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Nordic skier Olya Wright
The state of Minnesota divides 92 schools into 8 sections for cross country skiing. Cross country skiing is unique in the sense that no matter the size of their school all skiers compete in the same state meet. This means skiers from a Division A (smaller schools) compete head-to-head against Division AA. Everyone skis in the same race. Which puts into perspective the accomplishments of Section 7, of our local North Shore Storm (Storm) team and of Grand Marais’ Olya Wright.
All season long our Storm skiers compete primarily against the same skiers – all from Section 7 schools. Our section consists of eleven total teams including Proctor, Cloquet-Esko-Carleton, Ely, Mesabi East, Mora, Grand Rapids, Hibbing, and 3 different schools from Duluth. Section 7 includes primarily Division A schools, except for Duluth East which is Division AA as they have 1500+ students in their high school. All winter, we felt that our athletes were skiing well against very talented skiers, probably the best skiers in the state; And that’s not boasting. The State Meet proved that the northland skiers from Section 7 are definitely strong competitive skiers. A great example: in the girls’ race, six of the skiers finishing in the top 20 at the State Meet were from Section 7.
On Wednesday, February 15, in cold and blowing conditions, the team-sprint relays took place. North Shore Storm didn’t qualify this year for the relay race. The top teams were Duluth East for both the girls and boys team sprints. On Thursday, the pursuit race was skied in much friendlier weather conditions. The pursuit race begins with a 5K classic race. The skiers start at 15 second intervals. Following a break (of about 2 ½ hours), the 5K Skate race begins. The skiers’ start time is determined by how many seconds or minutes back they were from the leader in the Classic race. So, if a skier was 35 seconds behind the leader, they begin the skate race, 35 seconds after the leader starts – and thus the pursuit begins!
The girls’ pursuit race was won by Zoe Devine, from Ely, Section 7. She won with a lunge at the finish line, just ahead of another Section 7 competitor. The Girls’ Team title went to Duluth East, Section 7. The top team in the state for boys was also Duluth East.
Locally, Olya Wright, had a strong classic race which had her beginning the Pursuit race in a pack of 6 girls. The notorious Silver skate course is challenging with hills whose nicknames tell the story: Heartbreak & Triple Threat. Spectators had a thrilling race to watch as packs of skiers would zoom along uphill, downhill, skis bumping, poles entangling – skiing became a contact sport on the narrow trails. Wright, started the Pursuit in 16th place and finished the day 14th overall out of a field of 112 skiers.
Is it important that our Section 7 is strong & competitive? Absolutely! This means that all season long our athletes are surrounded by talented skiers. It pushes them to work hard, improve their skills and the challenge helps bring out the best in themselves. But the other great thing about our Section 7 is the camaraderie that is felt between the teams. While the competition is fierce at meets, the atmosphere is one of encouragement and a lot of fun. Just as skiing should be!
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