RESULTSHOUGHTON, Mich. (csssaints.com) - St. Scholastica senior
Paul Schommer (Kimberly, Wis./Kimberly HS) was looking to jump start his season after a period of illness and tough performances by the NCAA All-American's standards, and
Thursday's 30km classic mass start at the U.S. National Championships was the vehicle to that end, as he posted a 31
st place finish in the time of 1:37:57.2, finishing sixth in the Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) NCAA qualifier "race within a race."
The day's winner was four-time Olympian, Kris Freeman in 1:31:14.8, with former CCSA standout, Lex Treinen (formerly of Alaska) in second in 1:31:18.5. But the CCSA story was the continued dominance of Northern Michigan as Kyle Bratrud led a quartet of Wildcats that all finished in the top 13, to take second through fourth in the CCSA event. Only Alaska was able to put a single skier within any reasonable distance of the Wildcats and ahead of Schommer in Logan Hanneman who finished 18
th. Bratrud and Hanneman will qualify for the U..S Ski Team's Under 23 World Championship team, punching their ticket to the 2015 NCAA Championships in the process.
Junior
Joe Dubay (Coon Rapids, Minn./Andover HS) crossed the line 51
st and 15
th in the CCSA in a time of 1:41:25.3, while
Calvin Mehrhof (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids HS ) rounded out the Saints scoring in 57
th overall and 16
th in the CCSA in a time of 1:42:18.2. The Saints were third in the CCSA team standings behind NMU and Alaska.
"I'd call it showing signs of life," said Head Coach
Chad Salmela of Schommer's move up the CCSA rankings. "Paul has been flat due to some sickness and the December stresses he had with some focus on biathlon. We know what he can do. We just have to be patient, focused, and do the right things to bring the performances around that we know he's capable of. Today was a step in the right direction for sure."
The Saints come away from Nationals with a very strong showing, and Salmela was philosophical about it. "We have a team that shows we have some depth like we've never had, posting our best results at the U.S. nationals ever, and that's really gratifying. We leave here knowing what we did was good and we are in position to do even better down the stretch. I'm very satisfied with the guys this week."
The Saints move to Telemark in Cable, Wis.,
January 17 and 18 for the Telemark JOQ and CCSA qualifier #2.
