MEN'S RESULTS | WOMEN'S RESULTS | BOYS RESULTS | GIRLS RESULTS

CRAFTSBURY, Vt. (csssaints.com) – On the final day of competition at the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships on Tuesday, seven St. Scholastica skiers competed in the freestyle sprints.
 
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
Sophomore Tamer Mische-Richter (Bloomington, Minn./John F. Kennedy HS) posted a 27^th place finish in a qualifying time of 3:08.4 to advance to the knockout stage. That was the sixth-fastest time among Central College Ski Association (CCSA) skiers. Mische-Richter proceeded to finish fifth in his quarterfinal heat to end his day.
 
Junior Jack Christianson (Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View HS) placed 75^th overall with a time of 3:20.4. That was 13^th among CCSA skiers. Freshman Gus Schatzlein (Savage, Minn./Prior Lake HS) was next in 95^th with a time of 3:27.1. That was 17^th among league skiers.
 
Schatzlein would advance to the knockout stage in the junior bracket. He proceeded to finish second in his quarterfinal to advance. He then finished third in his semifinal heat, but had one of the top two non-qualifying times to advance to the final. In the final, Schatzlein finished sixth overall.
 
Women
Junior Nicole Gilman (Manitowish Waters, Wis./Lakeland Union HS) posted the best qualifying time of 3:58.9 to finish 65^th overall. She would be 11^th among CCSA skiers.
 
Sophomore Cecelia Boyle (Oakdale, Minn./Tartan HS) and freshman Rana Kraftson (Bayport, Minn./Stillwater HS) were 74^th and 75^th, respectively. Boyle's time was 4:02.1 good for 12^th among conference skiers and Kraftson's was 4:03.0 good for 13^th. Sophomore Samantha Benzing (Boise, Idaho/Boise HS) was 80^th with a time of 4:03.8 and was 14^th among league skiers. Boyle, Kraftson and Benzing would advance to the junior bracket knockout stage.
 
Boyle and Kraftson would each finish fourth in their quarterfinal heats, while Benzing finished second in her heat to advance to the semifinals. However, she would finish fifth in her semifinal heat to end her day.
 
Up Next
The Saints return to the Midwest to compete in the Telemark Chase in Cable, Wisconsin on January 19 and 20.