Michigan Tech’s Adam Witkowski races his way through the men’s freestyle sprint Saturday at the Tech Trails in Houghton. (Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech University)

HOUGHTON — The Michigan Tech ski trails are a little quieter this week than they were last week. This past Saturday, the last races finished for the 2023 U.S. Cross Country Ski Nationals at the MTU facilities, and by all accounts, the week-long event was a huge success.

More than 450 athletes from around the nation and globe as well as another 150-200 volunteers descended upon Houghton for the races.

This was Michigan Tech’s sixth time hosting the competition, and perhaps the best yet, according to MTU’s nordic ski head coach Tom Monahan Smith.

“First and foremost, the weather was phenomenal,” he said. “We had great conditions for racing just about every day. It was also the largest field of athletes that we have had and with that, the most competitive field of races we’ve had. The caliber of athletes was top notch.”

Among those giving out accolades to Tech and the local ski community was Peter Holmes, a coach with the Sun Valley (Idaho) Ski Education Foundation. He related that the team brought around 20 skiers.

“I’ve been here three times before as a skier. This is my first time here as a coach,” he said. “Skiing here in Houghton is always a good thing. The races are well organized, and the trails are top notch.”

Rogan Brown first came to Houghton in 2006 as a teenage skier for the U.S. Junior Nationals. He was back in town last week now serving as a coach for the University of Denver nordic team. He praised not only Michigan Tech for the hospitality, but the local ski scene in the area as well.

“To see the local community intertwined with the event was special,” he explained. “You do not see that level of enthusiasm at other races of this caliber. It just raises the bar for our sport.”

Chris Mallory, of the Sun Valley Ski team, echoed a similar sentiment.

“The races are well run here because you have a strong volunteer crew,” he said. “They have done this before, and they know the drill, and are so welcoming and so friendly.”

Among the volunteers who came to help with setting up the course were Mary Lyon and Patrick Acton – both Michigan Tech nordic ski team alums.

Lyon who graduated last year (2022) said that it was fun to come back, help out, and cheer on former teammates.

Acton, who finished at Tech in 2021, added, “It was interesting to see the other side of the event as a volunteer setting up things. We (Mary and I) were both here in 2020 and raced when Tech hosted the nationals (that year). So, this gave us a bit of a different perspective as spectators.”

Having competitively skied elsewhere, both Acton and Lyon said that there are not many venues out there that are as professional and accessible as the Tech trails.

“There is unique challenging set of courses here,” said Lyon. “We are very lucky to have such top-notch facilities (in) our backyard.”

That’s they way it should be, according to Monahan Smith. However, such quality courses did not arrive overnight, he explained.

“Our (Michigan) Tech crew and race organization have worked hard to develop a course over the past decades,” he said. “Not every venue in the nation can host a race of this caliber like we did last week. This is a world-class venue for skiing, and I am just so grateful for everyone who helped us put Houghton on the global map for events like this.”