CCSA – Central Collegiate Ski Association

2021-22 Race Schedule

December 4 – 5, 2021:
Duluth SuperTour – Duluth, MN

December 10 – 12, 2021:
Birkie SuperTour – Cable, WI

January 2 – 7, 2022:
US Cross Country Ski Championships – Soldier Hollow, UT

January 22 – 23, 2022:
CCSA Mt. Itasca CXC Cup – Mt. Itasca – Coleraine, MN

January 29 – 30, 2022:
CCSA MTU Invite & GLD CXC Cup – Houghton, MI

February 12 – 13, 2022:
CCSA Conference Champs – Ishpeming, MI

February 19 – 20, 2022:
NCAA Central Regional Skiing Championships – Duluth, MN

February 26, 2022:
American Birkebeiner – Cable, WI

March 9 – 12, 2022:
NCAA Championships – Soldier Hollow, UT

Latest CCSA News

NCAA Central Regional ChampionshipsFebruary 22, 2022
CCSA Conference Championship 2022February 14, 2022
MTU Invite UpdateJanuary 31, 2022
CCSA Mt Itasca WeekendJanuary 24, 2022
US Nationals UpdateJanuary 9, 2022
Cable JNQDecember 14, 2021
Duluth SuperTour ReviewDecember 7, 2021

View More CCSA News »

CCSA Athletes wrapped up their season's racing in

CCSA Athletes wrapped up their season's racing in Minneapolis at Junior Nationals this past weekend. Individual All American Performances included Mia Case, Gretchen Haggenmiller, Alice McKnight, Lauren McCollor, and Copper Lennox!

The NCAA National Ski Championships wrapped up thi

The NCAA National Ski Championships wrapped up this weekend with some strong performances from CSSA Athletes. Kjetil Banerud and Skylar Patten came out on top with two NCAA All-American performances in the Mass Starts! Congratulations!

CCSA athletes have been competing at Junior Nation

CCSA athletes have been competing at Junior Nationals in Minneapolis, MN this week! Congratulations to All-Americans Mia Case, Lauren McCollor, and Jasper Johnston!

Races continue tomorrow with the Classic Mass Start.

Today was the first nordic race at the NCAA Nation

Today was the first nordic race at the NCAA National Championships in Soldier Hollow, the Classic Individual Start. Continuing their phenomenal CCSA racing this winter, Anabel Needham and Nea Katakala both had stand-out days, both nabbing All-American places (top 10)!!! N NCAA Nordic racing resumes Saturday with the skate mass start.

Performances of the Week Xavier Mansfield has be

Performances of the Week

Xavier Mansfield has been continuing his charge to the top this season, and this weekend in Duluth was the cherry on top. “I knew I needed a podium to have a shot at NCAAs last weekend, so those were my goals. I felt my body was coming into form these last couple of weeks, and built some confidence with decent results in Ishpeming, so my expectations were to be around the top 5. In January I was diagnosed with MS (multiple sclerosis), so I was in the Twin Cities last week at some appointments related to that. In my case, MS has manifested itself in that I get double vision when my body temperature goes up, like during ski racing or other intense exercise. So I was just hoping that my vision wouldn’t be too bad for the races. I tend to have a really slow start when racing, so on Saturday, I tried to go as hard as I could out of the gate since it was more like a 7.5k with the shortened course. In spite of that, I still found myself in 17th after one lap, 26 seconds from Kjetil who was leading the race. From then on I just tried to go as hard as I could up the hill each lap. On the last lap, I got a split that I was 3 down from second, and that gave me some extra motivation to go even harder up the hill and put almost a minute into one of the skiers I was with from there to the finish, which felt really good. “ Manfield finished 2nd of the day, just over 10 seconds in front of 3rd.

Victoria Dybwad attacked the races this weekend at home, charging to nab the last NCAA National Champ qualifying spot. “Leading up to this weekend my expectations were pretty high. My body was responding to the training and I was excited to race on our home course. My approach to Saturday’s race was to work over the top on the hill and push through corners. After the race I talked with my mom and dad, they are like a mental garbage can for me so I can clear my mind for the next race. My strategy for Sunday was to use my start position to find a person I could hang on the back to. The key was to not stress out of start which I sometimes do and to save my energy by hanging on other’s backs"

The NCAA Central Regional Championships had some v

The NCAA Central Regional Championships had some very exciting races, up in Duluth this weekend! Recap in the bio!

It's the last weekend of CCSA racing and it's a cl

It's the last weekend of CCSA racing and it's a close one! Watch for results tomorrow on my.raceresult.com

CCSA Performances Of The Week CJ Young has been o

CCSA Performances Of The Week

CJ Young has been on a consistent upward trajectory this winter, continuing his success with 6th place in Ishpeming at the CCSA Conference Championships. “Going into the weekend I was hoping for another fast finish and to get a top 10 finish for Green Bay and blew that out the water Saturday. On Saturday I was hoping to stay on the lead pack for as long as I could and then keep my eyes on them while finishing the last lap as hard as I could. On Sunday I was hoping to go into all the climbs with a lot of energy and push through to the top as that’s where I could see myself losing the most time and then I wanted to make up time by pushing hard on the few flats of the course. This week I’m planning on utilizing the beautiful Green Bay trails in preparation for Regionals with my team and coach and then hoping to keep training beyond that for postseason races be it NCAAs or JNs.”

Hilde Eide has had a relatively slow start to the CCSA season but has been consistently been improving every weekend, topping it off with a Conference Championship podium. “The strategy for Saturday's race was to ski smart, conserve energy and try to keep up with the pack. Mass start is always fun, especially when you have close fights like the one Henriette and I had for 3rd. Going into Sunday, I felt pretty darn tired so I focused on one segment of the course at the time. Now, I'm gonna rest up and prepare for regionals in Duluth.”

Another weekend of racing, another CCSA recap link

Another weekend of racing, another CCSA recap link in our bio! This time, the coverage of the CCSA Conference Championships in Ishpeming, Michigan.

There are some exciting battles in the team points

There are some exciting battles in the team points after the first race of the CCSA Conference Championship in Ishpeming, MI!

Performances of the Week MTU had a big weekend a

Performances of the Week

MTU had a big weekend at home, with the women getting their first CCSA podium sweep. In the 3rd position was Nea Katajala claiming her first CCSA podium. “Last weekend in Itasca I had my first distance race for the season so this weekend I wanted to ski better and I did it. I have had an Achilles problem since September and in December [training didn’t go well] and I didn’t race at all.
Saturday my goal was to start and finish strong. It was fun and I think it was one of my best 10km skate races in my career. I have struggled many years in skate but I think this year I have learned how to do it better! Because I have had achilles problems since September, I haven’t been able to ski classic almost at all. Today was my first distance classic race for the season and I think the 7th time skiing classic after September. I didn’t know what to expect from the race so I just tried to do my best, ski with finnish Sisu (finnish courage), and enjoy skiing classic!
My plans for the next weeks are to recover from the races and train well and smart”

MTU freshman Colin Freed had a breakthrough race this weekend when he grabbed 2nd for the CCSA, getting his first collegiate podium. “For this weekend, I really just wanted to give it everything I had. I knew I could throw it down, and I just wanted to ski my race. Approaching Saturday’s race, I focused on skiing strong and approaching each part of the course as it came, and having fun doing it! For Sunday, I tried keeping my technique together and skiing efficiently. I am looking forward to recovering and having some fun training with my teammates before our next races!”

The recap from this past weekend is out now! The l

The recap from this past weekend is out now! The link is in our bio

Saturday's Individual Start led to some close team

Saturday's Individual Start led to some close team results in Houghton, MI. The teams race again tomorrow, in the Individual Classic Start.

The CCSA Wax Call has been decided for the upcomin

The CCSA Wax Call has been decided for the upcoming MTU CCSA Invite this weekend in Houghton, MI.

The Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) has been standardizing glide wax with various products at standalone events for the past three years. Coaches feel this approach gives them a distinct advantage in resource management and keeps their programs focused on the student-athlete experience. We know from the 2021 Spring CXC Congress wax proposal vote that there is tremendous support from coaches in this region to standardize the glide waxing process for strong reasons that include health, budget, sport accessibility, and the athlete experience. CCSA Coaches hope that our standardized policy will de-mystify the glide wax process a little and give other Central Region programs looking to shift their time and resources to a more athlete-centric approach the confidence that they can be competitive in doing so.

CCSA Performance of the week Emil Book Bratbak h

CCSA Performance of the week

Emil Book Bratbak had a fantastic weekend in Mt Itasca, taking advantage of some quality training after he was sick at US Nationals in Utah. Bratbak had a solid day on Saturday, placing 5th in the Individual Skate race. “Skate individual races are normally not my strong suit and I tried to ski technically well and pace the race without blowing up. On Sunday my strategy was to stay with the front pack for as long as possible without spending too much energy.” The pace went out fast, and Bratbak hung on to clip the win right at the finish. “It turned out to be a really hard race and I’m very happy I could take down Kjetil and Kristoffer in the finish lanes”

Merle Richter had a breakthrough weekend in Northern Minnesota, with her first CCSA podium in 3rd place in the Individual Start on Saturday, and following that success on Sunday with a 3rd place in the mass start. “My preparation for the races was definitely not perfect. I was sick the whole December and could never train continuously which is also the reason I had no expectations at all for my first race weekend.” After a couple of weeks of solid training, Richter felt she gained her fitness back pretty fast. “At the race on Saturday, I felt pretty strong on the course and when I got the splits that I was on third and forth the whole time I had a feeling that this will be a good day. After getting the last split that it could be a podium I think I did a pretty strong finish. After having such a good race on Saturday I was really nervous about Sunday. I love mass start and 7.5 k is definitely one of my favorites in classic. My goal was to stay with the lead group the whole time and see what the last meters can bring. On all the uphills I had a really hard time catching up with Henriette and Anabel. They were definitely stronger than me but racing was a lot of fun that whole weekend.”

The CCSA was back on the trails and you can read a

The CCSA was back on the trails and you can read all about it! Link is in our bio

A chilly day in Coleraine, MN led to an exciting p

A chilly day in Coleraine, MN led to an exciting points race for the teams, leading into the classic mass start tomorrow!

The CCSA Wax Call has been decided for the upcomin

The CCSA Wax Call has been decided for the upcoming CCSA Mt Itasca CXC Cup this weekend in Coleraine, MN.

The Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) has been standardizing glide wax with various products at standalone events for the past three years. Coaches feel this approach gives them a distinct advantage in resource management and keeps their programs focused on the student-athlete experience. We know from the 2021 Spring CXC Congress wax proposal vote that there is tremendous support from coaches in this region to standardize the glide waxing process for strong reasons that include health, budget, sport accessibility, and the athlete experience. CCSA Coaches hope that our standardized policy will de-mystify the glide wax process a little and give other Central Region programs looking to shift their time and resources to a more athlete-centric approach the confidence that they can be competitive in doing so.

The rollercoaster in Salt Lake City is finally fin

The rollercoaster in Salt Lake City is finally finished, a recap of US Nationals is up in our bio!

Performance of the Week Anabel Needham Needham

Performance of the Week

Anabel Needham

Needham has a dominating CCSA performance this past weekend, as she swept all of the CCSA wins Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, along with having strong performances in a field of professional women. “I was pretty nervous going into the weekend”, said Needham, “But after the start of the mass start race, I just settled in and took the race lap by lap. In the sprints I did the same thing, I just wanted to think about the round I was in without getting overwhelmed with future heats. It was so cool to ski with teammates and other super fast people this weekend, it was definitely a great event to have right before Senior nationals!”

Daniel Streinz

While his 4th place finish in Saturday’s Classic Sprint was a highlight for the weekend, Streinz had a strong weekend as a whole. Finishing 7th in a field of Olympic hopefuls in Saturday’s qualifier, Streinz went on to place a close 2nd in his quarter-final heat (places 1-4 were all within 1 second) and get the 2nd lucky loser position in the semi-finals where he placed 4th in his heat. In Sunday’s 15k Individual start, Streinz had another strong day, finishing as the 4th CCSA athlete, 29th overall in the competitive field.

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