MARQUETTE — One of this year’s inductees into the Northern Michigan University Sports Hall of Fame made his mark in skiing in the late 1970s and early ’80s.

Pentti Joronen will be inducted along with four other individuals and a team on Friday evening.

After completing a commitment with the Finnish Army, Joronen enrolled at NMU in January 1978, making an immediate impact after finishing in sixth place at the NCAA Championships to earn Second Team All-American honors. He then repeated this feat in 1979.

At the ’78 American Birkebeiner, which is North America’s largest cross country ski marathon, he finished sixth out of about 8,000 skiers.

In his final two years at NMU, Joronen again reached the NCAA Championships and finished third both years to earn First Team All-America honors twice.

He graduated from NMU in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration marketing.

Joronen went on to compete for Finland as a member of its National Second Team in 1983 and 1984. Since his competitive career ended, he has helped contribute to his home country and in 2016 received the prestigious Medal of Honor Golden Cross from the President of Finland.

NMU’s hall of fame Induction takes place at the Northern Center with a social hour at 6 p.m. and dinner and presentation at 7 p.m. Tickets are available through the NMU Ticket Office.