Finlandia

The Finlandia Nordic ski team completed its 2007 campaign this weekend at the NCAA Central Regional Championships. Eleven teams from the Central Region lined up on the Al Quaal trails in Ishpeming in the final qualifying event prior to the NCAA Championships, which are to be held in New Hampshire next month.

Hampered this weekend by illness, the Lions were only able to travel with three skiers to the event: sophomore Heidi Butler of Hoyt Lakes , MN ; junior Justin Nantelle of Crystal Falls ; and graduating senior Adam Huey of Folsom, CA.

In Saturday's freestyle competition, a ten-kilometer affair for the men and five-kilometer for the women, skiers attacked the most challenging course of the year, described by a race official as a third up, a third down, and a third straight up and down. Conditions, though excellent at the start, quickly deteriorated during the men's race as a lake effect band set up over the trails and dropped several inches of snow while the skiers were on course. Huey raced the course in just shy of 1:06, good for 63 rd place. Not far behind was Nantelle, who showed excellent form as he completed his first freestyle race. The intense snow of the morning gave way to sunshine during the women's race which saw Butler glide into 60 th place.

On Sunday, with crisp tracks, frigid temperatures and clear skies, women skied a ten-kilometer classic, mass start race. Butler finished 59 th with a time of 1:02:26. In the men's race, senior Adam Huey completed his collegiate career with a 61 st place finish. Teammate Nantelle suffered from back spasms midway through the event, which is his strong suit, and was forced to withdraw.

While the team will not be sending any racers to the national championships this year, the Lions are looking ahead to next year and hope to be stronger than ever.

Lions Have Solid Finish - January 29, 2007

The Finlandia Nordic ski team traveled to Cable, Wisconsin for the final Midwest stop of the FIS Super Tour Series this weekend. Competing against nine other collegiate teams, as well as a many of the top cross-country skiers in the country, the Lions fielded only a men’s team at the races and saw it's skiers ski to solid finishes in spite of thin snow conditions, challenging terrain and a number of equipment issues.

Saturday’s 10-K freestyle race sent the skiers out on two laps of a hilly, five-kilometer course, most of which had only a thin cover of natural snow.

Senior Adam Huey (Roseville, MN) led the Lions in the skate race, finishing 163rd overall in a respectable 45:16. Freshman Luke Tainter (Silver Bay, MN), skiing his first collegiate race, was just over three minutes behind his teammate and finished 164th on the day. Justin Nantelle, a junior hailing from Crystal Falls, MIchigan, saw his race day come to an early end after a very strong start when a ski boot failed midway through the race.

Temperatures, though mild Saturday morning, fell throughout the day and overnight into Sunday. With the change came an inch or two of lake-effect snow, a welcomed sight to race organizers and skiers alike. Sunday’s 15-K classic race was held under brisk, yet sunny skies.

Finlandia was once again led by Huey, who overcame a broken ski midway through the race to finish 119th in 1:00:28. Finishing five minutes behind Huey was Tainter at 120th. With an excelling finish following a disappointing race on Saturday, Justin Nantelle crossed the line in 122nd place in 1:11:27.

Third-year head coach Chris Schmidt remained positive about the weekend’s races, particularly with Luke Tainter’s results. “Luke joined the team this semester and had only very limited prior skiing experience," says Schmidt. "He’s in top shape and has done an excellent job of picking up the basics in his first weeks on snow. I expect him to develop into a very respectable skier by this time next year.”

The Lions will have off until February 10-11. They will travel to Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan, to compete in the Wildcat Open.

Lions Compete in Minnesota - January 22, 2007

The Finlandia Nordic ski team headed to Grand Rapids, Minnesota for the Mt. Itasca NorAm SuperTour races this past weekend. In Saturday's classic event, which saw the men skiing 10-K and the women 5-K under partially sunny skies and relatively warm Minnesota temperatures (10F), the Lions lined up against nine other collegiate teams. This winter's anomalous weather once again tried to wreak havoc on Nordic racing, but was no match for the Mt. Itasca snow guns, which were used to lay down a challenging 2.5-K course at the Mt. Itasca Nordic Center .

Though unable to field either a full men's or women's team, the skiers Finlandia sent to the line skied at the best of their ability. Second-year skier Adam Huey (Roseville, CA) showed fine form and finished 64th on the day. Junior Justin Nantelle (Crystal Falls, MI) trailed only slightly and strided to 66th place. On the women's side, sophomore Heidi Butler (Hoyt Lakes, MN) cracked the top fifty in what was one her best collegiate finishes to date.

In Sunday's freestyle event, which had the men cover 15-K and the women 10-K, senior Huey again led the Lions, finishing the race in 65th place. Nantelle saw his race come to an early finish due to lingering injuries from a crash experienced in the previous day's racing.

Butler was the team's sole female competitor and finished 52nd in the always competitive collegiate field.

The Lions will travel to Cable, Wisconsin to compete in another SuperTour race on January 27-28.