Complete Results | Freestyle Team Scores | Overall Team Scores

HOUGHTON, Mich. (csssaints.com) – St. Scholastica's Paul Schommer (Appleton, Wis./Kimberly HS) led a pack of 12 through 10 kilometers of the NCAA Central Regional 15km mass start Sunday, but on the final lap, Northern Michigan's George Cartwright worked with open skier, Erik Soderman, to put a gap on the rest of the field and win the race by 21.8 seconds over teammate, Kyle Bratrud. 

By the finish, the group of 12 disintegrated down to seven with Cartwright and Soderman ahead. In that pack sprint for the second spot, Schommer came up 1.3 seconds shy of Bratrud and tying his own Saints-best finish at the regionals, a feat he carried out his freshman season.  It remains Schommer's and the Saints men's second best program finish at the regional championships.

Scott Johanik (Washburn, Wis./Washburn HS ) finished 18th on the day with a time of 43:44.4, while Chris Parr (Eagan, Minn./Eagan HS) rounded out the Saints scoring in 23rd with a time of 44:36.5.  The Saints finished fourth on the day with 43 points, behind winners Northern Michigan with 66 points, Alaska with 56, and Michigan Tech with 45.  Despite being kept off the podium on the day, the Saints take third for the championship for a second straight year as they outmatched the Huskies Saturday by 10 points for a net difference of seven points on the positive for the Saints. Northern Michigan won the title with 129 points to Alaska's 122, with the Saints in third with 93.

The NCAA hunt for Schommer was all but wrapped up coming into the weekend.  The weekend was mostly about seeding himself in the race field for the NCAA Championships. While the classic seed likely didn't improve, Schommer appears likely to be the top or second seeded freestyle from the Central region, and worst case, third seed. The points for Sunday's race will likely determine that order and have yet to be calculated. The difference in seed may come down to the sprint with Bratrud when all is said and done.

"Paul needed a strong finish to have confidence moving towards the NCAA Championships," according to Saints head coach Chad Salmela. "I think today did that for him. We have a good plan going forward for the Championships, but you always need a little luck along with great preparation for a championship to go your way. We are going to stay super focused and keep our eyes on the prize, hoping for things to go our way just a bit in the coming weeks."

For the team, Salmela is happy to be back on the podium for the second straight year. "We have no scholarships and to supplant any team on the podium at the end of the season who has that advantage over us is simply gratifying as a coach. It's that simple."

With the end of the regular season, Salmela and the Saints say good bye to varsity regulars, John Wessling (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS) and Scott Johanik (Washburn, Wis./Washburn HS ). 

"John and Scotty have been huge contributors to the competitive culture on this team," says Salmela. "They have been a huge factor in leading our team to success, and we will surely miss their presence and leadership next season."

For Schommer and the coaching staff, they wait for the official nomination to the NCAA Championships that will be official no later than February 24th. NCAA Championship qualifiers will be announced on Tuesday, February 25th.

Saints Combined Program Takes First Podium at NCAA Central Regionals The combined women's and men's ski program took third spot in the NCAA Central Regionals for the first time in program history. Led by the women's program finishing second in both the 5km classic and 10km freestyle mass start, and supported by the men's third place in the 10km classical and fourth place in the 15km freestyle mass start, the program finished the weekend with a 202 point total. Winners, Northern Michigan, scored 257 points to win while Alaska scored 220 to take second.  The Saints edged Michigan Tech 28 points to take their first combined program trophy. The Saints also posted 8 All-Region performances on the weekend, by far the most in program history.  All-Region performances were turned in by Sharmila Ahmed:  2nd, 10km freestyle Sarah Allen: 4th 5km classic; 7th 10km freestyle Anita Kirvesniemi:  6th, 5km classic Chris Parr (Eagan, Minn./Eagan HS):  10th, 10km classic Paul Schommer (Appleton, Wis./Kimberly HS): 8th, 10km classic; 3rd, 15km freestyle John Wessling (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS): 9th, 10km classic