Women's Classic Results
Team Scores

COLERAINE, Minn. (csssaints.com) -- Sophomore Sharmila Ahmed (Savage, Minn./Burnsville HS) continued her assault on becoming the Saints' first woman to qualify for the NCAA Skiing Championships, posting a fifth place finish at the Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) Championships 5km classic at Mt. Itasca, Saturday.  Ahmed posted a time of 15:25.9, in a juggernaut of women separated by seconds and tenths of seconds.  

Alaska Fairbanks'  Raphaela Sieber was the only certainty all day, leading wire to wire to win by 13.5 seconds over Hannah Boyer of Northern Michigan, 15:05.1 to 15:18.6.  Boyer, however, held off a charge from behind, out pacing teammate Jordyn Ross by seven-tenths of a second in 15:19.3.

Northern Michigan's Mary Kate Cirelli beat Ahmed for fourth by just 1.8 seconds, while Ahmed edged Michigan Tech's Deedra Irwin by just seven-tenths. Just 15 seconds separated third through 10th places.

Saints senior Sarah Allen (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS (Northern Michigan)) finished a solid 15th, just 41.7 seconds off the winner in 15:46.8, while junior Brooke Adams (Spooner, Wis./Spooner HS ) rounded out the scoring for the in 20th in a time of 16:06.6.

The Saints finished third for the first time in a CCSA Championship event with 53 points.  Northern Michigan won with 75, while Alaska Fairbanks finished second with 68.

"We did what we needed to do today, with all of our women skiing strong," according to Saints head coach Chad Salmela.  "Sarah Allen (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS (Northern Michigan)) skied a heck of a race today, and Brooke had more snap than I've seen.  Tech opened the door for us and we walked right through it.  It feels great."

Ahmed's performance alleviates a lot of pressure for the final three races of the season according to Salmela.  "Nothing is ever sealed or signed until the regular season concludes, but Shar needed a good classic race, and that's what she did today."

Ahmed's points for NCAA qualification were being dragged down by one of two necessary classic races.  Her performance at the Wirth SuperTour in January in the 15km classic mass start was a liability as Salmela saw it.  "I just couldn't see her qualifying with that race counting as one of her best two classic races.  To put that one away once and for all with today's race, was a must-do to qualify, and that's done.  With that said, it's still not over.  It just really takes the pressure off for a good classic race next weekend at the NCAA Regionals.  She's got two good classic races in the hopper."

The women are also posting their top CCSA finish ever, sitting in fourth with one event left, the 15km Freestyle Mass Start.  Northern Michigan leads the team scores with 220.  Fairbanks is second with 197, Michigan Tech third in 184, and the Saints in fourth with 152.  Combined with the men, the Saints as a program could threaten Sunday to reach to podium as a combined program for the first time in CCSA Championship history.