MEN'S RESULTS | WOMEN'S RESULTS
CRAFTSBURY, Vt. (
csssaints.com) – On the second day of competition at the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships on Friday, four St. Scholastica skiers took part in classic sprint races.
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 advance 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.
Men
The Saints had junior
Jack Christianson (Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View HS) and freshman
Nick Matelich (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS (Montana State)) competing. Neither advanced past the qualifying stage.
For the second straight day, Matelich would post the top time for the Saints at 3:38 and would finish 83
rd overall. He would be the ninth-best Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) skier in the field.
Christianson would finish in a time of 3:47 and would be 159
th overall. He would be 13
th among CCSA skiers.
Four Northern Michigan University skiers advanced past the qualifying round, including Zak Ketterson, who placed sixth overall.
Women
The Saints had sophomore
Samantha Benzing (Boise, Idaho/Boise HS) and freshman
Rana Kraftson (Bayport, Minn./Stillwater HS) competing. Neither qualified for the quarterfinals.
Benzing finished in a time of 4:36, while Kraftson's time was 4:37. Benzing was 152
nd overall and Kraftson 158
th overall. Benzing and Kraftson were eighth and ninth among CCSA skiers.
The only CCSA skier to advantage past the qualifying stage was Northern Michigan's Sarah Bezdicek. She would not advance past the quarterfinals and finish 28th overall.
Up Next
Sunday will be the next competition day with the 30km/20km freestyle races. Follow the live results at
http://live.bullitttiming.com/.
