Left: Like his teammates, Erik Lawler (Bib No. 8) had a fantastic race at Giant Ridge. Erik finished first place for the junior varsity ski team. Middle: Leaning hard into the turn, Ezra Lunde (19) picks up speed as he races to a second place finish at Giants Ridge for his junior varsity team. Lower right: Jack Viren (15) made it a perfect sweep for the Vikings junior varsity with his third place finish at Giant’s Ridge.
Erik Lawler, Ezra Lunde and Jack Viren took 1st, 2nd and 3rd place respectively in the junior varsity race at Giants Ridge just before Christmas break. Having three on the podium at the same time was a nice look and the results propelled the JV Vikings to a first place finish. And the JV girls were not going to sit quiet. Ninth-grader Haley Yoki (Silver Bay) was first place and did so with two impressive runs; nearly two seconds ahead of the second-place finisher from Duluth East.
The boys’ varsity took second place as a team and were out dueled by Virginia. Albeit the boys continued to show depth in their run order, Virginia demonstrated team depth as well and as a result, won the overall meet. “This race showed us our boys cannot rest on their depth. Virginia and other section teams— who we will not race against until later in the season—are demonstrating strength in numbers as well.
“Described another way, our boys will need to work hard each practice and each meet to match the challenges ahead of them. Make no mistake, our boys are good and deep but I can tell you this is no walk in the park for the boys, that’s for sure,” said former Assistant Coach Jim Elverhoy.
The boys did however manage to place four racers in the top 10 with Kyle Martinson etching an 11th place finish. The boys were led by Team Captain Anders Zimmer in 3rd place, followed Luke Fenwick, 8th grader Logan Backstrom and Dexter Yoki finishing 4th, 7th and 10th. Impressive, yes. But Virginia was stronger on this day.
The girls placed three racers in the top 10 led by Senior Co-Captain Signe Larson with a 2nd place finish. Ava McMillan was 7th and Morgan Weyrens Welch was 10th.
“Our girls are not close to their peak performance yet and I am okay with that at this juncture of the early season,” said Head Coach Jim Vick.
“I want Sig to continue to gain confidence being a top performer for the team. Ava and Morgan are making huge strides this early season. I can see it in their practices and how they have done well so far in the first two meets.
“Megan Lehto is a critical cog in our girl’s team. She is my most consistent skier and I need her up there with Ava and Morgan,” said Vick.
The top girls are flanked by some impressive underclassmen including Madysen McKeever, Alyssa Martinson, Danielle Hansen, Melanie Stoddard, Lauren Thompson and Santina McMillan. And with this group, anything can happen.
The team will continue to practice over the holiday and then jump back into competition on January 3 followed by five more races in January. Stay tuned—your Alpine Vikings are looking good.
Girls’ junior varsity racer Haley Yoki wasn’t about to let her boy counterparts upstage her. Haley finished nearly two seconds ahead of her nearest competitor at Giants Ridge.
Leaning hard into the gate, Luke Fenwick flew down the hill to an impressive fourth place finish in the varsity race at Giants Ridge. The boys’ varsity finished second to Virginia.
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