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Otter Skiers Compete at Maplelag

By Joshua Scharnberg, 01/14/22, 2:45PM CST

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Thursday the Otter ski team competed at Maplelag near Detroit Lakes. The boys and girls varsity teams competed in a continuous pursuit race. In short, athletes skied a 4.5k classic route, then made a quick switch into skate skis (think NASCAR pit stop where coaches and athletes work together to make a quick exchange of skis and poles) and skied an additional 4.5k skate route. About 5.5 miles in all. It is an excellent test of skill and endurance. 

JV boys and girls skied a 4.5K classic ski race. Jr. High boys and girls skied a 3.5K classic ski race. 


Alexis Wellman at the start. PHOTO PROVIDED

The races went very well. In the varsity races, Oliver Thorson came in 1st for our boys and 29th overall. Sarah Grotberg came in first for our varsity girls and 30th overall. Both Oliver and Sarah have really been progressing throughout the season and are coming into the second half looking strong and fast. Anders Anthonisen-Brown struggled a bit yesterday, but overall he is piecing together an excellent season. I mention this because I'm excited to see the way Anders and Oliver have been bouncing back and forth in position over the last few meets, and I think they're going to bring strong times/scores when sections roll around. Right behind Sarah was Alexis Wellman and Hannah Scharnberg. Both athletes have been making big gains and were right behind Sarah in an excellent race yesterday.


Sarah Grotberg at the finish. PHOTO PROVIDED

There's plenty more to talk about, but the other highlight I'd like to mention from yesterday is the girls Jr. High team. They placed second in a very tough field right behind the ever dominant Brainerd team. Most of these girls have only been on classic skis a couple times, and we were very impressed by their high level of competitiveness. You're definitely going to want to keep your eyes out for these girls in the seasons to come.  

Full results can be found at: https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=264775


Noah Schlosser. PHOTO PROVIDED


Hannah Scharnberg. PHOTO by PATTI PEPPEL


New skiers Solvie Smestad (left) and Anna Schroeder (right). PHOTO PROVIDED


Estee VerSteeg. PHOTO PROVIDED


Clayton Peppel. PHOTO by PATTI PEPPEL