Complete Results

CABLE, Wis. – St. Scholastica's #Waylon Manske# (Jr.-Bemidji, Minn.) officially exorcised his past classic technique demons by finishing in a career-best seventh place in the Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) men's 10km classic NCAA qualifier.

Manske's finish is also the highest finish at a CCSA qualifier in a classic technique race, posting a time of 31:07.6 seconds. Michigan Tech's Oskar Lund stomped the collegiate field by nearly a minute to take the win over UW-Green Bay's Santiago Ocariz. Lund won in 29:28.2 seconds compared to Ocariz clocking in at 30:27.3 seconds. Northern Michigan's George Cartwright finished third in 30:28.1 seconds.

Manske started slow, and was actually running second among the Saints at 5km behind freshman #Kasey Bacso# (Fr.-Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata), but a strong second loop pushed Manske up the results by the finish. Bacso wound up eighth in the CCSA standings, right behind Manske, with at time of 30:31.6 seconds. Freshman #Jeremy Hecker# (Fr.-Andover, Minn.) rounded out the Saints scoring in 17th in a time of 32:38.3 seconds. #Mason Bacso# (Jr.-Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) finished one spot back in 18th to put four Saints in the top 20, another first for the program in a classic event.

“Overall, it was a great day for the team,” said Saints head coach Chad Salmela. “Waylon has had a reputation as a pure skater, but today he matched some of his best freestyle performances, and it is the kind of performance that could be a game changer for him in the NCAAs hunt if he continues to do what he's doing.”

The Saints depth also has Salmela feeling good about the direction of the program.

“Kasey went for it and came up a little shy of what I think he can do, but he's coming off a cold and very little training this week. Jeremy really stepped it up and I expect that trend to continue. Mason has been strong all year, but while he's bummed about today's race, if you look at this being a 'bad' day for him, it's a darn good 'bad day.'”

The Saints hit the trails again tomorrow at Telemark with a 15km freestyle mass start.

CCSA College Qualifier
Men's 10km Classic
Telemark Resort
January 30, 2010

1. Oskar Lund MTU 29:28.2
2. Santiago Ocariz UWGB 30:27.3
3. George Cartwright NMU 30:28.1
4. Chris Bowler NMU 30:29.0
5. Jesse Lang MTU 30:46.3
6. Kevin Cutts NMU 31:04.4
7. Waylon Manske (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji HS) CSS 31:07.6
8. Kasey Bacso (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata HS) CSS 31:34.0
9. Jesse Smith MTU 31:36.6
10. Luke Gesior MTU 31:37.6
17. Jeremy Hecker (Andover, Minn./Andover HS (Minnesota-Twin Cities)) CSS 32:38.3
18. Mason Bacso (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata HS (St. John’s University)) CSS 32:45.5
25. Ryan Wright (Wyoming, Minn./Forest Lake HS) CSS 33:41.5
26. Matt Nistler (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji HS) CSS 33:50.5
31. Kirk Leach (Hopkins, Minn./Hopkins HS) CSS 34:07.0
34. John Wessling (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS) CSS 34:22.5
39. Stefan Hupperts (North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View HS) CSS 34:53.9
41. Kelin Dunfee (St. Paul, Minn./St. Paul Central HS) CSS 35:44.3
43. Jake Morgan (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS) CSS 36:26.8
53. Joe Wacker (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park HS) CSS 40:02.3