The Student News Site of Northern Michigan University

The North Wind

The North Wind

The North Wind

Meet the Staff
Rachel Pott
Rachel Pott
News Writer

I am a marketing major about to start my second year at Northern Michigan University, however, this will be my third year in college. I previously attended a small community college...

The North Wind Editorial Sessions
About us

The North Wind is an independent student publication serving the Northern Michigan University community. It is partially funded by the Student Activity Fee. The North Wind digital paper is published daily during the fall and winter semesters except on university holidays and during exam weeks. The North Wind Board of Directors is composed of representatives of the student body, faculty, administration and area media.

PROFILE — Katie Buhrmann is a 2022 alum of NMU and the executive administrative assistant in NMUs Office of Institutional Effectiveness. She recently self-published her first book of poetry. Photo courtesy of Katie Buhrmann
Alumni Katie Buhrmann explores South Korea through language
Katarina RothhornMarch 28, 2024

Men’s ski team sweeps USSA podium

The NMU ski team is coming off its biggest win of the season. Over the weekend the ‘Cats placed eight skiers, out of a possible 12, on the podium in the USSA Telemark SuperTour. NMU won the team competition with 375 points to Alaska’s 312 and Michigan Tech’s 310.

Head coach Sten Fjeldheim said this victory has brought a new level of confidence to his team, which he hopes they can build off for the rest of the season.

“It is just incredible right now, and they are just a very professional group to work with,” he said. “And I feel lucky to have to work with them every day.”

The men’s team led the way for NMU, sweeping the podium in the freestyle race, with junior Martin Banerud first, senior Phil Violett second and freshman Kevin Cutts third. Other top finishers in the freestyle men’s race were senior Justin Singleton in ninth and junior Sindre Stokke 11th.

Story continues below advertisement

In the classic race, the men’s team was just two seconds away from sweeping the podium once more, after Violett took first, Banerud finished second and Cutts ended in fourth.

Fjeldheim said this was a breakthrough weekend for the men and they showed their true potential.

“I think it shows that the team has a lot of depth. We got upperclassmen that have been exceptional since they’ve been here,” he said. “And so we have experience and high fitness levels on the team.”

Not to be outdone, the women’s team also had two top finishers in the freestyle race, with freshman Marie Soderman first and Laura DeWitt third. Junior Anna Berglund and sophomores Ingrid Fjeldheim and Christina Gillis also finished in the top 10.

In the classic race, DeWitt took home first and Soderman would continue a strong pace and end in fourth.

Fjeldheim said it was good to see the younger women on the team doing well because it shows a solid future. He added it was nice for Soderman to get a first place finish.

“I think it was a confidence builder for her, and I think she’s been so close so many times. But after she had a smile that was ear to ear,” he said.

DeWitt said it was good to see her teammates finishing strong along with her, and she added this will help further down the road in the season.

“It is good because no one is by any means relaxed as to their spots on the team,” she said. “There is always someone else there pushing you, which is really fun to have on the team.”

Fjeldheim echoed this when he said having a team that is competitive will only improve every individual as they ready for Regionals and Nationals.

“It is kind of the power of the team, and they know that on any given day that if they’re not on the top of their game they can have a teammate replace them,” he said. “So it builds confidence and it also builds a real healthy competitive attitude on our team.

“There is not a woman or a man on this team that can call themselves No.1 right now.”

Banerud said because of last week’s races and this week’s practices the future looks bright for the entire team.

“I expect all of us just to ski better than we have so far. I’m confident that we will have better results than that and now we just have to prove it,” he said.

The ski team has a week off before it travels to Brainerd Minn. for the St. Cloud Invitational on Feb. 14 and 15.

More to Discover