MIDWAY, Utah — The Michigan Tech Nordic Ski teams wrapped up the season at the 2026 NCAA Championships in Soldier Hollow. In the Nordic skiing only team results, the men placed 10th and the women were 13th.

Senior Wes Campbell had the top individual performance, placing 12th in Saturday’s 20K skate. Freshman Markus Groethe was 16th in Thursday’s 7.5K classic for the other top 20 placing for the Huskies. Campbell was 27th in classic and Groethe was 27th in skate.

“Senior Wes Campell had the race of the championships for the Huskies on Saturday, finishing 12th, only two spots away from an All-American finish, and the sixth American,” said Huskies coach Tom Monahan Smith. “Wes is from Park City, so this was incredibly special for him being on his home course in his senior year. He raced the best race he possibly could have today, pacing and positioning extremely well in the lead pack.

“It was an incredibly tight race. There were 14 guys in the lead pack through seven of eight laps, and shows just how amazing of a performance this was for Wes as multiple of those skiers in that lead pack are Olympians, and World Cup competitors, not just the best skiers in the NCAA. Wes ultimately found his limit on that last lap and although he lost a few places in the final two kilometers, he hung on to an incredible finish, and this truly was his best skate 20km race of his entire college career. All you can ever ask is that you have your best race, regardless of how your competitors do, and today Wes can truly say he achieved that at the NCAA Championships in his last race for the Huskies.”

Freshman Noa Kam-Magruder placed 35th in classic and 39th in skate.

On the women’s side, junior Bridget Burns placed 22nd in classic and 38th in skate. Sophomore Julia Junkkala finished 28th in classic and 29th in skate.

Junior Greta Hansen skied to a 25th place in classic and 30th in skate.

“The Men’s Team finished as a top 10 Nordic Team in the country, placing 10th overall with 41.5 points,” said Monahan Smith. “The Women’s Team finished 13th overall with 21 points.

“We’re very proud of the Nordic Huskies, not only for giving it everything they had at the NCAA Championships, but for being an amazing team to coach this season. Although we’ll graduate Wes Campbell from our program this year, we’ll have five of our six NCAA Championship skiers returning next year, and that’s motivating to know we can continue to grow and build our program with these amazing student-athletes.

Men’s Classic recap

“Markus Groethe had an outstanding classic race, placing 16th overall, the fifth American as a true freshman,” said Monahan Smith. “Wes Campbell had a great start to the race, but had an unfortunate crash in the second of three laps that lost him a lot of time. Wes would have posted a top-20 finish without that crash, but he still finished strong scoring for the Huskies in 27th. Noa Kam-Magruder finished in 35th, with a strong showing as well as a true freshman, less than 15 seconds outside the points.”

Women’s Classic recap

“The snow conditions broke down drastically in the women’s race that was second on the classic day as the Utah high altitude sun baked the snow as the temperatures rose into the 60s,” Monahan Smith said. “Bridget Burns paced the race well, having a really strong last lap with the 20th fastest split time on her last of three laps moving her into the 22nd position overall.

“Greta Hansen had a strong first half of the race, and although she faded a bit in the second half she held on strong to finish in the top 25. Julia Junkkala had one of her strongest classic races of the season, especially since she was a later starter when the snow conditions had really slowed down. She finished in 27th, a successful day having all three of our women score for the Huskies all finishing in the top 30.

“The women’s team and men’s team both finished as the 10th place Nordic Team on day one of the championships.”

Women’s Skate recap

“Our women had a tough start to the race with as they got out of position to be able to ski with the lead packs,” said Monahan Smith. “They had a strong comeback by finding great packs to ski with through the last two thirds of the race and competed smart in their packs. Julia Junkkala and Greta Hansen had outstanding sprint finishes, outpacing all but one competitor in their pack of 6 women and finished in the points in 29th and 30th. Both of them had a notable 8th and final lap, posting the 10th and 13th fastest times on their final lap.

Bridget Burns skied tough in a group of three women, and fought all the way through the finish line to finish in 38th.”

Men’s Skate recap

“Markus Groethe was in great position out of the start in the lead pack, but unfortunately crashed and lost the lead pack on the second lap,” Monahan Smith said. “He regrouped with the pack that caught him after he crashed, and skied strong in his pack to finish in the points with 27th place. Noa Kam-Magruder fought incredibly hard out of the start and stayed with the lead pack for 2 laps. Although he faded, he gave it his all and this was an outstanding achievement for him to make these championships as a true freshman.”

Monahan Smith was complimentary of his coaching staff for the strong showing throughout the weekend.

“I’d like to sincerely thank coaches Will (Haapala), Cedric (Keller) and Kristen (Monahan Smith) for all they’ve done to support this team,” he said. “They truly love this team, and we would not be the team we are without these amazing coaches who’ve given so much of themselves to support our student-athletes and the Nordic Huskies program.”