Complete Results

HOUGHTON, Mich. (csssaints.com) – On day two of the Michigan Tech Christmas Classic, junior Paul Schommer (Appleton, Wis./Kimberly HS) led the Saints again, from the same position as day one, finishing fourth among college skiers and sixth overall in the 10km classic in a time of 30:24.

Northern Michigan's Fredrik Schwenke went out blazing, leading Schommer by 17 seconds, and NMU's Kyle Bratrud and Adam Martin by 18 and 26 seconds, respectively, after the first of four 2.5km laps.  Schwenke stretched his lead at the halfway point to 26 over Bratrud, while Schommer dropped to 45 seconds back, still in third, despite a fall. 

Bratrud tried to claw back time on his Norwegian teammate, but only took back 5 of the 26 seconds he trailed by at the halfway point.  Schwenke took the win in 29:20, while Bratrud finished in 29:41.  Martin snuck up and on Schommer in the final lap to nip him by a second to take the podium sweep for Northern Michigan.

Red shirt Wildcat and 2012 NCAA Champion, Erik Soderman, and Midwest standout, Ben Saxton got between Martin and Bratrud to claim third and fourth overall.  The gap from Saxton to Schommer in the overall race was a mere three seconds.

Sophomore Joe Dubay (Coon Rapids, Minn./Andover HS) bounced back after a rough Saturday freestyle with an eighth place finish (10th overall) in a time of 31:29, while senior, Scott Johanik (Washburn, Wis./Washburn HS ), scored for the second straight day in ninth (11th overall) in 31:34. 

The Saints put five in the top 11 with senior John Wessling (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS) finishing five seconds behind Johanik in 10th (12th overall) with 31:39, and junior Chris Parr (Eagan, Minn./Eagan HS) 11th (13thoverall) in 31:52.

Northern Michigan scored perfectly with 42 points.  The Saints took second by a point over Michigan Tech, 29 to 28 respectively

"I think everyone skied better today than Saturday," said Saints head coach Chad Salmela. "I think we just stepped it up a bit from Saturday and we packed more guys towards the front of the field, which allowed us to edge out Tech for second, which is nice.  Classic has been a big focus the last two seasons and to perform this early, better than in the freestyle race, is a nice sign that we are equally strong if not stronger in the classic technique."

The Saints compete December 21 and 22 at the USSA Junior Olympic Qualifier in Wausau, Wis., before taking a break for the New Year.