U.P. athletes headed to MTU

Courtesy of MTU Athletics

HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech head coach Joe Haggenmiller has announced that nine student-athletes have signed National Letters of Intent to join the cross country, Nordic skiing and track and field teams.

Daniel Kulas is a two-time state champion from Iron Mountain, Mich. He won the 1,600 (4:42) and 3,200 (10:15) as a senior and finished second at the state meet in cross country. The Kingsford High School product competed at the state cross country meet four times finishing third as a junior, 23rd as a sophomore and 41st as a freshman. He finished sixth in the 3,200 at the state meet as a junior.

Isaac Pringle is a sprinter from Hanover-Horton (Mich.) High School. He finished fourth in the 400 in a time of 49.74 at the Lower Michigan Div. 3 State Meet. He also helped the Comets to a runner-up finish in the 4×800 relay. He has run a personal-best of 22.5 in the 200 and competed in the cross country state meet. He plans to major in materials engineering.

James Sutton (Newberry, Mich.) is a multiple Upper Peninsula state champion in track and field. He was a two-time champion in the high jump and holds the Upper Peninsula Div. 2 state record with a mark of 6-4. As a senior he competed in three other events at the state meet finishing second in the 110-hurdles, fourth in the 300-hurdles and fifth in the long jump. As a junior he won the 110-hurdles and finished second in the 300-hurdles at the state meet.

Jake Wiedemeier was a three-time Wisconsin Div. 3 state champion in the pole vault at Crivitz (Wis.) High School. He has a personal-best of 14-6. He plans to major in engineering.

Sonja Hedblom is a Nordic skier from Eagen, Minn. She was a multiple all-state performer for the Wildcats including a 10th place finish in the pursuit as a senior. She qualified for the 2013 US Junior National Championships finishing 16th in the freestyle sprint. She plans to major in biomedical engineering.

Lisa Koenig will join the Nordic ski team from Germany where she was the German junior national champion in the individual and team sprint. The Steinbach-Hallenburg, Germany, native is currently attending Sportgymnasium Oberhof  which is a boarding school for Germany’s top skiers and is ranked 383 in sprint and 550 in distance on the FIS rankings. She plans to major in psychology or exercise science.

Carolyn Lucca competed in Nordic skiing at Duluth (Minn.) East High School. She finished 26th in the pursuit and helped the Greyhounds to a runner-up team finish at the 2013 Minnesota State meet. She plans to major in engineering.

Lauren Raiford is a sprinter and pole vaulter from Sturgis (Mich.) High School. She finished 16th at the Lower Peninsula State with a mark of 9-5 in the pole vault. She has personal-bests of 12.9 in the 100, 26.8 in the 200 and 62.11 in the 400. She is ranked eighth in her class with a 3.9 GPA and plans to major in biomedical engineering.

MaKenna Stelpflug is a multi-sport athlete from Waukesha (Wis.) High School. She has personal-bests of 2:32 for 800, 5:41 for 1,600 and 12:31 for 3,200. She also competed in Nordic skiing posting a pair of top-20 individual finishes and helping Peak Nordic to a third place team finish at the 2013 Wisconsin State Nordic Skiing State Championships. She plans to major in engineering.