IRONWOOD, Mich. â€Â“ Before the Christmas break the Northern Michigan University womenâ€Â™s cross country ski team competed at the Grand View XCChallenge Wolverine Nordic event. 

The first event was the classic race as the â€Â˜Cats had eightof the first nine places in the event.  Lindsay Williams won the event with aclocking of 15:52.7.  Lindsey Weier and Morgan Smyth were second and thirdrespectively with times of 15:55.0 and 16:12.4.  They were followed byteammates, Tami Kochen in fourth place (16:16.2) and Jennifer Wygant in fifth(16:36.0).  The NMU skiers placed seventh through ninth with Maria Stuber(16:48.0), Victoria Koskenoja (16:52.7) and Stephanie Howe (17:13.1).

The second day of the event saw the â€Â˜Cats secure the secondthrough eighth place in the freestyle race.  Weier was the top placing â€Â˜Catwith a second place showing in the event with a time 16:53.4.  Kochen in thirdplace was the next skier as she covered the course in a time of 16:55.4. Wygant was fourth (17:19.6) followed by teammate Koskenoja in fifth (17:20.6). The sixth, seventh and eighth places went to Smyth (17:23.2), Stuber (17:38.9)and Howe (17:50.7).

To begin 2005 the skiers will be at the U.S. SeniorNationals/Junior World Trials in Heber, Utah, Jan. 3-10.