QUALIFIER RESULTS | FINAL RESULTS

HOUGHTON, Mich. (csssaints.com) - Senior Anita Kirvesniemi (Simpele, Finland/Joensuun Yhteiskoulun Lukio (New Mexico)) set a new standard for the St. Scholastica women's ski team with a 16^th place finish in the 1.5km classic sprint at the U.S. National Championships Tuesday.

In a sprint event, each athlete starts by trying to qualify by time, racing the sprint course against the clock. The fastest 30 times in the field advance to six quarterfinals in which the first two skiers across the line advance as well as the fastest two skiers from the quarterfinals who were not in the top two. The same happens in the semifinals, whittling the field down to six athletes in the finals to determine the winner and rank order. All skiers outside the top 30 end the day in the order they finished the qualifier.

The day started spectacularly for Kirvesniemi. Despite starting near the end of the start order, she charged through the snowstorm and heavy traffic of slower skiers, to post the fifth-fastest qualifying time on the day of 5:23.19, just 4.56 seconds out of the fastest qualifying time set by Eliska Hajkova of Boulder, Colo., in 5:18.63.  Kirvesniemi was less than two seconds from the third fastest qualifying time.   

While not an NCAA nor CCSA event, Kirvesniemi's qualifier time was the fastest in the field by a collegiate skier, taking the top spot in the U.S. Nationals College Cup standings. The College Cup is an annual friendly competition between NCAA programs to crown the best collegiate team at the championships. The 2015 event includes the 10km Freestyle results and the qualifier results from the 1.5km classic sprint. After day one the Saints sat in sixth.

Saints freshman Allison Ternes (Vadnais Heights, Minn./White Bear Lake HS) finished second for the Saints in 63^rd spot in a time of 5:46.90, which advanced her to the top 30 "junior" quarterfinals for skiers under the age of 20. Ternes went on to advance to the junior semifinals and 12^thin the junior heats, but scored second for the Saints in the College Cup tally.  Sharmila Ahmed (Burnsville, Minn./Burnsville HS) rounded out the College Cup scoring for the Saints in 80^th place with a time of 5:54.26.

The quarterfinals, however, did not go as Kirvesniemi had hoped. She battled near the front for most of the race, but down the stretch was dropped by the leaders as she came across the line fourth of six in her heat and her time did not advance her as one of the fastest two skiers who did not advance automatically as a top-2 finisher.  

"I just didn't feel very good," said Kirvesniemi of her quarterfinal. "I felt a lot better in the qualifier. I just couldn't go." 

Head coach Chad Salmela was not disappointed in the least. "I think she showed what she can do in the qualifier and that's great," opined Salmela. "I can understand Anita maybe being a touch disappointed qualifying fifth and getting eliminated, but sprints are a prickly thing. You have to get a lot right at an event this big with this many talented athletes. If you're off by a hair, the hair is enough to eliminate you. I'm just really proud of her effort and that of the entire team. It was a great day."

The Saints finish out their stint at the national championships with a CCSA and NCAA qualifier as part of the championship 20km mass start classic on Thursday.