Alphabet Soup Races: CCSA Regionals, USCSAs, and NCAAs
Our final races of the regular season found us in the annual sardine-mobile to Marquette, MI. After a mix-up with some rental vans, we finally scrounged up enough vehicles to get us to regionals. Saturday featured a 5 and 10 k skate race at Al Quaal. Jake put in his highest placing performance of the season, finishing 4th, with Nels in 30th and Leif and Mitchell in 34th and 35th respectively. Piper showed how far she has come in her first year skiing since high school, finishing a strong 23rd. Amy also showed off her improvements in skate skiing this year, finishing 36th with Nora in 37th and Allie close behind in 38th. Laura and Shelby were 41st and 42nd out of 52. Sunday’s 15/20k classic mass start was a grueling test on the steep climbs of the Teal Lake loop. Jake skied to 11th place, securing his qualifying spot at NCAAs! Jake was St. Olaf’s second NCAA qualifier in two years, after Paige qualified last year. Nels, Leif, and Mitchell battled to 27th, 33rd, and 34th. In the wom