Great Lakes Wire

The Northern Michigan University (NMU) Nordic ski teams are preparing for the 2025 Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) Conference Championships. The event is scheduled for February 15 and 16 at the Tech Trails in Houghton, Michigan. The competition will feature a 20k Mass Start Skate on Saturday and a 7.5k Individual Classic on Sunday.

Currently, NMU holds second place in the overall team standings with 1238 points, just behind Michigan Tech's 1245 points. The men's team has accumulated 622 points, while the women's team has earned 616 points, both trailing closely behind their Michigan Tech counterparts.

In their last outing at the College of Saint Scholastica CCSA Invite, NMU's Kristoffer Karsrud and Luke Fricker secured the top two spots in the men's category for the 7.5k race. For the women, Henriette Nilssen and Victoria Dybwad achieved similar success by claiming first and second places respectively. In Saturday's mass start event, Adrik Kraftson finished third among men, while Dybwad took first place for women.

Live results from both days of competition will be available on MyRaceResult as they are released.

Reflecting on last year's conference championships, NMU's teams emerged victorious over both days to claim overall first place with a combined score of 287 points against Michigan Tech's 238. During that event's opening day of the 7.5k freestyle race, NMU athletes swept podium positions across genders: Fricker, Mathias Haugen, and Karsrud for men; Nilssen, Richter, and Dybwad for women.

On day two featuring a 20k classic race format: Karsrud won gold while Fricker took silver in men's events; Nilssen led another sweep alongside teammates Dybwad and Richter among women competitors.

The Wildcats' most recent visit to Houghton's Tech Trails was during last year's NCAA Central Regional Skiing Championships where they finished second behind Michigan Tech once again. Highlights included Fricker securing silver in Saturday’s men’s race along with Karsrud earning silver followed by bronze finishes during Sunday's interval start competition—mirrored performances were seen amongst female racers such as Nilssen claiming medals alongside teammate Richter throughout weekend challenges too.