Sophomore Signe Larson was first overall with the fastest time in each of the combined races.
In front of fans and a home field, the Alpine Girls started the year with a first place finish at the Cook County/Silver Bay Invitational at Lutsen Mountains on December 10. Thegirls placed fiveskiers in the top 15 among 61 racers overall representing eight different regional high schools.
Signe Larson was first overall having the fastest time in each of the two combined races. Coach Elverhoy said, “Sig had it dialed in today and it’s great to see that early in the season – it’s fun to watch her.”
Katie Smedstad and Ali Boettcher (both Silver Bay) finished sixth and tenth places respectively with Rose Ingebrigtsen just .52 seconds behind teammate Ali Boettcher. Up-and-coming eighth grade racer Ava McMillan finished a
respectable 15th place despite having a slight miscue on her first run. Ava’s time on her second run was 12th fastest of the afternoon race.
Team veterans Molly Rider, Megan Lehto and Amber Todd all had moments of outstanding runs only to fall victim to slips and falls. “Falls and miscues happen,” said Assistant Coach Elverhoy. “It’s always disappointing to see your top skiers—or any skier for that matter—slip or fall during a race, but frankly, it’s more common than uncommon. It’s part of the sport. “
The December 10 Cook County/Silver Bay Invitational at Lutsen Mountains had plenty of thrills for high school racing fans. Sophomore Collin Berglund demonstrated that he could compete among the region’s elite skiers, finishing eighth overall in a field of 71 racers.
Collin Berglund demonstrated he could compete among the region’s elite skiers. Collin finished eighth place in a field of 71 racers and was just 2.28 seconds from a second-place finish. Thetop 10 racers will typically be separated by no more than two seconds and more often within a second (that’s a blink of an eye).
Luke Fenwick finished 15th and Karl Ingebrigtsen 21st and both had course mistakes. However, Luke and Karl demonstrated they could ski with the area’s top racers. Luke’s second run was only .69 seconds behind eventual race winner
Mathew Borash from Hermantown and
sixth fastest second run. Luke missed
the last gate on his first run and had
to hike in order to finish. Karl had the
11th fastest time for his first run but then straddled a gate on his second run.
“It’s a sport where two nearly flawless runs are required in order to finish in the top 10 or 15 and today, the boys didn’t quite put it together. However, the coaching staff is pleased with some of the single course race results today because it does show we are right there among the top racers.”
Charlie Lawler (ninth grade) competed in his first varsity race and finished 46th. Team veterans Joe Borud and Kyle Martinson were not able to put together two complete runs for a score but were pleased simply to be back in competition.
TheAlpine Vikings are at Giants Ridge on December 17 for another large field race before the Christmas break. Thenit’s on to a demanding January schedule.
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