North Michigan News

The NMU men's Nordic ski team concluded the second day of the SuperTour Finals in Duluth, Minnesota, with notable performances in the Classic Sprint event. Kristoffer Karsrud stood out as the only collegiate athlete to reach the final heat.

Karsrud advanced to the finals after a close finish in the quarter-finals, where he narrowly trailed former NMU athlete and current professional skier Zak Ketterson. His time was 2:54.94, just .06 seconds behind Ketterson. In his semi-final heat, Karsrud's time of 2:52.62 secured him a 'Lucky Loser' spot in the finals. As the sole collegiate finalist, Karsrud finished sixth with a time of 3:00.12, four seconds behind Ketterson, who placed fourth.

Mathias Haugen reached the semi-finals after finishing second in his quarter-final heat with a time of 2:53.54. Competing in the same semi-final heat as Karsrud, Haugen posted a time of 2:55.26 to secure fifth place. Both were among three collegiate athletes advancing to this stage.

Luke Fricker also competed well as the only collegiate athlete in his quarter-final heat, finishing fourth with a time of 2:58.94.

In another event, Jonathan Clarke earned bronze in the men's Junior U20 finals heat with a time of 3:09.83. Clarke progressed to the finals following a photo-finish third place in his semi-final heat at 3:07.50, earning him a 'Lucky Loser' bid by being just .05 seconds shy of second place.

The competition continues tomorrow with day three featuring the freestyle team sprint relay at the SuperTour Finals.