Complete Results

MINNEAPOLIS -- In just her third career start in a Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) race, St. Scholastica freshman Sharmila Ahmed (Savage, Minn./Burnsville HS) notched her first top-10 CCSA finish of her young career, finishing in a time of 19:05.3 for the 6km classic at Wirth Park. 

Held in conjunction with the US Ski and Snowboard Association's (USSA) SuperTour event, Ahmed finished 22nd overall. Northern Michigan University's Monica Markvardsen finished fifth overall in the Supertour to claim top spot among collegiate racers in a time of 17:59.6.  University of Alaska Fairbanks rounded out the collegiate podium with Mari Rjabov finishing second in 18:32.4, and teammate Raphaela Sieber finishing third in 18:36, finishing seventh and 10th respectively in SuperTour field overall.

CSS senior Eleanor Magnuson (Champlin Park, Minn./Champlin Park HS) finished 20th in the CCSA in a time of 19:37.3.  Sophomore Brooke Adams (Spooner, Wis./Spooner HS ) rounded out the Saints scoring in 23rd with a time of 19:41.7.  The Saints finished fourth on the day with Alaska Fairbanks finishing first, Northern Michigan second, and Michigan Tech third.

"Sharmila had a good race and after a slow start to both the training year and racing season, she finally felt some signs of light, and it shows what she can do," said Saints head coach Chad Salmela. "Sharmila was the top freshman skier in the CCSA today and I think we're just starting to see what she is capable of." 

Salmela was happy with the team's effort on the whole.  "Our scorers had a very tight race.  I thought the race would get spread out a bit more because of the slow cold conditions, but if you look at where our second and third skier were,  would have done a lot in overall college placing.  I think this women's team is in the thick of it, and with a little more pop, the impression on the results will be big."

The Saints continue with a 9km freestyle race Sunday at Wirth Park.