For their contributions at the NCAA Central Region Championships last weekend, Northern Michigan’s George Cartwright and the College of St. Scholastica’s Sharmila Ahmed have taken home the season’s final CCSA Skier of the Week honors, the conference announced Saturday.

A fifth-year senior for the Wildcats, Cartwright played a vital role in helping NMU to secure the men’s and overall team titles over the weekend. The Wyoming native opened his stay in Houghton with a fifth-place finish in the men’s classic race (second-best on the team) before finishing as the top collegiate skier the mass start skate race, topping the rest of the CCSA field by more than 21 seconds. Cartwright’s efforts helped Northern Michigan to overturn a three-point deficit heading into the final day of regionals, lifting the Wildcats to a comfortable seven-point team victory.

Likewise, Ahmed contributed crucial points to her squad as well, helping the St. Scholastica women claim their best-ever finish at regionals, as the Saints took second just behind perennial powerhouse Northern Michigan. Ahmed saved her best race of the season for when it mattered most, taking second place in the women’s skate race to score 23 important points for her team. The junior also scored for her team in Saturday’s classic event as well, taking 11th place overall in the event. Her points helped St. Scholastica claim its first-ever podium in the NCAA Central Region Championships combined team scores; the Saints placing third for the weekend, behind just NMU and Alaska.

Northern Michigan head coach Sten Fjeldheim, meanwhile, collected the CCSA Coach of the Year honors for both the men’s and women’s side. Now in his 25th year at the helm for the Wildcats, Fjeldheim guided his team to a clean sweep at both the CCSA Championships and the NCAA Central Region Championships as NMU claimed the men’s, women’s and overall team titles at both events.

“It is a real honor to receive the CCSA Coach of the year award for both the men’s and women’s team, especially since it is all of the CCSA coaches who vote on this award,” Fjeldheim said. “It’s a real be honor to be selected by a group of coaches who we compete against all season long.”

Fjeldheim, however, was quick to praise his student-athletes for the team’s success.

“Much of the credit goes to the NMU ski team athletes and the way that they have supported one another all season, not just with their racing, but also their fall dry-land training and respecting one another as individuals. The team has depth and talent and most of all a very competitive atmosphere exists within this group, they pushed one another during the intense training sessions all fall and were ready to train no matter what the weather was, rain, shine, sleet or storm”.