HOUGHTON, Mich. -- With snow cover limited throughout the upper Midwest, and the cancellation of the first weekend of racing, a small group of skiers from Northern Michigan University, Michigan Tech University, and the College of St. Scholastica met for a single day, 5km freestyle mini-meet at the Michigan Tech trail system. 

A new coating of snow over the previous two days treated those in attendance with nearly flawless ski conditions. CSS freshman, Sharmila Ahmed (Savage, Minn./Burnsville HS), posted a significant performance improvement over last weekend's Grandview XC Challenge 5km freestyle, finishing sixth, in a time of 17:01.4.  Sarah Allen (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS (Northern Michigan)), the only other Saints woman on the start, finished eighth in a time of 18:04.5.

Northern Michigan's Monica Markvardsen won in a time of 15:27.6.  Teammate, Molly Burger, finished second in 15:58.0. Michigan Tech's Lynn Duijndam, rounded out the top three in 16:36.4.

Ahmed spent most of the summer in physical therapy trying to manage shin tightness brought on by the stresses of skate skiing.  Tough snow conditions at last weekend's 5km freestyle at the Grandview XC Challenge, overwhelmed Ahmed's shins once again, putting to question her physical ability to manage the requirements of the technique.

"We didn't know until the day before, whether it would be a classic or skate race," said Saints head coach Chad Salmela. Classic skiing does not affect Ahmed's shins as freestyle does.  "When we found out it would be freestyle, Sharmila and I strategized how she might prepare better in warm up to avoid the problem, as well as how to hopefully avoid them seizing up once in the race.  I think today was very successful to that end, showing both of us that with more normal skiing conditions and a softer track surface, working on a strategy to ski in a manner that keeps the shins loose, competing well in freestyle is possible.  For Sharmila, I think this was a big success, but proves we still have work to do with the help of physical therapy and a diligent approach."

The Saints will take a hiatus for varsity competition until the new year, with many racing independently New Years weekend at the Twin Cities Championships in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

MTU Women's 5km Freestyle
1.  Monica Markvardsen    NMU    15:27.6
2.  Molly Burger    NMU    15:58.0
3.  Lynn Duijndam   MTU    16:36.4
4.  Sarah Daniels   MTU   16:53.3
5.  Marissa Yovetich   MTU   16:59.8
6.  Sharmila Ahmed (Savage, Minn./Burnsville HS)   CSS   17:01.4
8.  Sarah Allen (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS (Northern Michigan))   CSS   18:04.5