Northern Michigan University’s Merle Richter finishes up her win in the NCAA Central Regional Championships women’s 7.5-kilometer classic integral start race held Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, at the Al Quaal Recreation Area in Ishpeming. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

ISHPEMING — Graduate student Merle Richter and senior Victoria Dybwad won events for the women’s nordic ski team at Northern Michigan University during the NCAA Central Region Skiing Championships on Feb. 22-23 at the Al Quaal Recreation Area in Ishpeming.

Richter won the first day’s 7.5-kilometer individual classic cross country race, while Dybwad was victorious taking the second day’s 20K mass start skate.

Richter pulled off a comeback on the third and final lap in the 7.5K, only sitting in fifth place with one lap to go. She finished in 24 minutes, 42.7 seconds for an approximate two-second win. Her opening 2.5K laps were 7:53.0 and 8:00.0, leaving her in fifth place. Even with the third lap her slowest, 8:49.6, it was the fastest final lap in the field and pushed Marie Wangen of Michigan Tech into the runner-up position.

Dybwad finished third in this race in 24:45.0 on laps of 7:50.1, 7:56.9 and 8:57.8, while NMU’s Jordan Parent was fifth in 24:51.3 with laps of 7:52.7, 7:55.0 and 9:03.4.

Also for the Wildcats, Pearl Harvey was 11th in 25:44.8, Ella Niznik 17th in 26:56.3 as Henriette Nilssen did not finish.

Then on Sunday, Dybwad posted a 20K time of 58:27.4 to win by just about 30 seconds. Her lap times were 14:27.7, 14:12.1, 14:43.7 and 15:03.7 as she led the field at each 5K milestone.

However, Dybad only had about a one-second lead over Greta Leitheiser of the College of St. Scholastica after 15K, meaning the NMU racer really pulled away in her final 5K.

Leitheiser finished in 58:58.9, with MTU’s Greta Hansen third in 59:30.1.

Northern’s next highest finishers were Jordan Parent in seventh in 1:01:07.9 and Richter eighth in 1:01:35.5. Harvey came in 16th in 1:06:17.7 as Nilssen and Niznik didn’t post a time.

The NMU nordic teams are now preparing for this week’s NCAA Skiing Championships with the same two events to be held at the Oak Hill Outdoor Center in Hanover, New Hampshire, at 10 a.m. Thursday for the 7.5K classic and noon Saturday for the 20K skate.