Above: Will Lamb stands atop the podium after taking first place in the Koo Koo Invite boy’s slalom race. Lamb is flanked by last year’s Section 7A champ Ryan Nordin, who placed second, and his Duluth East teammate Bren Elleson, who placed third. Top: Senior captain Madysen McKeever skis in her last home race at Lutsen Mountains. Right: Young gun Will Surbaugh lit up the slopes at the Koo Koo Invite.
After his first slalom run Will Lamb was three-hundredths of a second out of first place. A faster second run more than made up that difference and Lamb took first place at the Vikings’ Koo Koo Invite to lead the boys’ team to a first place finish over some exciting competition.
Lamb beat last year’s Section 7A champ Ryan Nordin from Duluth East.
Vikings Alpine Coach Charles Lamb said Riley Wahlers also had a good race but a bobble in her second run landed her in fourth place in the girls’ race.
The Vikings hosted the Koo Koo Invite at Lutsen Mountains on Thursday, Jan. 26, and both the girls and boys performed well in front of a home crowd.
All told 61 boys and 68 girls skied two slalom runs on a mostly sunny day with light winds and a temperature around 25 degrees.
Attending teams came from Duluth East, Denfeld, Marshall, Brainerd, Cloquet- Esko- Carlton, Hermantown, Virginia, and Hibbing.
“Due to the January thaw, we were worried that the hill would be very soft for the race. That was not the case, the temperature dropped just in time and combined with a hard northwest wind, and the hill set up into a bulletproof sheet of ice creating perfect racing conditions,” Lamb said.
The boys’ team finished with 146 points, Duluth East was second with 120 and Hermantown finished in third place with 112 points.
“Logan Backstrom skied two clean runs, he missed the podium by 11 hundredths and placed 4th,” said Lamb. “Will Surbaugh threw down two impressive runs to place 7th, and Masen McKeever, who loves speed on a steep pitch, placed 10th. Not far behind Masen was Ezra Lunde, who finished 13th.
“Erik Lawler and Kevin Viren both crashed in their second runs near the finish line and finished at the back of the pack.”
In the girls’ team race Brainerd and Marshall tied for first place with 166 points, but Brainerd was declared team champion when judges went to the tiebreaker, which was the finish of each team’s 5th skier.
Hermantown placed third with 163 points and the Vikings fourth with 158 points.
The Vikings’ second skier, Sela Backstrom, “lit up both her runs to place 8th,” said Coach Lamb. “Halle Lamb was 18th, and Hanna Borson had a personal best 24th place and was our fourth scorer.
“Madysen McKeever, Elsa Lunde, Bianca Zimmer, Hazel Oberholtzer, Ella Sporn and Molly Lavigne also raced for Cook County,” said Lamb.
Brainerd senior Alex Stone won the girls’ race followed by Hermantown’s Kendra Winberg (2nd) and her twin sister Ashley, who placed third.
“This was the last home race for our seniors, and I am really proud of how the boys stepped up and won first place,” Coach Lamb said. “They have worked hard together the last nine years on the slopes, and it’s a great feeling to go out on top.
“We want to thank Lutsen Mountains, Cook County High School, Athletic Director Pam Taylor and all 20 of the race volunteers for making this event possible for the kids. We also want to recognize our timing crew, Don and Tina McKeever, Paul Goettl and Jennifer Backstrom, for the amazing job they do with race administration, timing and results.”
The next race for Cook County was Feb. 2 at Spirit Mountain, and the Section 7 championship race will be Tuesday, Feb. 7 at Giants Ridge. Both races start at 10 a.m.
Leave a Reply