Complete Results

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Coming into the Minnesota College Skiing Championships on Sunday, the Saints men were two-time defending champions, but with top skiers #Kasey Bacso# (Fr.-Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) and #Jeremy Hecker# (Fr.-Andover, Minn.) not in action, and some top skiers coming out of sickness and not much recent racing, the deeper members of the Saints men's ski team had to step up to play a key role to defend the title from Gustavus Adolphus.

The format used for the championships is a unique two-person relay in which the first skier starts with a 5km classic leg, tags to the second skier who also skis 5km classic, then tags back to the first skier who skis 5km freestyle, who then tags back to the second skier who finishes with 5km freestyle.

The Saints first team of #Waylon Manske# (Jr.-Bemidji, Minn.) and #Mason Bacso# (Jr.-Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) put Bacso in a sprint for third overall behind guests Alaska Fairbanks #1 and 2, with Gustavus #1's, Jens Brabbit, but came up a couple seconds short for the outright Minnesota College Championships relay win.

The title came down to the whether the Saints #2 or 3 teams could finish ahead of all other school's second teams to still have a chance at the title, and the CSS #3 team of #Kirk Leach# (So.-Hopkins, Minn.) and #Stefan Hupperts# (Jr.-North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View) did just that. They edged Gustavus #2 by seven seconds…those seven seconds ending up being very important, as CSS #1 finished two seconds slower than Gustavus #1. With the Gusties and Saints deadlocked at 11 points, the tiebreak went to overall time of all four teams. The Saints edged the Gusties by a total of six seconds over 20km of total race time.

“Every year I feel like we have the depth to just walk in and dominate this event on the men's side, but every year it's a nail-biter for one reason or another,” said Saints head coach Chad Salmela. “It came down to five seconds in a tie breaker this year, so the trend continues for us. I'm just glad the guys eked it out.”

The Saints return to NCAA qualification racing next weekend at Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis.

1. Ray Sabo, Henri Soom UAF 2 1:01:32
2. Alex Morris, John Parry UAF 1 1:02:30
3. Anders Bowman, Jens Brabbit GUS 1 1:02:31
4. Waylon Manske (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji HS), Mason Bacso (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata HS (St. John’s University)) CSS 1 1:02:34
5. Bob Gerten, Grant Cook SJU 1 1:03:33
7 Kirk Leach (Hopkins, Minn./Hopkins HS), Stefan Hupperts (North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View HS) CSS 3 1:05:31
8 Ryan Wright (Wyoming, Minn./Forest Lake HS), Matt Nistler (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji HS) CSS 2 1:05:38
15 John Wessling (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS), Joe Walker CSS 5 1:11:18
16 Eric Boyles (Anoka, Minn./Anoka HS), Kelin Dunfee (St. Paul, Minn./St. Paul Central HS) CSS 4 1:11:24
18 Tony Bye (Chippewa Falls, Minn./McDonell HS), Keegan McMahon (Anoka, Minn./Anoka HS) CSS 6 1:12:53
24 Jim Linn, Sam Peine CSS 7 1:20:36


Team Scores
1. UAF 19
2. CSS 11*
3. GAC 11*
4. SJU 8
5. STO 6

MN CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS
1. CSS 11
2. GAC 11
3. SJU 8
4. STO 6
*Tie breaker
CSS-2:05:05
GAC-2:05:11