PRESQUE ISLE – With five medals at its first national event sponsored by the United States Collegiate Ski Association, officials with the University of Maine-Presque Isle cross country skiing program believe the its ski team is proving its worth.

Team members earned four gold medals and a bronze medal during the USCSA National Championships, which were held at Sugarloaf in March. The USCSA is an independent collegiate ski league for Alpine and cross country skiing and snowboarding.

“Five medals in our team’s first national event is an impressive showing for a program in its infancy stage,” Kris Cheney Seymour, UMPI’s Nordic ski coach, said recently. “These were fantastic finishes for these student-athletes. Hopefully, this will be a catalyst for the program’s continued growth and show prospective student-athletes that UMPI is very serious about its Nordic skiing program.”

Four team members – Bjorn Bakken, Matt Free, Chelsae Cambridge and Meagan Toussaint – qualified for the championships by competing in USCSA regional races.

Bakken, of Minnesota, picked up UMPI’s first-ever gold medal with a first place in the 1.5 kilometer freestyle sprint. He later garnered two more golds in the 15K classic mass start and the 8.5K freestyle individual start.

Toussaint, of Madawaska, earned a bronze in the 1.5K freestyle sprint and a gold in the 8.5K freestyle individual start.

Cheney Seymour said that the wins weren’t without challenges as Toussaint was sick during most of the week of competitions, and that despite a racer stepping on and breaking his ski pole, Bakken was able to overtake about 15 skiers in the last few kilometers of the 15K for the win.

“I was expecting they [team members] would each have personal best performances and was pleased that it put Meagan and Bjorn on the podium a number of times,” Cheney Seymour said.

The two skiers also walked away with recognition for their academic endeavors, earning Academic All-American honors from the USCSA. Bakken is an athletic training major who maintains a 4.0 GPA and Toussaint is a liberal arts major who maintains a 3.52 GPA.

They both volunteer with the Maine Winter Sports Center as youth coaches and mentors and with the 21st Century Program in Fort Fairfield, helping middle school children ski for an hour and do homework for an hour at the Nordic Heritage Center.

Cheney Seymour was proud of the effort and commitment of the student-athletes.

“Each of them was organized, focused and diligent in attaining personal best performances at the end of the season,” he said. “I admire their drive and feel they are a credit to the university, the ski team and athletic legacy of the region.”