Skiing in the hunt for CCSA crown headed into distance races this weekend

February 15, 2013

University Relations

Jamie Foland
907-474-6807

The Alaska Nanooks men's and women's ski teams are looking to capture the Central Collegiate Ski Association title this weekend, when they will race a pair of distance events for the second weekend of the league championships at Mt. Itasca in Coleraine, Minn.

On Saturday (Feb. 16), Alaska's men will compete in the individual start 10K classic race followed by a 20K mass start freestyle on Sunday (Feb. 17).

The women will race shorter distances in the same techniques, with a 5K classic race on Saturday followed by a 15K skate on Sunday.

Heading into the weekend Northern Michigan's men's and women's teams sits atop the CCSA standings. Alaska's women are 16-points behind in second place (145-129) and hungry to beat their long-time rivals. The men are in fourth with 105, while NMU's men have amassed 145 points after the first two events held two weeks ago.

Competing for Alaska on the men's side this weekend are seniors Tyler Kornfield (Anchorage, Alaska/Mechanical Engineering) and Lex Treinen (Anchorage, Alaska/Northern Studies), junior Max Olex (Aalen, Germany/Northern Studies) sophomores Jonas Loffler (St. Märgen, Germany/Business) and Logan Hanneman (Fairbanks, Alaska/Mechanical Engineering) and rookie Michael Fehrenbach (St. Märgen/Mechanical Engineering).

Skiing for the women's team are seniors Theresia Schnurr (Buhlertal, Germany/Biochemistry), Crystal Pitney (Fairbanks, Alaska/Business Administration) and Rebecca Konieczny (West Yellowstone, Mont./Biological Sciences), juniors Raphaela Sieber (Vöhrenbach, Germany/Business Administration) and Heather Edic (Fairbanks, Alaska/Civil Engineering) and sophomore Alyson McPhetres (Chugiak, Alaska/Spanish and Geological Engineering).