CABLE, Wis. -- The College of St. Scholastica men's Nordic ski team delivered several strong individual performances at the Gitchi Gami Games in Cable, Wisconsin, highlighted by a podium-contending effort in the 10-kilometer distance race and solid depth throughout a deep field.
In the men's 10K, the Saints were led by Alexander Bertonneau (Frisco, CO/Summit HS), who skied to an impressive fourth-place overall finish, crossing the line in 25:23.4. Bertonneau remained tightly packed with the race leaders throughout all three laps and finished just fractions of a second off the podium in one of the most competitive men's fields of the event.
Kaden Hacker (Sussex, WI/Home School) was the next Saint across the line, finishing 25th overall with a time of 27:07.3, followed closely by Jakob Craig (Tomahawk, WI/Lakeland Union High School), who placed 30th in 27:20.7. The Saints continued to show depth as Jonathan Saldin finished 44th, while Sam Haynes (Breckenridge, CO/Summit HS) (53rd), Max Rogers (Moorhead, MN/Moorhead HS) (61st), Trygve Rux (Moorhead, MN/Moorhead HS) (62nd), and Jack Malec (Minnetonka, MN/Minnetonka HS) (63rd) all posted solid efforts in the large, multi-division field. Additional Saints finishers included Owen Wooller (Anchorage, AK/West Vally HS), Elliott Oberton, Benjamin Masica, and Eli Olson (Ely HS/Ely, MN), each gaining valuable race experience on the challenging Cable course.
St. Scholastica was also represented in the sprint races, where Bertonneau advanced through the heats and reached the semifinals. Competing against top collegiate and club skiers, he continued to showcase his versatility across race formats, pairing sprint speed with distance consistency over the course of the weekend.
As a combined team (men's and women's), the Saints finished second behind UW-Green Bay. Full results are below:
|
Team
|
D1M
|
D1F
|
D2M
|
D2F
|
TOTAL
|
|
UW-GB
|
42
|
37
|
40
|
36
|
155
|
|
CSS
|
22
|
28
|
32
|
33
|
115
|
|
St. Olaf
|
22*
|
30
|
12
|
30
|
94
|
*=winner of tiebreaker
Up next, the Saints will head to Lake Placid, New York for US Nationals starting Sunday, January 4.
