The first two races of US Nationals in Houghton, Michigan are now complete, with some solid performances by GRP skiers. A four race series, US Nationals started with the freestyle events on Thursday, January 2nd and Friday, January 3rd.

Day one brought a freestyle sprint on a new 1.5k, two lap course. In qualifying, Caitlin Patterson led the way for the GRP in 3rd place, followed by Liz Guiney in 11th, and Kaitlynn Miller in 34th. On the men’s side, Ben Lustgarten took 9th in qualifying, followed by Akeo Maifeld-Carucci in 39th, Braden Becker in 51st, and Adam Martin in 65th. In the heats, Lustgarten placed 4th in his quarterfinal, good for 17th overall. Guiney was also eliminated in the quarterfinals, placing 6th and 26th overall. Patterson was able to win both her quarterfinal and semifinal heat and went on to place 3rd in the A Final.

The following day brought 10/15k individual start freestyle races. The women raced first on a two lap course with a long, grinding finish. Patterson had another podium result, placing 2nd overall, but clinching the National title as first American. Miller took 12th place, and Guiney was 20th. On the men’s side, Martin led the way for the GRP in 5th place, with Lustgarten taking 10th, Maifeld-Carucci in 18th, and Becker in 28th.

Racing continues on January 5th with 20/30k mass start classic races, then wrapping up on the 7th with a classic sprint. Full information and detailed schedule are available on the Michigan Tech US Nationals website.

Results
Live Video Stream (available for a fee)