HOUGHTON, Mich. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica women's nordic ski team competed in the 1.5km classic sprint on Saturday at the Michigan Tech Junior National Qualifier.
 
Sprint Racing
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 advanced to five 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.
 
All Saints Qualify
The Saints had six skiers competing on Saturday, five in the senior division and one in the junior division. All six skiers qualified into the quarterfinal heats.
 
Kelsey Dickinson (Winthrop, Wash./Liberty Bell HS), Ellie Evans (New Hope, Minn./Robbinsdale Cooper HS), Allison Ternes (Vadnais Heights, Minn./White Bear Lake HS), Nicole Gilman (Manitowish Waters, Wis./Lakeland Union HS) and Greta Jenkins (Palmer, Alaska/Colony HS) all qualified in the senior division.
 
Dickinson went on to win her quarterfinal heat with a time of 5:07.66. She would be the only Saint to advance to the semifinals.
 
In the semifinals, Dickinson finished third in the second heat with a time of 5:16.17, but finished five seconds back of the final qualifying spot as her day ended. Northern Michigan University had five of the six participants in the finals.
 
Keely Jackson (Hayward, Wis./HACIL Charter School) participated in the junior division and placed second in the quarterfinals to advance to semis with a time of 5:54.75. She also saw her day in end in the semifinals with a fourth place finish in her heat.
 
Up Next
The Saints are back in action tomorrow at the Michigan Tech Ski Trails when they compete in the 10km freestyle. Start time is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. (ET).