2003 Midwest Collegiate Recruits
By Corey Coogan
October 15, 2003
Central Collegiate Skiing Association teams began official
training in September. Among the athletes were some new faces:
the freshmen of 2003. As the ski season comes ever closer,
it's a good time to meet the new recruits.
Take Northern Michigan University first. It has a history
of dominating the central circuit as well as attracting top
recruits, and this year is no exception. The top "newcomer"
is U.S. Team Development group skier Lindsey Weier, a sophomore
at Northern who sat out collegiate competition in 2003 to
focus on FIS competitions. As she begins her collegiate career,
she's joined by newcomers Victoria Koskenoja (Canada), Morgan
Smith (Vermont), and Jenna Dickenson (Aurora, Minnesota).
Dickenson of Mesabi-East High School earned the skating bronze
medal in Minnesota's 2003 state meet. Northern's new males
include Bob Baldwin (St. Cloud, Minnesota), Gus Keating (Vermont),
and Cameron Ross (Traverse City, Michigan). Baldwin had a
top-20 result at Junior Olympics and was pursuit and classic
bronze medalist at the Minnesota State Meet. Ross was Michigan
State Champion in pursuit and skate.
Until recently, no central team could touch dominant Northern.
However, University of Alaska-Fairbanks emerged last year,
and looks to give Northern an even better run in 2004. The
school signed two of the most talented American recruits available
in 2003 in Alaskans Kasandra Rice and Tyson Flaherty. Rice
had two top-tens in the older junior girls category at 2003
Junior Olympics. Flaherty was a multiple medalist at Junior
Olympics (including a silver in the skate) and a member of
the JI Scandinavian trip team. Fairbanks' strongest recruit
is likely Sigrid Lagerfelt of Ostersund, Sweden, a top junior
who placed as high as 7th in Swedish Senior Nationals.
The relatively young Gustavus program (established in 1999)
continues to become more competitive, having recruited its
strongest group ever for 2004. Nicole Olson of Elk River,
Minnesota and Erin McCarty of Eden Prairie, Minnesota will
make an immediate impact on the team. Olson, Minnesota State
Champion in skating, and silver medalist in the pursuit, also
skied to 4th place at the Junior Olympics. McCarty, also a
Junior Olympics participant, earned the bronze medal in the
pursuit at Minnesota states, as well as 4th in the pursuit.
For men, Gustavus also adds two Minnesotans: Mike Drinane
of Roseville and Saukko Ski Club, and Tim Bruss of Mahtomedi.
Both are state meet participants, and Drinane skied into the
top-20 in the classic there.
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay signed two Wisconsin
natives with the capacity to immediately affect the women's
squad. Rosy Walsh and Tanya Cook are both graduates of Rhinelander
High school. The duo went 1-2 respectively at the Wisconsin
State Meet, and competed in the Junior Olympics. There, Walsh
had two top-30 results, while Cook broke into the top-50 in
skate.
Michigan Tech University seems poised to improve as new head
coach Joe Haggenmiller brings experience and fresh enthusiasm
to the program. While the school's recuiting year was certainly
affected by the transition between coaches, five new athletes
join the program for 2004. For men, Dave Siegfried of Henry
Sibley High School in Minnesota was a State Meet Participant.
He is joined by Adam Rawley (Washington) and Christopher Miller
of Gaylord, Michigan. For women, Tech brings in Michelle Larson
of St. Paul, Minnesota and Trisha Weyandt of Iron River, Wisconsin.
Weyandt is best known as a top cross-country runner who competed
for Northwestern High School.
Macalester College welcomes three new athletes to the 2004
team. For women, Julia Parke of Mount Mansfield Union High
School in Vermont should make Macalester's scoring-three.
Parke had one top-50 result at 2003 Eastern High School Championships.
Her last name is recognized in the Midwest since sister Liz
was Carleton's top performer during her time at the school.
For men, Minnesota State Meet participant Dan Risch-Boody
of Minneapolis-South and Ben Peterson of Cathedral High School
(St. Cloud, Minnesota) join the team.
St. Olaf College reports a whole host of new recruits as
well as a new coach! Kevin Brochman, who has taken over the
Ole program, reports the addition of 10 freshmen. One woman,
Mia Gaw, graduate of Colorado Rocky Mountain School was a
2003 Junior Olympics participant. She will likely compete
with Linn Dale of Bloomington-Jefferson High School for the
top position among the newcomers. Dale was 11th in pursuit
at the Minnesota State Meet. Another recruit, Kaitlin Anderson
of Buffalo High School also participated in Minnesota States.
Only three of the ten newcomers are men. They are Tony Hoff
(Mahtomedi, Minnesota), Kurt Bickler (Minnetonka, Minnesota),
and James Morrison, Lakeland High School, who earned 8th place
in the classic at the Wisconsin State Meet.
The College of St. Benedict women's team has three new skiers
for 2004. Jennifer Northrup, from Bend, Oregon is a four-time
state meet participant. She was a member of the Summit High
School Ski Team who were 2003 State Team Champions, Two Minnesotans,
Megan Peterson (Brooklyn Park) and Kelly Wubbels (St. Cloud)
join Northrup. Both were top-50 finishers in the pursuit at
2003 states, and Wubbels skied to a top-20 at Minnesota's
largest ski race, the Mesabi Invite.
"Brother School" to St. Benedict, St. John's University
also adds three new skiers to its team. Keegan O'Hara is a
Colorado State Meet Participant from Steamboat Springs. He
has the added experience of competing in Nordic Combined for
the town's club. In addition, Erik Hendrickson and Tom Dehler
are both competed in the Minnesota State Meet. Hendrickson
of St. Louis Park and Tom Dehler of St. Paul are remarkably
similar in ability, having finished 32nd and 30th respectively
in the pursuit.
St. Cloud State University has a single new recruited skier
for 2004 in Marie Jordan of Roseville High School. Head Coach
Jeremy Frost predicts that she is ready to "jump right
in" with last year's top returnees. The program also
has a couple of first-year walk-ons who may contribute to
SCSU standings in 2004.
An unknown entity for 2004 is Finlandia University. The program,
which is brand new this year, just hired its coaches in July,
so recruiting for this season was impossible. This new team
will be guided by the husband-wife coaching team of Eric and
Joan Rundman, talented competitors well-known to Upper Peninsula
racers. Finlandia has been granted provisional NCAA Division
III membership, but will not follow the entire CCSA schedule,
attending only U.P. events. The team will compete collegiately
at the ABR opener and the Michigan Tech Invite, but fill the
remainder of their schedule with citizen races. One of the
school's stated goals for 2004 is to get its name out and
begin recruiting skiers. Prospective student-skiers can fill
out a recruiting form at: http://www.finlandia.edu/athletics.html#mensnordski
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