Jan. 3, 2008

Men's 15K Classic Results

Women's 10K Classic Results

HOUGHTON, MI- Senior Marius Korthauer once again proved that he deserves his place among skiing's elite, racing to a sixth-place finish in the men's 15 km classic at the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championship in Houghton, Michigan. Competing against some of the nation's top skiers, Korthauer, a three-time All-American for the Nanooks, has now recorded top-ten finishes in both the classic and freestyle races, coming in as the top collegiate finisher in both events.

"It really says a lot about Marius' fitness level," head coach Scott Jerome said. "For him to be able to go out and race that hard on Tuesday, and then turn around and do it again is really a testament to how well he has trained. He has worked really hard and it is paying off for us now."

Fellow senior Vahur Teppan was also in impressive form for the Blue and Gold, showing his strength in the classic discipline with a 15th-place finish. Teppan, also the team's second-highest finisher in Tuesday's distance free, completed the course in 43:33.0, just over a minute behind Korthauer. Together, the two skiers look likely to take the Central Collegiate Ski Association by storm this season.

Winning races, however, takes more than just two good skiers, and Jerome is looking for who else will step up for his men's team, such as Einar Often, who finished 92nd today. "Einar had a good race today," Jerome said. "He was able to come back after a tough race on Tuesday and really move up a lot of spots. That really says a lot about Einar, and that is what I knew he was capable of doing."

Sophomore John Parry turned in another consistent performance, grabbing 94th spot out of 244 skiers. Junior Andy Schnitzer came in 98th for the Blue and Gold: a positive result for the Austrian, who excels in skate and sprint races.

On the women's side, Aurelia Korthauer rebounded from a difficult race on Tuesday to record the women's top finish in the classic race. Korthauer negotiated the 10 km. course in 33:46.0, good for 37th place out of 177 skiers: a performance Jerome feels is just scratching the surface of what Korthauer is capable of.

"It was good to see Aurelia bounce back," said Jerome. "We were shooting to have Aurelia and all of our top four girls in the top 30, so I know they are capable of more. All of our girls are definitely improving, but they have the ability to be even higher."

Anna Coulter was Alaska's next highest finisher, crossing the line in 34:42.2: good for 60th place, one spot behind sister Julia, who is redshirting for the Nanooks this season. Sophomore Elisabeth Habermann finished just behind the Coulters in 62nd place, despite battling a sinus infection.

Alaska now gets a well-deserved day of rest before racing in the freestyle sprints on Saturday, followed by a team classic sprints on Sunday.