College skiing: Northern Michigan skiers win on day one of Central Regional Championships

ISHPEMING, Mich. — Northern Michigan's Jake Brown and Sophie Schimpl won titles on the first day of the NCAA Central Regional Championships.

Both Brown and Schimpl scored their victories in commanding fashion. Brown captured the 10K freestyle crown after clocking in at 24:36.6, more than a minute faster than the second-place finisher. Schimpl won the 5K freestyle with a time of 13:50.7, 10.2 seconds faster than the second-place skier.

On the men's side, Sam Elfstrom (4th, 25:50.6) and Krystof Kopal (8th, 26:12.1) rounded out the top Wildcat finishers. For the women, Sophie McDonald (4th, 14:11.3) and Caroline Brisbois (8th, 14:30.2) claimed top-10 finishes.

At the end of the first day of racing, both Northern Michigan teams sit in first overall. The men are in first with 62 points, four ahead of second-place Michigan Tech. The women also accumulated 62 points, putting them in front of second-place Alaska-Fairbanks by five points.

The Wildcats wrap up their time at the NCAA Central Regional Championships tomorrow. The men's 20K classic begins at 10 a.m. while the women's 15K classic begins at 12:30 p.m.