HOUGHTON, Mich.—Utah's Novie McCabe and Denver's Andreas Kirkeng won the 10K freestyle races at the U.S. National Cross Country Ski Championships, which double as an RMISA Nordic qualifier as the 2023 season officially gets underway here Monday at Tech Trails.
McCabe was joined by teammate Sydney Palmer-Leger with Montana State newcomer Tilde Baangman also hitting the podium in the women's race. Alaska Fairbanks' Kendall Kramer and Mariel Pulles rounded out the top five.
In men's action, Kirkeng dominated and was joined by two Nanooks on the podium with Mike Ophoff taking second and Joe Davies third. MSU had another newcomer, Florian Winker, take fourth with Denver's Bernhard Flaschberger rounding out the top five.
This is the first of four races as part of the U.S. Championships, the first two of which will count as extra qualifiers for RMISA races to the NCAA Championships.
The next race will take place Wednesday with the Classic Sprint races.
| Date | Race |
|---|---|
| Jan. 2 | Women's 10K Freestyle |
| Jan. 2 | Men's 10K Freestyle |
| Jan. 4 | Women's Classic Sprints |
| Jan. 4 | Men's Classic Sprints |