If there is one thing the Michigan Tech cross-country ski team learned last year, it was to not take skiing for granted. Not even snow. Not even in Houghton.

“We see year-after-year, the teams that have the most success are the one’s having the best time together,” co-head coaches Tom and Kristen Monahan Smith who are entering their eighth year working together, collectively wrote in an email to Seder-Skier.com.

“So that is simply what we’ll continue to seek to do…truly love our competitive experience as a team by blasting the hype music and cheering as loud as possible for our teammates every step of the way!”

The Huskies will probably continue to do another thing, too: win.

Michigan Tech claimed an NCAA Central Regional three-peat in the overall team title last year, defeating Northern Michigan University, the College of St. Scholastica and the University of Green Bay-Wisconsin on their home course. But even that came after the team learned to not take health for granted.

Michigan Tech finished second by 39 points to Northern Michigan at the Central Collegiate Skiing Association conference championships in Duluth two weeks prior.

“We had a few athletes out with sickness this weekend which made it tough to compete for team titles,” Tom Monahan Smith told the Michigan Tech sports information director back in mid-February.

The Huskies battled through adversity — compounded by the worst snow year on record — to sharpen up by the NCAA national meet.

“Our team improved performance upon performance throughout the competition season which was a big result of the reality that we had to truly focus on competitive development within the races themselves due to the poor ski training conditions we had,” the coaches reflected.

The Huskies sent six athletes to Steamboat Springs, where they finished 10th in the nation on the Nordic side of the equation. They lost two of their national qualifiers to graduation, including three-time U23 World Championships competitor Anabel Needham. The NCAA All-American is now skiing for APU in Alaska. Henry Snider has joined Team Birkie, while three-time NCAA championship qualifier Olivia Laven has moved on to a master’s degree program in Switzerland and Jasper Johnston is working in his professional career in fire science.

Still, both squads return incredible depth.

“Our men’s team is led by one of the strongest returning class of student-athletes in the country,” the Monahan Smith’s stated regarding a team that includes NCAA All-Americans, national qualifiers and World Junior Championship competitors. The defending men’s regional champions will be led by Skylar Patten, who was second in the CCSA points list and posted the best individual nationals finish with his 16th place in the 20k classic mass start. Colin Freed, who finished fourth in the overall standings and picked up his first win at the Coleraine CXC Cup in January. Wes Campbell — who has competed at multiple Junior World Championships for biathlon — was fourth in that race. The Park City product will be a junior this year.

They also welcome Caden Albrecht, a Junior Nationals podium finisher. The Stillwater star is returning to skiing after serving active duty for the U.S. Army in Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

The two women’s recruits will be athletes to watch, too. Julia Junkkala was a top-5 finisher in the Junior Nationals events in her home country of Finland. Meanwhile, Erica Kazin joins from Maple Plain, MN, where she qualified for Junior Nationals each of the last two seasons. Kazin was the Huskies sixth runner at the GLIAC Conference championships last month, helping the team to a fifth-place finish. More than half of the women’s team runs cross-country.

“Our women’s team has an awesome breadth of experience and athletic diversity,” the coaches continued. “(They) have been running fast this fall! We’ve also recruited strong international talent to help lead our team this competition season, but what we feel is truly exciting is that all of our women can truly be contributing competitive members for us this season!”

Synne Maeland-Herheim is the top-returner for the Huskies. The sophomore from Lillehammer was fifth in the overall CCSA points standings and recorded 26th and 27th-place finishes, respectively, in the 20k classic and 7.5k freestyle at nationals.

We have one of the best trail systems in the NCAA with 60km of FIS homologated trails right on campus. We’re located in a really beautiful place on Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world, and have outstanding student-athlete resources with the longest standing race organization in NCAA skiing. Lastly, we have an amazing team, they strive for student-athlete excellence, and care about having the best possible experience together as a team!

Tom and Kristen Monahan Smith give a sales pitch for Michigan Tech University

Coming together

The 20-person Michigan Tech team — 10 women and 10 men — gathered for the first official workouts during the first week of fall semester classes. The Monahan Smith’s could tell the team was hungry from the beginning.

“This group is serious about putting in the work, but they know how to have fun together and enjoy the experience,” they stated. “They communicate well together, push each other in training, and support each other in their lives as student-athletes.”

Consistently one of the top academic performing ski teams in the NCAA, both Tom and Kristen judge the team not only by what is achieved on snow, but by the classroom. One goal for the year is to have all student-athletes achieve academic All-American status.

“What we believe make Michigan Tech a great place to be a student-athlete are our outstanding academics,” they said.

The team bonded further lodging in rustic cabins and logging copious training hours during the annual fall camp in Copper Harbor, Michigan. They also formalized team culture goals and expectations for the rest of the season.

“We’ve found this is a really empowering way to focus on process goals because it allows us to set the tone for how we’ll work together as a team in all formal aspects of being a team,” the coaches said. “That’s something we can truly build upon throughout the year.” 

While the team will anchor its objective goals after Thanksgiving, the coaches already have an idea of what they think they’re capable of. Winning the conference — which they’re hosting this season — is the first step. Four-peating the regional is next. At nationals, the Monhan Smiths would love to see a top-5 overall Nordic place as well as All-American individual finishes. Perhaps most importantly, they listed that each and every one of their athletes “improves upon past athletic results.”

“We have an amazing team,” Monahan Smith said. “They strive for student-athlete excellence, and care about having the best possible experience together as a team.”

CCSA Points list (2024)

Women

National qualifiers (name, school, total points) {43 total skiers}

• Henriette Nilsen, NMU – 154
• Anabel Needham, MTU – 151
• Victoria Klevan Dybwad, NMU – 151
• Merle Richter, NMU – 148
• Synne Maeland-Herheim, MTU – 130
• Olivia Laven, MTU – 116

UWGB skiers (place, name, points)

• 25, Lillian Franzen – 46
• 30, Silje Busklein – 42
• 32, Jenna Johnson – 23
• 36, Kiera Rota – 11
• 38, Chelsey Johnson – 6
• 39, Grace Nemeth – 3

Men

National qualifiers (name, school, total points) {45 total skiers}

• Luke Fricker, NMU – 154
• Skylar Patten, MTU – 154
• Kristoffer Alm Karsrud, NMU – 151
• Colin Freed, MTU – 132
• Henry Snider, MTU – 124
• Mathias Indrelid-Haugen, NMU – 123

UWGB skiers (place, name, points)

• 15, Ryan Thieme – 82
• 23, Noah Erickson – 49
• 25, C.J. Young – 35
• 30, Derek Waddick – 20
• 31, Grant Rocheleau – 16
• 31, Myles Brown – 16
• 33, Declan Rodefeld – 15
• 35, Zaine Braaten – 7
• 43, Sam Folland – 1

CCSA 2024-2025 calendar

• Dec. 7 – Swedetown season opener – Michigan Tech
• Dec. 12-17 – Gitchi Gami Games Super Tour – Cable, WI
• Jan. 2-7 – U.S. cross-country ski national championships – Anchorage, AK
• Jan. 18-19 – Ariens Nordic CCSA Invite – Brillion, WI
• Feb. 1-2 – College of St. Scholastica CCSA Invite – Duluth, MN
• Feb. 15-16 – CCSA Conference champs – Houghton, MI
• Feb. 22-23 – NCAA Central Regional – Ishpeming, MI
• March 5-8 – NCAA champs – Hanover, NH