Complete Results

BIWABIK, Minn. (csssaints.com) -- Coming off a pair of back-to-back second place finishes in CCSA competition, it seemed only right that St. Scholastica senior Jeremy Hecker (Andover, Minn./Andover HS (Minnesota-Twin Cities)) might break through and win his home meet, in his strongest technique, in front of a partisan Saints crowd.  He did everything right but came up a tenth of a second shy to post his third straight second-place CCSA finish in as many races.

Hecker jumped to the head of the field right from the gun, but settled in to let a trio of Northern Michigan skiers; NCAA Champion Erik Soederman, George Cartwright, and Chris Bowler, do their fair share of the leading in the early going of the long 20km race.  Up the first climb, the quartet along with Green Bay's Matt Nichols put a gap on the field, with Saints junior Scott Johanik (Washburn, Wis./Washburn HS ) skiing solo between the lead pack and the main field.

Entering the halfway mark, Hecker put a surge on the front that dropped Bowler, but with 10km to go, four men held a commanding lead over Bowler and Johanik skiing alone about 20 seconds off the lead group.  Meanwhile, with many of the Saints mainstay scorers struggling in the late teens, freshman Jake Richards (Callaway, Minn./Detroit Lakes HS ) was holding 12th at the halfway mark, but sitting at the back of a group of four, the top ten very much within reach.

Nichols was the next to crack as the pace quickened in the final kilometers.  With three-quarters of a kilometer to go, Hecker led Cartwright and Soederman out of the woods, onto the final climb before dashing downhill to the finishing stretch.  As the noise of those amassed on the hill crescendoed, Hecker met the excitement, trying to seal the deal with a win for the home team.  Cartwright responded but Soederman showed a bit more fatigue as a slight gap opened between the NMU teammates. 

As they sped down the final downhill, Soederman inched back into contention.  At the 100m mark, it was a three-way drag race for the win.  Cartwright inched slightly ahead of Hecker and Cartwright clearly taking the victory, but Hecker and Soederman each threw their foot in a too-close-to-call finish with the naked eye.  The video was needed for confirmation.  In the end, Hecker edged Soederman for second in what the camera call a 3-100ths of a second advantage (Picture Below).  All three clocked 53 minutes and 17 seconds, with the final results reflecting a 3/10ths of a second difference from first to third.

Nichols cruised in for fourth for Green Bay in 53:45.7, while the Saints' Johanik skied much of the 20km race yo-yoing to within a few seconds of NMU's Bowler for fifth, but Bowler put in a final serge a few kilometers from the finish that solidified fifth.  Bowler finished in 54:41.5 to Johanik's 55:17.1.

The surprise of the day for CSS was freshman Jake Richards (Callaway, Minn./Detroit Lakes HS )' final charge from 12th, all the way up to seventh at the finish line to round out the scoring for the Saints with at time of 55:48.9.  Richards' performance marks a program-best CCSA finish for a freshman.

Northern Michigan won the day with 75 points with the Saints second with 69.  The men's scores for the two-day total were in the same order, 149 for NMU to 140 for CSS.  Michigan Tech finished third with 115.  The Saints men combined with the women to take second for the second weekend in a row, 258 points to Northern Michigan's 300.  The Huskies were third with 233 points.

“By all accounts, it was another great weekend,” said Saints head coach Chad Salmela.  “We had program-changing performances from Jeremy, obviously going second now three races in a row.  We've definitely never done anything like that.  But for John Wessling (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS) to be fourth Saturday, Johanik sixth and seventh in back-to-back races, then have Jake Richards (Callaway, Minn./Detroit Lakes HS ) as a freshman post a seventh place?  It's just great and fun to have this kind of momentum.”

The Saints travel February 2nd and 3rd to the CCSA Sprint and Relay Championships in Negaunee, Mich., hosted by Northern Michigan University.