CRAFTSBURY, Vermont – Junior Nordic skier Adam Martin of Northern Michigan University raced to a top-10 finish in the 15-kilometer freestyle race at the U.S. Long Distance National Championships on Monday afternoon at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center.

Martin clocked 31 minutes, 41.2 seconds to place seventh. He was one of only four collegiate skiers to place in the top 15 and edged Colorado’s Mads Stroem, who won both NCAA Nordic titles this season, by a second.

“Adam had an awesome race today,” NMU head coach Sten Fjeldheim said. “He finished just ahead of the NCAA champion.

“There were many elite athletes competing here today, including U.S. Ski Team members who were just competing at the World Cup, and it was a great opportunity for our athletes to race against the best.”

The men’s 15K race was won by Noah Hoffman, 26, of Ski and Snowboard Club Vail in 31:14.3, just six-tenths of a second ahead of Scott Patterson of the Alaska-Pacific University Nordic Ski Center, which had three of the top five finishers.

To show the kind of field at this meet, the APU?club lists its university team on its website as “a stepping stone to the elite team.”

Northern graduate student Jake Brown placed 17th in 32:31.7 and sophomore teammate Ian Torchia was 21st in 32:40.9 in this elite field of 87 racers.

In addition, NMU senior Sam Elfstrom was 39th in 34:02.0 and junior Krystof Kopal was 51st in 35:17.0.

In the women’s 10K freestyle, Wildcats senior Felicia Gesior led her team as the fifth collegiate skier across the finish line and 23rd overall in 27:29.4.

Sophomore teammate Vivian Hett was 33rd in 28:10.3 and junior Sophie Schimpl was 38th in 28:26.5.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.