Otter Nordic Ski Team Participates in CLC Championship Meet
On Thursday, the Otter Nordic Ski team competed in Brainerd for the Central Lakes Conference Nordic Ski Championship. It was a brutally cold day, hovering around 0* when racing started and nearing -7 when the last racers took off. The colder it gets, the more resistant skis become on the snow making it an extremely challenging day for all the competitors. Fortunately, we have weather hardened, resilient athletes who took on the day and the competition with courage and positive mental fortitude.
Both the Varsity and Junior Varsity skiers competed in either a 5.5K Classic race or a 5.5K Freestyle race (Freestyle means skiers can technically choose to ski Classic or Skate, but generally skate is faster and the chosen method). Varsity was limited to 4 Classic and 4 Freestyle skiers. JV had unlimited entries.
Out of the seven competing CLC teams, our girls varsity finished in fourth behind Brainerd, Sartel/Cathedral, and Alexandria. Estee Versteeg, Sarah Grotberg, Alexis Wellman, and Ali Bredenberg all scored for our team. Estee earned All-Conference accolades, placing 6th in her Classic Race. Alexis Wellman placed 12th and earned All-Conference Honorable Mention at Large.
Our boys varsity team finished in second place right behind Brainerd. David Ronnevik, Jackson Lysne, Tommy Erickson and Micah Mouser all scored for the boys. Tommy Erickson placed 7th, and Oliver Thorson placed 8th in the Classic race; each of them earned All-Conference Honorable Mention. David Ronnevik placed 5th in the Classic and earned All-Conference acknowledgement. In the skate race, Jackson Lysne placed 5th and received All-Conference, and Micah Mouser placed 7th to earn All-Conference Honorable Mention.
Noah Frank waiting to begin his race. -7 when this pic was taken. PHOTO PROVIDED
Alexis Wellman powering into the finish stadium. PHOTO PROVIDED
We had excellent success in our JV races as well. As coaches, we determined that all our seventh grade skiers were ready to compete in their first JV race of the season. It was fun to see them step up and courageously take on a longer race with much harder competition. Amongst those 7th graders, two scored for our team, Havilah McConn placed 4th in the Classic and Maura Rogness placed 20th in the skate race. Also scoring for our girls was Violet McConn, 3rd in the Classic, and Cassie Wellman who finished in 4th for the skate. The girls JV team placed 2nd overall.
Finally, the boys JV team finished in third place. Noah Schlosser placed 5th in the Classic and right behind him was Reno Scheirer in 6th place. Scoring in the skate race was Clayton Peppel in 13th place and Cooper Miller who placed 39th.
I'd also like to mention that yesterday was Solvie Smestad's last race with the Otters. She started with our team last season as a brand new skier and finished with our team as a captain having learned and grown a tremendous amount as an athlete and a leader. She is a wonderful person and she will be greatly missed.
As usual, there's a few pics attached from the day. Full results can be found at: www.pickleevents.com.
