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Kaleb Berka had a strong race at the Cook County Invite that was held February 18 on the Pincushion trails. Kaleb finished third place in the boys’ JV race. Staff photos Brian Larsen
On a picture-perfect day for cross country ski racing (light snow falling and temperatures in the high teens), Nordic ski teams from Hibbing and Mesabi East High schools battled it out on the Pincushion Mountain cross country ski trails.
And if the snow made for slower than normal finishing times, the results for the Cook County/Two Harbors Nordic cross country skiers were simply great.
“We were excited to host a Nordic race at Pincushion Trails and our skiers used home field advantage to their benefit. Our skiers were out memorizing the course and honing their race strategy in the days leading up to our race,” said Dave Bartol, Nordic ski coach.
When the times of the classic and freestyle races were added up, Olya Wright, a ninth-grader, found herself in second place in the girls’ varsity cross country ski competition.
The three-team meet was held on Thursday, February 18 under COVID-19 protocols.
Autumn Smith placed 9th and Cecelia Chmelik 13th in the girls’ varsity race.
Sprinting hard for the finish, Emma Crook showed the winning form and strength it took to win the Junior High girls’ race.
Martine Redshaw crossed the finish line third in the JV girls’ race and Jocelyn Carr finished fifth.
Emma Crook took first place in the Junior High girls’ race. Not far behind Emma was Naomi Tracy-Hegg in fifth, Mary June Wharton in seventh and Valerie Hurth placed 12th.
Kaleb Berka finished third in the Junior Varsity boys’ competition and Everett Hurth won the Junior High Race.
Both varsity and JV skiers raced twice, skiing about 3.5ks for the classic and skate (freestyle) portions, with the times of their two events combined to find out their places. This is the same system used at sections and the state meet, although, for this meet, the classic and freestyle events were shorter due to time limitations.
Carter Skelton, a junior from Mesabi East, was the boys’ varsity winner and Lydia Skelton, a senior from Mesabi East, was the girls’ varsity champion.
The Nordic ski team made some big improvements in times and places this week.
Head Coach Dave Bartol explained the progress of his skiers, pointing to the hard work behind their improvements on race day.
“Co-Captain Olya Wright practiced skiing hard on the long, grueling return climb on Pincushion trail three times in a row, figuring come race day, she would only have to ski it once and it would seem easier.”
“Martine Redshaw practiced skiing as hard as she could on the first half of the classic course, counting on the long downhill to recover and give her energy to make the final uphill push to the stadium. Her strategy and hard work paid off, as she finished first in the classic leg of the JV girls race.”
“Kaleb Berka,” said Bartol, “is used to saving some energy while skiing up Lower Snowman for the hill on Upper Snowman. Since the racecourse only included Lower Snowman, he rounded the corner at the top of the hill and used his spare energy to pass two skiers on the downhill towards the stadium.”
When it came to the slower than usual skiing conditions, the fresh snow made for soft, slow skate conditions, challenging all skiers to dig deep on the long uphills—one of the parents, Kristen Carlsgaard, said to Cook County skiers, “Each one of you gave coaches, parents and volunteers lots of entertainment and pride. You were skiing in tricky conditions and showed lots of perseverance.”
This was the first meet of the season for Everett Hurth (7th grade) and Valerie Hurth (10th grade) and Martine Redshaw.
“We are grateful to the strong support of our parents and ski community. Thanks to Steve and Alicia Deschene for loaning us their timing equipment and to all the parents and volunteers who stood out in the snow for hours to help host the race. We love everyone’s enthusiasm for our kids and cross-country skiing,” said Becky Bartol, Assistant Nordic ski coach.
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