Seventh-grader Logan Backstrom placed 12th at Spirit Mountain last week at what was billed as the largest race yet this season. This was a very impressive performance for this up-and-coming rock star skier.
The Duluth East girls and Cook County/Silver Bay Alpine Vikings have been sparring all season, trading first and second place finishes on a routine basis. Last week at Spirit Mountain, the Alpine Vikings girls took first place in the largest field of racers yet this year edging out Duluth East by another slim margin.
Team Captain Katie Smedstad finished 4th and Signe Larson 5th in a field of 76 racers. Ava McMillan and Megan Lehto rounded out the team scoring with an 18th and 20th place finish. Those points—4-5-18- 20 provided enough for first place. While Duluth East and CCSB have been battling all season for top billing, Hermantown remains the perennial Section 7 favorite. “Hermantown has not been scoring high as a team all year long simply because several of their top girls travel for United States Ski Association (USSA) race events scattered throughout the upper Midwest” said Assistant Coach Jim Elverhoy.
“As a result, several of these team athletes are often absent high school races thereby not enabling higher team scores. When their entire team is assembled, Hermantown is tough” said Elverhoy.
Joe Borud does what all good slalom racers do; he bends the gates as he goes around them.
CCSB will however not standdown to Hermantown. Elverhoy stated, “Our girls have the right attitude and we will get a good look at Hermantown when they stack their team for the last meet of the year on February 2, the last open meet before the Section Meet. And at any given meet on any given day, anything can happen,” said Elverhoy. “Our girls are ready.”
It’s been a similar season for the boys. And last week at Spirit Mountain they took home a 2nd place team finish in what was billed as the toughest field of the season. Our top four scoring boys went 5, 10, 12 and 19th with Collin Berglund leading the boys followed by Dexter Yoki, Logan Backstrom and Joe Borud. Collin and Dexter are having an outstanding season with each having three top 10 finishes thus far. That’s impressive.
Staying tight in her tuck, Ava McMillan sped to an 18th place finish in her last varsity meet.
Seventh-grader and up-andcoming star Logan Backstrom found his first top 15 finish of the year placing 12th. Again, that’s impressive, not only for a seventhgrader but given the fact it was the strongest and largest field of the season. Joe Borud continues to show consistency and is a key team scorer with his second top 20 finish of the season.
“The boys team is deep this year,” said Elverhoy. “Ironically, it’s difficult to measure how good they really are, simply because all of the top scoring boys have yet to be together on any given race.”
Some of the top Alpine athletes have been absent due to illness or injury. Regardless, they have found some first-and second-place finishes this season and have done so without all team members present. However, the February 2 meet will have the core of the team assembled with the entire boys’ team present for the Section 7 meet on February 7. Watch out, these boys have the opportunity to rock the house. Stay tuned.
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