Complete Results

RUMFORD, Maine – Sophomore #Kasey Bacso# led the St. Scholastica men on day two of the U.S. National Championships, finishing in a tie for 85th overall in the Men's 15km classic on Wednesday.

What was a muddy, slushy mess two days prior for the 1.6km classic sprint turned to a mix of dirty ice tilled together with a mix of man made snow on a 2.5 kilometer loop the skiers traveled around six times.

Olympian, Lars Flora, racing for Alaska Pacific University, bested teammate and fellow Olympian, James Southam by 18 seconds. University of Alaska-Fairbanks freshman, David Norris finished another 23 seconds back to claim the last spot on the podium.

Norris won the Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) NCAA qualifier. Fairbanks swept the top three spots in the CCSA race while impressively placing three in the top nine overall. Bacso finished in a tie for 11th with Gustavus' Jens Brabbit. Senior #Waylon Manske# finished 14th and sophomore #Jeremy Hecker# finished 19th in the CCSA race.

“It was a challenging day for us,” said Saints coach #Chad Salmela#. “The conditions really required an extensive ability to handle variable grip in different places on the course.”

After an impressive start for a bid to qualify for the team that will represent the United States at the World Junior Championships, with a seventh place finish in the junior men's classic sprint two days prior, Jeremy Hecker (Andover, Minn./Andover HS (Minnesota-Twin Cities)) sustained a disappointing day that had him racing well for the first five kilometers, only to fade over the final ten.

“I think Jeremy really went after it and skied like he knew he had to in order to solidify as spot on the team,” said Salmela. “He has one more shot in the 10km freestyle tomorrow, but it really puts his back against the wall.

The Saints finish up their stint at the 2011 U.S. Championships Thursday with the 30km freestyle and junior 10km freestyle.