Noquemanon features many races, area competitors
Michael Stoolmiller of Marquette races the course near the Forestville Trailhead during the Noquemanon Ski Marathon's 50-kilometer Classic Touring race on Saturday in Marquette Township. He won this division. (Journal photo by Travis Nelson)
MARQUETTE — Hanna Derby of Marquette had the best finish among area skiers in the 50-kilometer races at the Noquemanon Ski Marathon on Saturday.
Derby was runner-up in the women’s 50K freestyle race, finishing in 2 hours, 50 minutes and 52.4 seconds, about 8 1/2 minutes behind winner Laura Cattaneo as 43 women made up this division.
Names, hometowns, places and times were compiled from the Superior Timing website, www.superiortiming.com. These were for the races held Friday and Saturday as virtual racing began Jan. 16 and runs through Feb. 5, according to the same website.
Alexander Dennis of Marquette was the top area finisher in the 50K freestyle men’s division, coming in eighth among 184 participants in 2:32:37.1. That was not quite six minutes behind winner Zach Varty of Elk River, Minnesota.
Derby in the 30-34-year-olds was the winner in her age group, while Dennis was second in the 20-24 grouping, just behind seventh-place overall men’s finisher Jojo Baldus of Minneapolis.
There was also a regular 50K classic race and a 50K classic touring event that was less competitive, along with a 50K team relay.
Then there were 24K freestyle and classic races, along with 12K freestyle and classic, 15-mile snowshoe and 1K and 3K adaptive ski events on Saturday. Friday was the day for the 3K and 5K Junior Noque events.
In the 50K “regular” classic, Ethan Kennedy of Marquette had the top area finish of 20th in the men’s race field of 118 in 2:58:53.1. That was a little over 20 minutes behind winner Brian Gregg of Minneapolis, who clocked 2:34:39.9.
In fact, the top four finishers were from Minneapolis as Christian Gostout was runner-up, Andrew Millan third and Leo Hipp fourth.
From elsewhere in the Upper Peninsula, Erich Ziegler of Crystal Falls was 15th in 2:52:04.9.
Top area finisher in the women’s race of 27 racers was Janet Hackett of Marquette, 21st in 5:02:26.6, as Caitlin Gregg of Minneapolis won in 2:54:24.4.
Former Northern Michigan University skier Vivian Hett, who now lists Burnsville, Minnesota, as her hometown was runner-up in 3:13:31.5.
Among the other 50K events, the Crescent Street Gang of Marquette won among the three teams in that event in 4:03:24.2, while Marquette residents carried the day in the touring races — Michael Stoolmiller won the men’s in 3:36:17.0 and Nancy Uschold the women’s in 4:24:31.4.
Marquette also had a winner in the 24K freestyle race as Lindsey Dehlin won in 1:08:17.8, a little more than 2 1/2 minutes ahead of runner-up Lucy Campbell of Superior, Wisconsin. Viktoria Koskenoja of Skandia was eighth in 1:20:12.1 among their 75 participants.
In the men’s 24K freestyle that included 144 skiers, Douglas Gordon of Marquette was 24th in 1:16:30.6 and Louis Hindman of Marquette 25th in 1:17:03.8, both around 15 minutes behind winner Henry Campbell of Superior, Wisconsin, in 1:02:12.2. Jonathan Bjork of Marquette also broke into the top 30, coming in 29th in 1:18:28.7.
In the women’s 24K classic, Nicole Alexander of Marquette
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- Michael Stoolmiller of Marquette races the course near the Forestville Trailhead during the Noquemanon Ski Marathon’s 50-kilometer Classic Touring race on Saturday in Marquette Township. He won this division. (Journal photo by Travis Nelson)
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- Michael Stoolmiller of Marquette races the course near the Forestville Trailhead during the Noquemanon Ski Marathon’s 50-kilometer Classic Touring race on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, in Marquette Township. He won this division. (Journal photo by Travis Nelson)
In the men’s 24K classic that had 104 skiers, Dan Wiitala of Marquette was 14th in 1:30:09.1, Rob Fox of Negaunee 15th in 1:30:09.5 and Evan Griffis of Newberry 17th in 1:31:36.4. Jordan Woods of Mora, Minnesota, won in 1:11:12.0, while the top U.P. finisher was Mike Fraley of Houghton, fifth in 1:16:40.4.
Area racers shone in the 12K classic races, with Elodie Malherbe of Marquette winning the women’s title in 51:50.0, about 25 seconds ahead of runner-up Althea Bruggink of Marquette in 52:15.2.
And Gwinn racers took the next two places — Lucille Ampe was third in 59:28.1 and Janet Koistenen fourth in 1:00:12.4.
Even better, two more Marquette residents made it a top-six sweep by Marquette County as Carol Fulsher was fifth in 1:07:04.5 and Molly Luty sixth in 1:10:08.4 in a field of 35.
On the men’s side with 22 participants, Traverse City’s William Haapala won in 35:56.3. Then the next five finishers were from the area. Samuel Markey of Marquette was runner-up in 42:11.3 and Luke Janofski of Marquette third in 44:19.5. They were followed by Chris Holmes of Marquette in 1:05:57.4, Jared Wallace of Newberry in 1:09:47.2 and Thomas Cory of Marquette in 1:10:47.4.
In the 12K freestyle for the men with 16 skiers, Marquette racers filled in the five spots directly after winner Carter Dean of Traverse City, who clocked 35:50.2.
The local contingent was led by second-place Evan Sysko in 36:18.6, followed by Jack Parent in 37:11.1, James Kreag in 40:52.1, Paul Neumann in 41:49.8 and Joseph Czerkes in 43:14.9.
For the women with 20 participants, Elisa Malherbe of Marquette was third in 41:30.2, just over 2 1/2 minutes behind winner Ella DeBruyn of Traverse City in 38:50.7. Monet Argeropoulos of Marquette was fifth in 44:20.1, Nichole Neumann of Marquette sixth in 45:32.8 and Erin Daines of Marquette eighth in 50:28.3.
In the snowshoe race, Ryan Low Edwardson of Escanaba won the men’s title in 1:51:53.3 as he was followed by four Marquette County racers in a field of 11 — Forrest Gilfoy of Marquette was runner-up in 2:05:45.1, William Nolan of Marquette third in 2:15:07.1, Stephane Malherbe of Marquette fourth in 2:20:14.5 and Justin Prusi of Negaunee fifth in 2:22:44.4.
For the women with three competitors, Carilyn Hayes of Oakdale, Minnesota, won in 2:26:06.7 as Laura Wills of Gwinn was second in 2:34:10.2.
The two competitors listed in adaptive skiing were Sam Bradbury of Marquette in the 3K in 30:37.1 and Julie Johnson of Gwinn in the 1K in 17:42.3.
In Friday’s Junior Noque that included racers up to 19 years old, Monet Argeropoulos of the Superiorland Ski Club won the girls 5K classic in 26:25.5, just eight seconds ahead of runner-up Maija Rourke of the Ishpeming Ski Club in 26:33.5.
In a race with 13 skiers, Althea Bruggink of Superiorland was third in 27:26.1 and fellow club member Elodie Malherbe was fourth in 28:11.9, while Isabelle Prusi of the Ishpeming club was fifth in 28:18.6.
In the boys 5K with 12 competitors, Carter Dean of Traverse City won in 21:38.8 with Superiorland’s Sam Markey runner-up by about 22 seconds in 22:01.3.
Superiorland’s Evan Sysko was third in 22:34.5 and Luke Janofski fourth in 23:28.8, while the Ishpeming club’s Henry Plummer was fifth in 24:51.3.
In the girls 3K Junior Noque, Silvia Palomaki of Marquette won in 15:09.6, not quite 15 seconds ahead of fellow Marquette racer Evelyn Grant in 15:24.2. Kaija Copenhaver of the Ishpeming Ski Club was fourth in 16:36.3 and Olivia Koren of the Superiorland club fifth in 18:58.3 among 15 competitors.
In the boys 3K with 20 skiers, Jack Grant of Marquette won in 13:51.4, more than a minute ahead of fellow Marquette racer Fischer Palomaki in 15:02.9.
Joshua Madison of Superiorland was fourth in 15:38.9, Chase Dehlin of Marquette fifth in 16:36.9, Ethan Dehlin of Marquette seventh in 17:26.8 and Max Larson of the Ishpeming club eighth in 19:06.6.
Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.