QUALIFYING RESULTS | FINAL RESULTS

CABLE, Wis. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica women's nordic ski team competed in the freestyle sprints on Saturday as part of the Gitchi Gami Games at the American Birkebeiner Trailhead.
 
Sprint Racing Format
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.
 
Top Performers
The Saints had nine skiers qualify for the quarterfinals. First-year skier Mae Barnes (New Hope, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) led the team in qualifying, with the second-fastest time overall at 3:27.40. Annika Viren (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids HS) was right behind her with the third-fastest time of 3:27.77. Leah Dutkewych (Jefferson, N.H./White Mountains HS) also posted a top-10 time at 3:36.41.
 
In the quarterfinals, Barnes and Viren won their heats, while Gwinna Remillard (Vassalboro, Maine/Waterville HS) was second in her heat to advance to the semifinals. In the semis, Barnes and Viren placed first and second, respectively, to advance to the finals.
 
In the finals, Barnes would finish second overall with a time of 3:30.45. Viren was third at 3:31.86. University of Wisconsin-Green Bay's Maria Schoening won with a time of 3:26.28.
 
Up Next
The Saints are back in action tomorrow (Sunday) for the individual start 10km classic race. Unlike today's event, tomorrow's racing will be a CCSA points race with action beginning at 10:45 a.m.