GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – Last week, the Green Bay Nordic Ski team raced at the 2018 U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships in Anchorage, Alaska. Despite poor conditions, such as slushy ski trails and high temperatures, five members of the team represented the Phoenix well while racing on the Kincaid Park trails. Full results can be found HERE.
 
Head coach Steve Teclaw remarked, "I'm proud of the perseverance of the athletes and coaches. Travel was long and the conditions were ever changing creating a hectic situation for wax testing, application and ski selection."

Teclaw added, "These early season big races are always a good challenge for our athletes. It allows us to see how we are performing at the earliest stages of our training taper and gives us the chance to compete against athletes out of region. It can sometimes be a mental challenge for the skiers as we are not looking to perform our best at these early races, but we need to keep their confidence in the hundreds of hours of training they've done as we approach the end of the season they will be racing their fastest."
 
January 3^rd was the opening day of racing, with the 10K/15K freestyle race up first. With nearly 200 men entered in the 15K race, freshman Shad Kraftson was the top finisher, placing 118^th with a time of 43:16.6. Not too far behind was senior Jake Ajax, with a final time of 43:55.0 for 124^th. Sophomore Tom Woolhouse placed 133^rd with a time of 44:24.5, while fellow sophomore Sam Myers finished 145^th in 45:33.8. In the 10K race, redshirt junior Mykaela McMullen represented the Phoenix, turning in a time of 35.11.0 for 134^th.
 
January 5^th marked the freestyle sprint race. For the men, Kraftson was the top finisher again, with a time of 3:26.03 for 87^th place. Ajax was a little over a second behind, placing 97^th in 3:27.21. Myers took 112^th in 3:29.92, and Woolhouse was 161^st with a time of 3:39.56. There were 191 participants in the race. For the women, McMullen placed 135^th out of 146, putting up a time of 4:04.73.
 
January 7^th was the day of the 30K/20K/10K/5K Classic. Ajax was the sole Green Bay athlete racing in the longest event, the 30K Senior Mens race, which was also his first 30 kilometer race as a Phoenix. He ended up 39^th overall, with a time of 1:31:16.6. The other men participated in the 10K Junior Mens race. Kraftson was the top finisher in 29:54.1, placing 49^th out of more than 100 competitors. Myers crossed the finish line in 57^th, with a time of 30:15.1. Woolhouse stopped the clock at 31:17.8, earning 79^th.
 
The full Nordic Ski team roster will be back in action the weekend of the 20^th, racing in Cable, Wisconsin.
 
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