ANCHORAGE – The Michigan Tech Nordic ski teams opened the 2025 portion of their schedule at the 2025 U.S. Cross Country Ski National Championships in Kincaid Park from Jan. 2-7.

Head Coach Tom Monahan Smith:
"We're so grateful to have had the opportunity to travel our entire team to compete at the 2025 U.S. Cross Country Ski National Championships in Alaska! This was an incredible experience for our student-athletes, many of whom had never been to Alaska before to race alongside the moose at Kincaid Park. 

"We've faced unforeseen adversity at the start of this season with some of our athletes dealing with injury or illness, and what this makes you realize that you can never take anything for granted. It's important to celebrate every success we achieve along the way, and there were plenty of successes for us to celebrate as a team throughout U.S. Cross Country Ski National Championships.

"The team saw success in the first NCAA qualifying race of our season in day one of the Championships for the skate distance race with many athletes achieving a scoring race toward their NCAA National Championship bid, as well as achieved personal bests. We're proud of how our athletes are stepping up this season, from athletes like Marie Wangen who raced her way into not one but two national sprint semifinals, Greta Hansen and Alice McKnight who achieved their first CCSA podium finishes and top 10 and top 5 U23 finishes respectively, Colin Freed who led the Men's squad to the highest team total of day one with his CCSA win and a top 10 U23 finish, and Parker Courte-Rathwell who closed out the Championships with an impressive sprint making his first national quarter-finals."

In the 10K interval state skate distance race on Thursday, Jan. 2, the men won in CCSA scoring and the women were second. The race counted as a CCSA NCAA qualifier.

• Colin Freed 1st CCSA, 9th U23 American, 21st overall
• Alice McKnight 3rd CCSA, 44th overall
• Wes Campbell 4th CCSA, 40th overall
• Greta Hansen 4th CCSA, 50th overall
• Tryg Solberg 5th CCSA, 42nd overall
• Marie Sølverud Wangen 6th CCSA, 68th overall

Colin Freed:
"Starting first is kind of strange. I left the stadium full of all the pre-race chaos happening, and all of a sudden it's just me skiing, and you can kind of forget the fiasco of rushing to get to the start line. But then, I'm less than a minute into the course and there's a moose halfway on the race course in front of me, so I channel my inner YOLO and pretend it's a deer, but I'll tell ya that really woke me up and got me going. For the rest of the race, I just kept repeating "I'm an animal" in Caden Albrecht's Army voice when I got tired all the way to the finish line."

Alice McKnight:
"Thursday was one of those days that makes you realize how much skiing is actually a team sport. I might have been skiing alone, but having the entire boy's team, coaches, and parents on the side of the trail cheering, especially on the last big climb, made it easy for me to push myself to my limits. Overall I was super happy with my race and super grateful to be in such a beautiful place, racing with my team!"

The Huskies raced in the classic sprint on Saturday, Jan. 4.

• Marie Sølverud Wangen 1st CCSA, 5th collegiate overall, 9th overall
• Caden Albrecht 3rd CCSA, 36th overall
• Parker Courte-Rathwell 4th CCSA, 41st overall
• Mikkel Katla 5th CCSA, 44th overall
• Greta Hansen 6th CCSA, 48th overall
• Alice McKnight 7th CCSA, 50th overall

Marie Sølverud Wangen:
"I was really excited to get the opportunity to sprint race this past week at US Nationals since it is not our normal race format! It was fun to be competitive in a strong field and advance to the semifinal in both races. My favorite part is knowing that my teammates are on the course cheering me on, which gives me so much positive energy and makes me push myself even harder!"

Tech competed in the 20K classic mass start on Sunday, Jan. 5.

• Greta Hansen 3rd CCSA, 43rd overall
• Marie Sølverud Wangen 4th CCSA, 9th U23 American, 45th overall
• Alice McKnight 5th CCSA, 46th overall
• Colin Freed 5th CCSA, 41st overall
• Caden Albrecht 6th CCSA, 43rd overall
• Wes Campbell 7th CCSA, 44th overall

The event wrapped up with the skate sprint on Tuesday, Jan. 7.

• Marie Sølverud Wangen 1st CCSA, 7th collegiate overall, 12th overall
• Parker Courte-Rathwell 3rd CCSA, 14th collegiate overall, 22nd overall
• Greta Hansen 3rd CCSA, 5th U23 American, 23rd overall
• Alice McKnight 4th CCSA, 10 U23 American, 32nd overall
• Axel Aflodal 32nd overall
• Tryg Solberg 36th overall

Greta Hansen:
"Going into the skate sprint day, I was definitely feeling the fatigue of the three previous races but decided to make the most of the rainy weather. I was able to just lay it all out there and it paid off, as I ended up having so much fun and gaining great experience in the Nationals heats!"

Parker Courte-Rathwell:
"During the morning of my race, while I warmed up for my qualifier, I had two mantras in mind: the first one was simply "GO!", and the second was the lyrics to "Bat Out of Hell" by Meatloaf. I had all my intentions set on leaving my heart out on the trails and was rewarded with my best national qualification. An equally memorable moment was the sequence of fist-bumps, high-fives, and stoke I shared with my teammates when they knew I had qualified. The heats were shaping up to be a true tactical race, and I was excited to have my chance at racing, knowing I had been drawn into a heat with three individuals all with their own National Champion Titles. I held my own, and went with the leaders in a decisive moment in the course, but my competitors got the better of me in the last 200 meters. During the race, I had an incredible moment of energy where my lungs and legs were screaming, but my teammates were even louder on the sidelines. All I could think of was skiing faster, and all I could hear were the fans carrying me along the way. Embracing the competitive environment by focusing on simpler things made for a day of high pressure, very hard efforts, but even greater aspirations for what lies ahead for myself and this pack of huskies in the upcoming months. It was one of those days that you work hard for, and that rewards you with motivation and belief."

The Huskies finished second to Northern Michigan in the final men's, women's, and combined team CCHA titles.

Tech gets back to action on Jan. 18-19 at the Ariens Nordic CCSA Invitational in Brillion, Wis. The Huskies will race classic on the first day and a skate mixed-gender relay on day two.