DULUTH, Minn. -- The College of St. Scholastica Women's Nordic Ski Team opened its season with two strong performances at the Salomon CXC Cup this weekend at Spirit Mountain in Duluth, Minnesota. Competing in below-zero temperatures, the Saints showed poise and competitiveness across both days of racing in their first meet of the year.

As a team, the Saints finished atop the leaderboard (79), followed by UW-Green Bay (63) and St. Olaf (25). They also nabbed the top spot overall, combined with the men's finishers (146), ahead of UW-Green Bay (142) and St. Olaf (37) yet again.
 

Day One – Freestyle Mass Start (7.5 km)
St. Scholastica was led on Saturday by Della Bettendorf (Proctor, MN/Proctor HS), who delivered an outstanding performance in the mass start, finishing second overall with a time of 22:18.4. Bettendorf stayed near the front throughout the race, earning a podium result against a deep regional field to open the season.

The Saints placed multiple skiers inside the top 20, highlighted by Jazlyn Gunderson (Wrenshall, MN/) in eighth, Sophia Bertonneau (Leadville, CO/) in 11th, and Madeline Gray in 16th. Courtney Fussy (/Univesity of Alaska Fairbanks) added another strong finish in 19th, while Lily Schaeffer (Brainard, MN/Brainard HS), Audrey Lahammer (Redwing, MN/), Kaia Osmund (Chisago Lakes, MN/Chisago Lakes HS)son, and Elona Greene (Leadville, CO/) all turned in solid efforts despite the challenging cold conditions. The depth of the Saints lineup was evident as the team began the season with consistent results across classes.

Day Two – Freestyle Individual Start (7.5 km)
Sunday's individual start again tested the field with frigid temperatures, and St. Scholastica responded with another strong showing. Bettendorf continued her impressive weekend, finishing third overall with a time of 21:19.8.

Several Saints skiers placed among the top 20, including Courtney Fussy (/Univesity of Alaska Fairbanks) (10th), Lily Schaeffer (Brainard, MN/Brainard HS) (14th), Jazlyn Gunderson (Wrenshall, MN/) (16th), and Madeline Gray (19th). Sophia Bertonneau (Leadville, CO/) followed closely in 20th, while Kaia Osmund (Chisago Lakes, MN/Chisago Lakes HS)son and Audrey Lahammer (Redwing, MN/) rounded out another deep and competitive performance for the Saints.

The full team results can be found here.

Up next, the Saints will travel to Cable, Wisconsin for the Cable CSC Cup on December 20-21.