MARQUETTE — Four men and six women athletes from Northern Michigan University competed at the U.P. Opener nordic skiing exhibition meet held at the Forestville Trailhead in Marquette Township on Saturday.

Taking part in a 10-kilometer skating event, Michigan Tech skiers won both divisions as the Huskies apparently approached this a regular meet to open their season.

Tech’s Markus Grothe won the men’s title in 24 minutes, 31 seconds, just over 30 seconds ahead of runner-up Zander Bertonneau of St. Scholastica in 25:02.

NMU’s Jon Clarke was fifth in 25:22, while three teammates finished seventh through ninth — Adrik Kraftson in 25:30, Caden Albrecht in 25:45 and Hendrik Peterson in 25:47.

MTU’s Greta Hansen won the women’s race in 27:08, a little more than 20 seconds ahead of teammate Julia Junkkala in 27:31.

Northern’s top finisher was Greta Leitheiser in fifth in 29:09. Teammate Jordan Parent was seventh in 29:55, Lauren McCollor eighth in 30:06, Ella Niznik 11th in 31:21, Lena Kjelstrud 14th in 32:16 and Monet Argeropoulos 15th in 33:31. Argeropoulos is a Marquette Senior High School graduate.

The Wildcats open their season officially this weekend at the Duluth Super JQ to be held in Duluth, Minnesota, on Saturday and Sunday. The first day features the skate sprint, with day two the 7.5-kilometer skate individual start.

That will be NMU’s only meet until early January, when the men’s and women’s teams head to the U.S. Cross Country Ski National Championships in Lake Placid, New York, from Jan. 4-9.

Story contents based on Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release reviewing the meet. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.