First MIAC Championships is
memorable one for SMU skiers

WINONA, Minn. — The big question on the minds of the MIAC nordic skiing coaches was not who would win the inaugural conference championship, but rather, where would the inaugural championships be held?

Due to lack of snow in Northfield, Minn., the conference meet was moved to the trails on the Saint Mary’s University campus — and with their challenging trails and above-average amount of snow, the Cardinals were more than happy to host the six-team, two-day event.

“We had kind of mixed emotions after the meet,” admitted SMU coach Ben Popp, whose women’s team placed third, while the men took fourth. “We were happy and sad at the same time. Happy in that I thought everyone skied pretty well and showed some of the potential we knew we had. And sad in that they realized how close both teams were to finishing second — the men missed out by one point and the women missed out by four. In skiing, you’re talking seconds there. If one skier could have knocked one or two seconds off.…”

St. Olaf swept the team titles, winning the men’s crown with a two-day total of 149 points, while the Ole women finished with a winning total of 137 points. Carleton and Macalester shared the No. 2 slot in the men’s standings (108 points), followed by Saint Mary’s (107), St. John’s (91) and Gustavus (19). Carleton was No. 2 on the women’s side with 111 points, followed by Saint Mary’s (107), Macalester (87), Gustavus (85) and St. Benedict (43).

Caleb Grace (Duluth, Minn.) and Garrick Holey (Irondale, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinal men, placing ninth and 10th, respectively. Grace was eighth in the 20K classical race and 10th in the 10K freestyle, while holey was 11th in the classical and ninth in the freestyle. Mark Bolster (Kasson, Minn.) was 13th overall (15th classical, 13th freestyle), while Pete Schweich (Red Wing, Minn.), Michael Uffenbeck (Drummond, Wis.) and Joe Thompson (Lake City, Minn.) were 21st, 22nd and 23rd, respectively. Jason Siverson’s (Stillwater, Minn.) 29th-place finish rounded out the Cardinals’ competitors.

On the women’s side, Amy Henjum (Woodbury, Minn.) earned a pair of all-conference honors en route to a third-place overall finish. Henjum was fourth in the 10K freestyle on Saturday and third in the 5K freestyle on Sunday. The top five individuals in each event earn All-MIAC honors. Missy Mollick (Hastings, Minn.) posted an all-conference time in the freestyle race, finishing fourth, and added a 10th-place effort in the classical to place seventh overall. Reghan LaFrance (Duluth, Minn.) and Colleen Bourque (Waukesha, Wis.) finished in 13th and 21st place, respectively, to round out the SMU lineup.

“Overall, I would say it was a very good weekend,” admitted Popp. “Everyone skied very well, and I think with a little more training, who knows, maybe next year wil be our year.”