The Lutsen Junior Alpine Club hosted race No. 4 of the Northland Junior Race Series Sunday, February 3 on Koo- Koo at Lutsen Mountains. Fifty-two Lutsen skiers from ages 5-17 raced in a field of 124 athletes from Team Duluth, Mont Du Lac Alpine and Ski Gull Alpine clubs.
The weather was sunny and cold with a high temperature peaking at 4 degrees with 10 to 15 mph winds gusting to 25 mph out of the northwest, which blew straight up the race hill at times. Some of the lightest kids in the under-8 age group nearly came to a complete stop during their runs! This was not the case with the majority of the field who skied very fast, took as many chances as they could and entertained the crowd with some exciting Giant Slalom action.
The highlight of the day for all was a visit from Lutsen native, Olympian and former anchor of the U.S. Ski Team Cindy Nelson who presented the awards to all age groups participating. This no doubt created a great, lasting memory for an outstanding group of kids and everyone in attendance.
Podium finishes and best combined times of the day for the boys belonged to Lutsen Alpine with Will Lamb (46.45) 3rd, Logan Backstrom (46.20) 2nd and team veteran Luke Fenwick (45.72) 1st.
Best combined times for the girls were Ashley Fitterer of Ski Gull (48.31) 3rd, 12-year-old Reilly Wahlers of Lutsen Alpine (47.83) 2nd and Mont Du Lac’s Courtney Wilk (46.99) 1st. Lutsen racers participating in their first race were Carson Buttweiler and Amy Carpenter, hopefully starting a lifetime love of skiing!
The next race for our Lutsen racers will be at Spirit Mountain on Sunday, February 10 at 11 a.m.
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