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News from the Keweenaw Peninsula January 26, 2002 Keweenaw Nordic Ski Club press release by Dean Woodbeck Photos © 2002 Michele Anderson, except as noted.

Finnish snow builder wins Heikinpäivä Hiihto Ski Race

CALUMET -- Seppo Mäkinen of Oulu, Finland, visiting snow house (lumitalo) engineer, served as Grand Marshall of the Heikinpäivä parade on Saturday morning, Jan. 19, and then went out and won the Heikinpäivä Hiihto cross-country ski race that same afternoon at the Swedetown Trails in Calumet. 

Seppo Mäkinen, center, of Oulu, Finland, overall winner of the Jan. 19 Heikinpäivä Hiihto 22km cross-country ski race, receives an award of Finnish crystal from Christine Van Domelen of the Keweenaw Nordic Ski Club. Also pictured near the Swedetown Chalet is Jeff Stasser of Downwind Sports, Marquette. Mäkinen built two snow houses, or lumitalot -- one in Hancock and one in Houghton -- during his visit. (Photo courtesy Keweenaw Nordic Ski Club)

Mäkinen took the overall 22km men's title by three seconds over Ken Wikgren of Mohawk. Doug Oppliger of Hancock finished sixth. Marquette's Mary Connor won the women's 22km, just over two minutes ahead of Hancock's Shawn Oppliger.

Sponsored by the Keweenaw Nordic Ski Club, the Heikinpäivä Hiihto included races of several lengths -- 22km, 10km, and 5km, as well as 2.5km and 1km races for those under 13. 

Several high school students used the 5km as a qualifier for the Junior Nationals, to be held in Sun Valley, Idaho, in March. Ryan Tervo, 14, of Chassell finished second overall in the 5km men's race to Dylan Pera, 15, of Ironwood. Laurium's Kaye Helminen,15, was the overall 5km women's winner.

Young skiers take off for the 2.5km Heikinpäivä Hiihto ski race on Jan. 19 at Swedetown.

In the 2.5km races, Alan Toczydlowski of Calumet and Kai Sharp of Atlantic Mine were one-two in the boys 8-9 division. The 10-11-year-old boys were led by Joe Oelfke of Houghton and Jay Woodbeck of Hancock. The 12-13-year-old division was won by Ansel Schimpff of Madison, Wisconsin, with Ryan Helminen of Laurium second.

Young skiers take off for the 2.5km Heikinpäivä Hiihto ski race on Jan. 19 at Swedetown.

For the 2.5km girls, Louise and Ruth Oppliger (Hancock) were 1-2 in the 8-9-year-old division. Karen Oppliger of Hancock and Lei Klemp of Laurium finished first and second in the 10-11-year-old division. Amber Young of Hancock  won the 12-13- year-old division.

Amber Young of Hancock heads for the finish line at Swedetown to win the 12-13-year-old division 2.5km Heikinpäivä Hiihto ski race on Jan. 19.

Boys' 1km races were won by Tobin Wheeler,3; Logan Lemier, 5; Beau Dupuis, 7; and Dwayne Moyryla, 9. The girls' 1km winners were Isabel Sharp, 5; Elena Oelfke, 7; and Meghan Shoup, 8.

Five-year-old Isabel Sharp, left, of Stanton Township, gets ready for the 1km Heikinpäivä Hiihto ski race on Jan. 19 at Swedetown. Isabel was first in her division of that race. Also pictured is another (unidentified) 1km racer.

For more action photos of the Heikinpäivä Hiihto  races visit the Brockit Solutions Web site.

See Page 2: Complete results of the Heikinpäivä Hiihto ski races.

Copper Island Classic race held in Chassell Jan. 20

Chassell Recreation hosted the Copper Island Classic cross-country ski race at the Chassell trails on Sunday, Jan. 20. The striding-only event drew participants from as far away as Madison, Wis., and featured both a race and a "guess your time" event.

Wendy Sharp of Stanton Township and Andy Liebner of Marquette won the overall 10km women's and men's events, respectively. Ryan Tervo of Chassell and Ingrid Fjeldheim of Marquette took the 5km overall titles.

The Copper Island Classic also included 2km races for those 13 and under and served as a striding qualifier for the Junior Olympics, to be held in March in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Rick Oikarinen of Calumet won the "guess your time" event; his pre-race guess was just 26 seconds different from his actual time in the 10km event.

See Page 2: Complete results of the Copper Island Classic ski races.

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