Kyle Bratrud of Northern Michigan University and Deedra Irwin of Michigan Tech have been named CCSA skiers of the week for their performances at US Nationals in Houghton, Michigan.

Bratrud was outstanding at US Nationals, winning the 15 kilometer freestyle race overall to take home his first national title. His race left little doubt about his ability this season; he took first place by an incredible 50 second margin. Bratrud’s success continued in the 30 kilometer classic mass start race. The inspired NMU senior led the race for much of the distance to finish third overall in a fiercely contested sprint to the finish.

Michigan Tech’s Deedra Irwin put together a set of excellent sprint races at US Nationals. Irwin led the CCSA women in both sprint races, making her way to the B Final of the classic sprint for 10th place, and finishing 18th in the freestyle sprint. In the distance races Irwin was 33rd in the 20 kilometer classic race overall, and 36th in the 10 kilometer freestyle.

Irwin and Bratrud have been selected to represent the United States at the U23 World Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan. They will travel to Kazakhstan in late January to train ahead of the competitions held during the first week of February.

Telemark will host the next round of NCAA qualifiers this weekend January 17-18 in Cable, Wisconsin.