CABLE, Wis. (csssaints.com) -- Chris Parr (Eagan, Minn./Eagan HS) and Reitler Hodgert (Bend, Ore./Summit HS ) capitalized on their strong suits Saturday, posting sixth and eighth place finishes in the 10km Classic at the Telemark Chase to lead the St. Scholastica men's ski team to a second place finish in Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) competition with all teams present.

Northern Michigan dominated behind the efforts of Adam Martin in a winning time of 26:14.7. Teammate Ian Torchia finished a couple ticks behind in 26:16.7. Both skiers are slated to represent the U.S. at
the 2016 Junior and Under-23 World Nordic Skiing Championships in Romania, in February. Defending NCAA classic champion, Fredrik Schwencke was third in 26:50.2.

Parr posted a time of 27:43.9, just 9.6 seconds faster than Hodgert who posted 27:53.3. Joe Dubay (Coon Rapids, Minn./Andover HS) secured second spot behind NMU finishing 13th in 28:23.9. The Saints outskied the Nanooks of Alaska by five points and perennial rivals, Michigan Tech by nine points.

"I felt really good today," said Parr of his sixth place. "My skis were awesome...and I could push and recover really well."

"Chris, Reitler, and Joe put it together after a fairly lengthy hiatus from racing," remarked Saints head coach Chad Salmela. "It's always tough finding the right balance of training volume, intensity, and rest, when you have a break in the racing season.  Today shows we navigated that challenge pretty well the last couple weeks."

Salmela was particularly happy with the team placing. "Anytime you're in the top three in the conference as a team, that's a good day for us. Beating Alaska and Tech by more than a point or two is more than expected even on a good day."

The Saints race in 15km freestyle mass start Sunday in Cable.