DULUTH, Minn. -- The College of St. Scholastica men's Nordic ski team continued to build momentum in its second meet of the season, competing at the Salomon CXC Cup this weekend at Spirit Mountain in Duluth, Minnesota. Battling below-zero temperatures on both days, the Saints put together a series of strong efforts across freestyle races, highlighted by podium contention and consistent depth throughout the lineup.

As a team, they finished second of three collegiate teams at the meet, scoring 67 over the course of two days. UW-Green Bay finished first with 79, while St. Olaf was third with 25. Combined with the women's finishers, St. Scholastica did finish in first (146) as an overall team, nearlly edging out UW-Green Bay (142).
 

Day One – Freestyle Mass Start (7.5km)
Saturday's freestyle mass start saw senior Alexander Bertonneau (Frisco, CO/Summit HS) deliver one of the top performances of the day for the Saints, skiing to a second-place overall finish in a time of 18:06.3. Bertonneau stayed in the lead group throughout the race and crossed the line just 1.1 seconds behind the winner, establishing the Saints among the top programs in the field early in the weekend.

St. Scholastica placed multiple skiers closely together in the middle of the standings, demonstrating depth in challenging conditions. Jonathan Saldin and Max Rogers (Moorhead, MN/Moorhead HS) finished 17th and 18th, respectively, while Jakob Craig (Tomahawk, WI/Lakeland Union High School) and Kaden Hacker (Sussex, WI/Home School) followed in 20th and 21st. Owen Wooller (Anchorage, AK/West Vally HS), Trygve Rux (Moorhead, MN/Moorhead HS), Jack Malec (Minnetonka, MN/Minnetonka HS), Elliott Oberton, Kai Donnelly (Burlington, VT/Burlington High School), Eli Olson (Ely HS/Ely, MN), Sam Haynes (Breckenridge, CO/Summit HS), and Cale Prosen (Cloquet, MN/Cloquet HS) all completed the race for the Saints, contributing valuable early-season experience against a large and competitive field.

Day Two – Freestyle Individual Start (7.5km)
Sunday's individual start again featured a standout effort from Bertonneau, who backed up his podium performance with a third-place overall finish in 17:52.6. His time placed him firmly among the top collegiate skiers in the race and capped an impressive weekend for the senior in frigid conditions.

The Saints followed with a tight cluster of strong results throughout the field. Jakob Craig (Tomahawk, WI/Lakeland Union High School) and Max Rogers (Moorhead, MN/Moorhead HS) finished back-to-back in 14th and 15th, while Jonathan Saldin placed 20th overall. Trygve Rux (Moorhead, MN/Moorhead HS) and Jack Malec (Minnetonka, MN/Minnetonka HS) continued to show consistency, finishing 25th and 28th, respectively. Owen Wooller (Anchorage, AK/West Vally HS), Elliott Oberton, Sam Haynes (Breckenridge, CO/Summit HS), Eli Olson (Ely HS/Ely, MN), and Cale Prosen (Cloquet, MN/Cloquet HS) rounded out the Saints' finishers on the day.

Full team results from the race can be found here.