Reilly Wahlers (above) and Sela Backstrom made all the right moves, leading their team to victory at the Virginia Invite. Reilly placed first and Sela placed second in the eight-team meet to lead their team to victory.
With her runaway win in the girls’ race, Cook County sophomore Reilly Wahlers led the Cook County/Silver Bay team to victory over seven teams at the Virginia Invitational Alpine ski meet held at Giants Ridge on Friday, December 16.
Wahlers finished her two races in 1:21.94 to beat her teammate Sela Backstrom by over 4 seconds. Madysen McKeever was the other top 10 finisher with a 7th place. Hanna Borson finished 15th, Halle Lamb placed 19th, and Elsa Lunde did not finish.
The boys’ team finished in third place behind Duluth East and Brainerd. Will Surbaugh placed 4th, Erik Lawler 5th, and Masen McKeever 6th to lead the boys’ team. First place was in reach for the Viking boys, said coach Charles Lamb, “Two seniors, Jack Viren and Will Lamb, crashed and hiked in their first runs, Will was a DNF and Viren ended up in 31st place.
“Our young guns Will Surbaugh and Masen McKeever really stepped up.”
Kevin Viren placed first in the boys’ Junior Varsity race (JV), and Bianca Zimmer won the girls’ JV race.
While the first meet of the season was a good one, Lamb noted that “The fast kids from Hermantown were not racing, they were racing in Michigan.
“The weather was cloudy and cold, –6 F in the morning with a high of 7F and light winds.
“Both slalom runs were on Innsbruck; Helsinki was not totally ready.”
With 18 kids on the roster, the team is smaller than last year. New additions include seventh graders Ella Sporn and Molly LaVigne, eighth grader Hazel Oberholtzer and ninth grader Bianca Zimmer.
“Our senior captains are Madysen McKeever, Will Lamb, and Jack Viren,” said Lamb.
Two skiers, Logan Backstrom and Ezra Lunde, will be skiing after the holiday break.
Two varsity girls, Alyssa Martinson and Santina McMillan, are both studying abroad.
“When our boys’ team is intact it is very deep, and if they can stay healthy and work hard they have a chance to win our conference races,” said Lamb.
“With the loss of Alyssa and Santina, our girls’ team is not as deep as the boys’, but they are still fast and if any of our competition falls and we don’t, we have a chance to win again, but it won’t come easy,” he added.
The kids have been training at Lutsen Mountains on snow since Thanksgiving with only two cancellations because of the heavy rains, said Lamb, adding he wanted to thank Lutsen Mountains for allowing the kids to practice on the best ski hill this side of Colorado.
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