Alice Flanders, Kyle Bratrud collect conference honors

CCSA News, CCSA Skiers of the Week

For their performances at the Telemark Chase over the weekend, Michigan Tech’s Alice Flanders and Northern Michigan’s Kyle Bratrud have been named the CCSA skiers of the week, the conference announced Wednesday.

Flanders claimed her first win of the season with a dominant performance in the women’s 1OK freestyle event at the Telemark Lodge, crossing the line a full 37 seconds ahead of her nearest CCSA competitor. She followed that up with another top 10 finish in the 5K classic, taking ninth, to help the Huskies land a third-place overall team finish on the weekend. Thanks to her impressive results, Flanders currently sits third on the CCSA’s overall points list.

Bratrud, meanwhile, helped lift Northern Michigan to a silver medal team finish with a pair of podium spots of his own this weekend. First, the junior topped the field in Saturday’s men’s 15K skate by nearly a 10-second margin. Bratrud then showed his ability in the classic tracks as well, taking second in the 10K event and just missing out on his second straight win by just a second and a half. With two NCAA qualifiers in the books, Bratrud has risen to second place in the CCSA points list.

Flanders, Bratrud and the rest of the region’s student-athletes now head to Mt. Itasca for their third qualifier of the season. The event kicks off with the classic races, starting at 11 a.m. Friday.