The Saint John's Nordic Ski team begins its 2010 season by hosting the annual Saints Invitational this Sunday, Jan. 10. The men's race is scheduled for 1 p.m. on the Collegeville Trails.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Last year, the Johnnies finished seventh out of nine teams at the NCAA Central Regional. The Johnnies return two excellent skiers this season with the combination of sophomores Grant Cook (Duluth, Minn./East) and Bob Gerten (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./St. Thomas Academy). In the regional's 10K Classic race, Cook and Gerten finished 19th (32:52) and 20th, respectively.  Cook also led the Johnnies in the 15K race with a 21st-place finish (46:58), while Gerten took 34th (49:48).  The two finished 1-2 respectively out of 404 skiers in the 23K at the Kortelopet Classic on Feb. 21. Cook finished with a time of 1:07:27 and Gerten with 1:07:52. Cook also had a good day at the National Qualifier No. 4, finishing 19th (27:42) in the 10K classic and 17th (49:00) in the 20K freestyle. Seniors Oumar Cherif (Minneapolis, Minn./St. Louis Park), Trevor Drake (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Kevin Neal (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson), along with junior Jared Sundstrom (Proctor, Minn.) and sophomore Matt Palmquist (Carlton, Minn./Cloquet) will provide depth for the Johnnies.