Above: Sophomore Levi Axtell displays beautiful cross country skiing technique as he races to a 32nd place finish at the Section 7 state qualifying meet. Right: Joey Chmelik, also a sophomore, showed a lot of determination as he powered his way to a 44th place finish at the Section 7 meet; and for the girls, Audrey Summers (far right) led the team with her 28th place finish at Giants Ridge, the site of the state qualifying meet.
The Cook County Nordic Vikings’ season came to an end last Thursday at the Section 7 State Qualifier Meet held at Giants Ridge. Seven varsity skiers worked hard in the two-part pursuit race and were disappointed that no Vikings advanced to the state meet.
The pursuit race was a combination of a 5k skate and a 5k classic for both boys and girls.
The highest finisher for the day was 11th grader Ben Seaton who ended up in 24th place with a combined time of 33:58.
Next in line for the boys was Levi Axtell, 10th grade, with a time of 35:03 in 32nd place. Joey Chmelik, 10th grade, was 44th with a combined time of 36:29.
This was the first trip to section for eighthgrader Will Seaton and ninth-grader Nate Carlson. Will came in 53rd with a combined time of 38:15 and Nate 62nd with a time of 40:31. Nice job boys.
The boys placed 8th out of 11 teams with the section being led by the mighty Duluth East. This young, solid, boys’ team will no doubt be moving up in the seasons to come.
Varsity skier Audrey Summers, 10th grade, finished in 28th place with a combined time of 41:08. Mara MacDonell, 11th grade, made her section debut coming in 43rd with a time of 45:14.
While the official Minnesota High School League Nordic Racing season is over many of the Cook County Vikings plan on racing in a number of citizen races such as the Sawtooth International Ski Race, the American Birkebeiner, and the Sleeping Giant Loppet. The Vikings would like to thank the North Superior Ski and Run Club for their support.
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