Bratrud wins U.S. Championship in 15K
HOUGHTON — Northern Michigan University senior Kyle Bratrud won the U.S. National Championship in the 15K freestyle race at the U.S. Cross Country Championships Sunday.
Bratrud clocked a time of 42:01.6 which was 50-seconds faster than the second place finisher. The Wildcats placed four skiers in the top 24 on the men’s side and had four women’s finishers in the top 26.
“Kyle Bratrud was in a league of his own today,” said NMU head nordic skiing coach Sten Fjeldheim. “To win by 50-seconds in a 15K race is big. He separated himself from the rest of the 200 skier filed early in the race and just kept increasing his lead. Spectacular race day for all of our team!”
NMU sophomore Fredrik Schwencke finished fifth with a time of 43:13.2 while Wildcat sophomore Adam Martin placed 13th in 44:12.0. Freshman Ian Torchia was next across for NMU in 16th place, covering the distance in 44:39.1. Senior Erik Soderman rounded out the NMU leaders in 24th place with a time of 44:53.6.
On the women’s side senior Jordyn Ross was the top finisher for the Wildcats in the 10K freestyle race. Ross crossed the finish line in 32:06.9 and came in just eight seconds ahead of sophomore Kristen Bourne who finished in 17th at 32:14.0. Freshman Vivian Hett was 23rd for the Wildcats clocking a time of 32:52.8 while freshman Caroline Brisbois was 26th at 33:05.2.
NMU continues action at the U.S. Nationals on Tuesday with the classic sprint races, those races were originally scheduled for Monday but the date was changed to allow for grooming.
[Courtesy of NMU Athletic Dept.]