Alaska News

Dusser, Brannmark lead strong UAA showing at NCAA ski championships

Skiers from France, Sweden, Denmark and Germany became All-Americans for UAA and two skiers from Anchorage became All-Americans for Lower 48 schools Thursday at the NCAA championships in Middlebury, Vt.

The Seawolves grabbed third place in the men's and women's races.

Viktor Braennmark, a freshman from Alvsbyn, Sweden, placed third in the men's 10-kilometer classic race, and Marine Dusser, a freshman from Villard de Lans, France, finished third in the women's 5-K classic.

Joining Braennmark in the top 10 were juniors Lasse Moelgaard-Nielson of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Lukas Ebner of Furtwangen, Germany. Moelgaard-Nielson took eighth place and Ebner was ninth.

By putting three men in the top 10, the Seawolves scored more points from the men's race than any other school. The effort allowed them to move up two spots in the overall team standings to sixth place with 274.5 points, 5.5 points out of fifth place.

Halfway through the four-day championships, defending champion Vermont leads with 389 points.

Two Anchorage skiers cracked the top 10 in the men's race -- Silas Talbot of Dartmouth finished fifth and Scott Patterson of Vermont placed seventh.

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David Norris of Fairbanks just missed the top 10, finishing 11th for Montana State. The top Alaska-raised finisher in the women's race was Anchorage's Jessica Yeaton, who was 14th for Montana State.

The top 10 in each race merit All-American recognition. Combined with Andreas Adde's ninth-place showing in Wednesday's giant slalom, UAA boasts five All-Americans after two days of competition.

NCAA championships

Men's 10-K classic

1) Rune Oedegaard, Colorado, 26:00.2. UAA and Alaska finishers -- 3) Viktor Brannmark, UAA, 26:28.5; 5) Silas Talbot, Dartmouth, 26:36.8; 6) Scott Patterson, Vermont, 26:46.2; 8) Lasse Moelgaard-Nielsen, UAA, 26:50.6; 9) Lukas Ebner, UAA, 26:51.3; 11) David Norris, MSU, 27:01; 13) Andrew Dougherty, Denver, 27:05.5; 17) Logan Hanneman, UAF, 27:10.2; 31) Jonas Loffler, UAF, 28:13.6; 32) Michael Fehrenbach, UAF, 28:19.7.

Women's 5-K classic

1) Anja Gruber, Vermont, 15:31.1. UAA and Alaska finishers -- 3) Marine Dusser, UAA, 15:43; 12) Patricia Sprecher, UAA, 16:19.9; 14) Jessica Yeaton, MSU, 16:21.6; 19) Annie Liotta, MSU, 16:35.6; 30) Alyson McPhetres, UAF, 16"53.6; 32) Karina Smith, UAA, 17:04.9; 33) Elizabeth Guiney, New Hampshire, 17:05.3; 35) Crystal Pitney, UAF, 17:21.2.

Anchorage Daily News

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