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From left to right, Emma Crook, Olya Wright and MJ Wharton. Photo courtesy of Tina Hegg Raway
On January 3, eight cross country ski teams from Section 7 gathered to race under the lights of Pine Valley Center in Cloquet, Minnesota. Aptly named, the Nordic center has towering pines that line the trail creating a magical scene for skiing (although those pines do create a bit of debris on the trails!).
This should have been the North Shore Storm’s third race, but the first two were canceled in December due to weather. So, we were excited to finally get to a meet and put our training into action.
The meet began with mass starts for the junior high girls and boys 2.5K race. Picture 48 girls standing at the line and then sprinting simultaneously when the command to start is given. It was a rush and a bit chaotic! Naomi Tracy-Hegg and MJ Wharton, returning skiers, had a good showing with a 14th and 22nd finishes (respectively). Leah Belmore was very excited about her effort especially on the big hills. Hiver Moody, with her positive attitude, tackled her first race with the joy of skiing that makes coaches excited to be coaching. 51 boys followed in their mass start with at least 10 boys getting tangled up in the middle of the pack. Fortunately, our boys maneuvered around the drama and continued into the night. Eero Moody, returning racer, set a calm and confident example for the other two racers, Alex Teeter and Ennis Arrowsmith DeCoux that were competing for the very first time.
The rest of the races were interval starts: two skiers take to the course every 30 seconds. Girls Varsity had a top 10 finish with Olya Wright skiing the 5K in 18:16. Emma Crook was also in the top 10 for Junior Varsity (JV) Girls with an 8th place, closely followed by Quincy Hurth (11th) and Valerie Hurth (13th). JV boys were led by Everett Hurth skiing the 5K in 20:02 and Ethan Fish skiing strong at 21.33. Keean Selin, finished his first Nordic ski race with a huge smile and asked, “When’s the next race?!”
The North Shore Storm is a collaborative team with Cook County and Two Harbors for a total of 53 skiers. Our Two Harbors teammates also had a strong showing at the meet:
Varsity boys: Cyrus Myers (16:51), Ian Thorpe (17:21), Elijah Smith (18:10), AJ Mattson (23:48)
Varsity girls: Jocelyn Carr (21:40), Lamar Gordon (22:43)
JV girls: Signe Myers (27:16), Elizabeth Radke (39:34)
JV boys: Ben Wermter (18:48), Edwin Erickson (22:34)
JH girls: Maddie Linn (12:06), Ava Oswald-Swenson (15:20) Aili Gischia (21:42)
JH boys: Gunny Skadberg (12:33), Steiner Anderson (14:12), Erik Gischia (14:35)
Upcoming meets are this Saturday, the Mesabi East Invitational, and then Tuesday, Jan. 10 at Two Harbors for the Korkki Invite.
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