RHINELANDER, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – The Green Bay Phoenix Nordic Skiing team competed in Rhinelander, Wisconsin today for the Minnesota-Duluth CCSA race, taking fourth place overall on both sides. Due to snow conditions, the race was moved from Duluth earlier in the week as well as shortened to just one day.


 
Head coach Steve Teclaw said, "It was great to see the Rhinelander Club step up on short notice and help us put on this race. We gave them notice on Tuesday before the weekend and it was all a reality come Friday. Hats off to the groomers, volunteers, timers, course set up crew and rules delegates that made this happen. The newly improved Rhinelander race course is very dynamic compared to the rest of the courses we race. It keeps the athletes on their toes with ever changing, aggressive terrain. Next week in Houghton we'll be on a very predicable course which requires a much different style of racing."
 
In the women's 10-kilometer classic race, redshirt junior Mykaela McMullen again led the Phoenix, this time ending up with a 12^th place finish. She crossed the finish line in 35:43.4.
 
Teclaw remarked, "Mykaela is still working through some prior injuries but was able to put together a very solid 1^st lap with a 10^th place split at 5km. We look forward to her performances at 100% health."
 
Fellow redshirt junior Maddie McKeefry was the next finisher for the team, taking 17^th in 37:52.4. Freshman Anna Zajakowski rounded out the scoring team, taking 19^th with a time of 38:03.3 and helping the women's squad beat out two other programs. Right behind her, redshirt senior Kayla Billett made top 20 by stopping the clock at 38:12.6. Also racing in today's 10k were sophomore Maria Schoening, redshirt junior Emily Burger, and sophomore Mina Anderberg, finishing at 40:22.1, 40:37.4, and 42:50.6, respectively.
 
The men took on the 15-kilometer classic race, with Jake Ajax scratching the top five yet again. The senior led Green Bay's team with a finishing time of 42:28.2.
 
Teclaw added, "This was great to see. It wasn't as snappy of a performance as last weekend but this shows us as a coaching staff that Ajax has the base to be able to sustain top 5 performances throughout the season. We will continue to ensure he recovers well and maintains his ability to attack the race course."
 
Redshirt sophomore Quinn Duffy and sophomore Tom Woolhouse proved to be training partners, rounding out the scoring team in 15^th and 16^th place, respectively. Duffy crossed the finish line at 44:22.8, with Woolhouse less than six seconds behind at 44:28.2. Sophomore Sam Myers and redshirt sophomore Cory Rouw were also not too far apart from one another, with Myers taking 19^th in 44:36.6 and Rouw 20^th in 44:49.4. Shad Kraftson also competed in the race, earning 27^th with a time of 46:02.2.
 
"t's great to see the depth improve with each weekend," said Teclaw. "We'll be looking to Quinn and Tom next weekend to see if they can improve again on their finish times within the region."
 
Up next, the Nordic Ski team will be racing for the third weekend in a row. The squad will travel to Houghton, Michigan to compete in the MTU CCSA races.
 
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