This story was written by NMU Sports Information

HOUGHTON---The Northern Michigan University Nordic skiing teams enjoyed a successful U.P. Opener Saturday and Sunday.

On both days, the Wildcat women dominated the competition, sweeping places one through seven in Saturday's 5K freestyle and filling three of the top-five places in Sunday's 5K classic.

Ohe men's side, Adam Martin captured both individual titles, cruising to a victory in the 10K freestyle and then edging teammate Fredrik Schwencke for the 10K classic crown by less than five seconds.

"Considering the fact that we have had very little time to train on snow, our results at the U.P. Opener were solid," said head coach Sten Fjeldheim. "The team is looking fit and strong. Now, our focus will be on fine-tuning technique and increasing our training volume over the break."

Sophie Schimpl won the 5K freestyle, finishing in 16:43.5. She was joined on the podium by Vivian Hett (16:58.5) and Nicole Schneider (17:06.1).

Sophie McDonald (17:28.5), Sarah Bezdicek (17:47.3), Anikken Gjerde-Alnaes (18:25.5) and Kristen Bourne (18:26.9) rounded out the race's top seven.

In the men's 10K freestyle, Martin (28:43.8) was joined in the top five by teammates Zak Ketterson (2nd, 29:14.6) and Sam Elfstrom (5th, 30:29.6). Schwencke (7th, 30:46.3) and Leo Hipp (8th, 30:51.5) also cracked the top 10.

The next day, Hett raced to a title in the 5K classic, clocking in at 16:44.6. Schneider (2nd, 17:13.8) and McDonald (4th, 17:40.5) also earned top-five finishes.

Martin (28:32.5), Schwencke (28:37.2) and Ketterson (29:24.2) were the first three skiers to cross the finish line in the men's 10K classic. Krystof Kopal (8th, 30:26.2) and Elfstrom (9th, 30:38.3) also made the top 10.

The complete results for both days can be viewed here.

The Wildcats next compete at the U.S. Pre-Nationals on Dec. 17-18 in Houghton, Mich.