Mich. ski racing news: Blind skier led to master's championship; NMU dominates regionals
Dale Ernst, 48, of Sandusky, Mich., helped a 75-year-old blind woman ski to an age-group win in a 12K race at the North American Masters Cross Country Ski Championships in Traverse City, Mich., according to the Times Herald.
Ernst himself competed Saturday in a race that was delayed an hour due to more three inches of new snow.
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Both the Northern Michigan University men's and women's Nordic ski teams won the NCAA Central Regional races held February 17-18, reported uppermichiganssource.com.
NMU sophomore Erik Soderman won the freestyle and classic races. In the latter 15K race, he edged out University of Alaska Fairbanks' Jonas Loeffler at the line. Three of Soderman's teammates followed in the top five spots.
The NMU men won the regional with 170 points. UAF finished second with 147 points, Michigan Tech placed third with 138 points, the College of St. Scholastica came in fourth with 132 points and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, with 99 points, finished fifth.
On the women's side in the 10K classic race, NMU's junior Monica Markvardsen won and was followed by her teammates sophomore Molly Burger and senior Marie Helen Soderman to take over the podium.
The NMU women finished with 172 points over the two-day event with UAF second with 149, MTU third with 143 points, CSS fourth place with 112 points and Gustavus Adolphus College fifth with 98 points. Next up: The NCAA Championships in Bozeman, Montana, March 7-9.