HOUGHTON, Mich. — When John Skemp and Michael Uffenbeck (Drummond, Wis.), left Winona Friday, there was a dusting of snow covering the Saint Mary's University campus.

When the duo arrived in Houghton, Mich., for the Michigan Tech Invitational, there was six inches of new snow on the ground. It was a winter wonderland for nordic skiers.

And Uffenbeck made the most of the opportunity.

The SMU senior placed 22nd in the 20-kilometer classical race, and 23rd in the 10K freestyle race as SMU's lone representative in the event.

"Michael skied well in both races," said Skemp. "The snow up there was great for skiing — six new inches on the ground, and during Sunday's race, it snowed the whole time — at times it was almost whiteout conditions.

"Definitely a winter wonderland up there."

Uffenbeck clocked a time of 1:22:00.5 en route to his 22nd-place finish in the classical race on Saturday, then turned around and posted a time of :39:02.7 in Sunday's 10K freestyle event.

"It was a good weekend for Michael," said Skemp. "He beat some guys that had beaten him last week (at the Grand Rapids meet), so that was good to see. Without being able to train on snow it's tough for him to get into race mode, but he's coming along."