LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – The Northern Michigan University (NMU) men’s nordic ski season concluded with a challenging 40k classic mass start race at the SuperTour Finals.
Out of 78 skiers, 57 completed the marathon event, with finish times ranging from one hour and 50 minutes to two and a half hours.
Adrik Kraftson led the NMU team, finishing 7th among collegiate skiers and 17th overall with a time of 2:02:49.9, 11:43.4 behind the leader. In the mass start format, all racers began simultaneously. Kraftson started in 22nd place, dropped to 26th by the 10k mark, and then began to make up time. By the 13.75k marker, he moved into 20th place and held that position until the 26.25k mark. There, Kraftson surged to 17th, eventually finishing in 18th place overall after several position changes.
Kristoffer Karsrud followed, finishing 25th overall and 10th among collegiate skiers with a time of 2:05:47.6. Karsrud had a fluctuating race, starting in 18th place, dropping to 29th, and then further falling to 33rd by the 7.5k mark. However, he regained ground and ended the race in 25th place, where he remained for the last portion of the event.
Jonathan Clarke and Luke Fricker finished back-to-back in 39th and 40th place overall, and 14th and 15th among collegiate skiers, with times of 2:12:07.3 and 2:12:18.1, respectively.
The race’s top finish was a close battle. John Hegenbuch of the Dartmouth Ski Team claimed gold with a time of 1:51:06.5, just 0.9 seconds ahead of Gus Schumacher from the APU Nordic Ski Team, who finished at 1:51:07.4. Remi Drolet of SMS secured third place with a time of 1:51:24.0.