From left: Will Haapala, Clayton Sayen and Kate Abbott pose after Saturday’s MTU Madness race at Tech Trails in Houghton. (Photo provided)
HOUGHTON — With four races completed, the Copper Country Running Company Trail Series is in full swing with one event left. Kate Abbott leads the women’s and overall standings with 93 points. Phil Rigling leads the men’s standings with 55 points.
Abbott won the MTU Madness race, a 10-kilometer trail race, last Saturday and received 25 points. She was over a minute faster (42:09) than Tessa Rautiola (43:15).
Katrina Johnson finished third, collecting 15 points.
Abbott has a 32-point lead over Rautiola (61) in the overall standings. Johnson is in third place with 60 points. Maggie Gaunt (30) and Katie Sarau complete the top five.
In the men’s race, William Haapala won the MTU Madness race with a time of 41:52. Bernard Kluskens took second place with a time of 43:13. Rigling took third place with a time of 45:44.
Kate Abbott (left) and Thomas Smith pose after winning the Swedetown Shuffle at Swedetown Trails in Calumet. (Photo provided)
Rigling has a 12-point lead in the overall standings over Kluskens, who has 43 points. Ryne Hocking is third with 41 points. Craig Hughes (36) and Ben Wood (35) complete the top five.
Abbott won the Husky Sprint, a 1.5-mile trail race, on July 13. She finished the course in 9:58, which was only slightly faster than Rautiola (10:07). Johnson took third place with a time of 10:26.
Kluskens won the men’s race with a time of 9:42. Hocking came second with a time of 10:21. Richard Sarau (11:35) came third.
Abbott also won the third race of the series, the Swedetown Shuffle, a 5-mile mixed-course trail race. She finished with a time of 41:13. She was just six seconds faster than Kristen Monahan, who finished second. Johnson took third place with a time of 46:07.
The men’s race was won by Thomas Smith, the only one to finish in under 40 minutes, with a time of 39:26. He finished ahead of Zack Mazurek, who took second place with a time of 41:05. Rigling took third place with a time of 44:52.
Next
The fifth and final race of the Trail Series will take place on Saturday, September 14. The Churning Rapids Championship will be held on the trail system, utilizing both the double-wide ski runs and singletrack.
