HOUGHTON, Mich. - Over the weekend the Northern Michigan University menâ€Â™s cross country ski team competed at the Houghton HolidayInn Express Christmas Classic.  Saturday (Dec. 17) the men competed in the 10Kfreestyle race and on Sunday it was the classic. 

Bryan Cook skated to a second-place finish in the freestylerace on Saturday with a clocking of 28:38.9.  Bret Bedard was ninth (30:09.1),Bill Bowler 10^th (30:14.4), 11^th was Phil Violett(30:20.4) and Justin Singleton 13^th (30:32.0).  Three other â€Â˜Catsfinished the race as Adriaan Ostrander was 17^th (30:47.5), Ben Cline18^th (30:53.7) and Jason Kask 19^th (30:56.2).

Cook won the senior menâ€Â™s classic on Sunday with a time of31:08.1.  Cline was fifth (32:00.5) and teammate Ostrander was about nineseconds behind (32:09.4).  Violett placed 13^th (33:00.2) and Bedard18^th (33:38.1) in the event.  Bowler won the older junior divisionof the classic as he covered the course in a time of 32:11.7.  Singleton wasthird (32:26.2) and Kask 11^th (35:23.9).

The team will be at the U.S. Cross Country Championships inearly January at Soldier Hollow, Utah.