team competition for the Championship weekend.

The 2009 Central Regional NCAA Skiing Championship qualifiers will be officially announced Monday afternoon. “Until tomorrow, the points will be checked and re-checked by committee for the entire season to ensure accuracy,” said Salmela. “From what we have seen, we are confident Tyler is among the qualifiers, but we won't know until tomorrow.”

NCAA CENTRAL REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
MEN'S 15KM MASS START FREESTYLE
1. Ocariz , Santiago UWGB 0:42:52.0
2. Lang , Jesse MTU 0:43:02.8
3. Stokke , Sindre NMU 0:43:52.3
4. Lund , Oskar MTU 0:43:57.3
5. Singleton , Justin NMU 0:44:20.6
6. Violett , Phil NMU 0:44:21.1
7. Mundahl , Erik MTU 0:44:25.2
8. Sjulstad , Petter MTU 0:44:37.0
9 .Cook , Tim NMU 0:44:40.6
10. Manske , Waylon CSS 0:44:41.0
11. Kjorstad , Tyler CSS 0:44:46.4
17. Kask , Jason CSS 0:46:33.6
25. Hupperts , Stefan CSS 0:47:44.4
29. Nistler , Matt CSS 0:48:34.3
41. Boyles , Eric CSS 0:50:54.7
55. Wacker , Joe CSS 0:58:04.5

TEAM SCORES
1. MTU 89
2. NMU 88
3. UWGB 74
4. CSS 71
5. GAC 61
6. UAF 52
7. SJU 43
8. STO 38
9. NOR 24

TWO-DAY COMBINED CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM SCORE
1. NMU 181
2. MTU 178
3. UWGB 134
4. CSS 126
5. UAF 125
6. GAC 115
7. SJU 100
8. STO 73
9. NOR 48