Blazers Team Up to take 2nd

02/02/2007

The Nordic Ski team finished strongly in the Minnesota College Championship at Elk River on Saturday, placing 2nd and once again showing their grit in the face of possible disappointment.  The two events at Woodland Trails, the course in Elk River, were two relays.  The first was the 2x3.7K Classic, followed by the 2x5.8K Freestyle.  And through the two events, the Blazers were able to garner 93 points, good enough for a second place tie with Saint Olaf.  The meet gathered skiers from all over the state of Minnesota, and many came without even belonging to a team.

But The College of Saint Benedict had a team there, and they used it well.  Their first relay duo of Kelly Wubbels (St. Cloud, Minn/ St. Cloud Tech) and Anna Roessler (Grand Rapids, Minn./ Grand Rapids) started gave the Blazer ski team a foothold with a sixth place overall finish.  Roessler turned in two solid runs, and Wubbels, after a disappointing race in the Classic, made up serious ground with her best Freestyle race of the season.  Roessler also stood out with her Classic run, which turned out to be the sixth fastest race of the day.  The second CSB team of Christi Nowak and Maggie Donahue followed right in the footsteps of the first team, placing seventh to finish just above the St. Olaf's second finishers and clinch the tie for runner-up.  Also in the hunt were the third team from St. Benedict's, Katelyn Engel (Plymouth, Minn./ Wayzata) and Rebecca Mueller (Brainerd, Minn./ Brainerd) , and the fourth, the team of Rosalie Leiner (Palmer, Ak./ Palmer) and Makenzie Wright.  The eventual winner were the women from Gustavus Adolphus College, whose top two teams finished 1-2.  The Blazers travel to Marquette, Wis., next weekend for the NCAA Central Region Championship. 

John Buckeye, Assistant, CSB Athletic Media Relations

Athletic Department
College of Saint Benedict
37 South College Avenue
St. Joseph, MN 56374
320-363-5301
Fax 320-363-6098