Ruth Oppliger Assistant Coach | Northern Michigan University Athletics
Ruth Oppliger Assistant Coach | Northern Michigan University Athletics
The NMU women's Nordic ski team concluded the second day of competition at the SuperTour Finals in Duluth, Minnesota, with strong performances in the Classic Sprint event. Merle Richter and Henriette Nilssen advanced to the senior semi-finals but did not progress further.
Richter secured her place in the semi-finals by clocking 3:36.76 in her quarter-final heat, finishing second and outperforming four professional skiers along with teammate Kolibri Drobish, who posted a time of 3:44.04. In her semi-final heat, Richter placed fourth with a time of 3:29.83, narrowly missing out on advancing to the finals by just over a second.
Nilssen finished fourth in her quarter-final heat with a time of 3:37.38, earning a spot as a 'Lucky Loser' due to her fast pace among non-automatic qualifiers. She was the sole collegiate skier in her semi-final heat and finished fifth with a time of 3:31.16.
Victoria Dybwad narrowly missed advancing from her quarter-final heat, placing third with a time of 3:43.18, while Flisa Ravald finished sixth in the same heat.
In the Junior U20 Finals, Jordan Parent claimed gold with a time of 3:54.24 and Ella Niznik took silver at 4:00.83 among five competitors, surpassing one collegiate athlete and two professionals.
The competition continues tomorrow with day three featuring the freestyle team sprint relay event.