Sophomore Shelby Ahrendt races to the finish of the 4.3 kilometer loop. She finished in 17:11.
The Cook County Nordic ski team is off to a busy start this season. After only one week of dry land training, the Pincushion trails received enough snow to allow the team to start practicing on snow and enjoy some fantastic early season ski conditions.
Some of the team members, coaches and parents traveled to Ironwood, Michigan to take part in an Early Season Ski Camp sponsored by the North Superior Ski and Run Club. While in Ironwood, the skiers were treated to some topnotch coaching by Kerrie Fabius, an elite level Nordic racer formerly from Thunder Bay, and Cory Berg, previous Cook County Nordic coach.
On Saturday, December 11, the Vikings headed to Mount Itasca in Coleraine to compete in the Grand Rapids Invite. Theteam was fired up for its first meet of the season but unfortunately several skiers were struck down by a nasty cold virus that has been running wild since the Ironwood camp, leaving only 10 of the total 18 team members to participate in the Freestyle race.
The Cook County Nordic skiers enjoyed a few days of practice on snow before heading to the Grand Rapids Invite in Coleraine on Saturday, December 11. Junior Alex Ditmanson got off to a good start at the Mount Itasca Invite.
Varsity boys Ben Seaton, Hank Bemlott, Alex Ditmanson and Daniel Ditmanson did a technically challenging 4.3-kilometer loop. Ben was first in for the Cook County team with a time of 15:29 followed by Hank with 15:54, Alex with 17:47, and Daniel with 17:55.
Shelby Ahrendt was the only Varsity girl racer from Cook County; she finished the 4.3-kilometer loop in 17:11.
The 3.2 Kilometer Junior High race was well stocked with Viking racers including 4th place finisher Levi Axtell and 8th place Nate Carlson with times of 11:30 and 12:28. Seventh grader Will Seaton was next with a time of 13:43 followed by Joey Chmelik 13:59 and Bjorn Johnson 17:04.
Next up for the Nordic Vikings—the Ely Classic Invite at Hidden Valley in Ely on Saturday, December 17.
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