Henjum, Holey steal center stage for
SMU at Twin Cities Championships

WINONA, Minn. — ST. PAUL, Minn. — With only four skiers competing, Saint Mary’s University nordic ski coach Kelly Kimball was more worried about getting her teams healthy than where they finished in the overall standings.

With injuries and illness cutting into the Cardinals’ already depleted roster, Kimball had only one female skier, Amy Henjum (Woodbury, Minn.), competing at the NorAm/Twin Cities Championships in St. Paul, Minn., last weekend.

Henjum held her own, clocking a time of 20:12.4 in the 5-kilometer classic race, then coming back with a time of 36:26.4 in the 10K freestyle race the following day.

“Amy had an excellent weekend,” praised Skillicorn of her junior skier. “Her classic race was extremely strong, and she was solid in the freestyle race as well.”

On the men’s side, Garrick Holey (Mounds, View, Minn.) led the way, posting a time of 37:11.7 in the 10K classic race, and a team-best 42:26.3 in the 15K freestyle. Michael Uffenbeck (Cable, Wis.) recorded times of 37:58.8 in the classic and 46:18.5 in the freestyle, while Peter Schweich (Red Wing, Minn.) chipped in a 46:35.0 in the classic race.

“Overall, I was pretty happy,” admitted Skillicorn, whose team — hopefully the entire team — returns to action Saturday and Sunday, when they travel to Marquette, Mich., for another NorAm competition. “We need to keep working and keep striving to improve our times with every meet.”