Junior Viking Alpine skier Molly Rider, team captain, finished second overall at the first race of the year at Mount Du Lac.
The Cook County/Silver Bay Alpine Ski team returns a young but experienced and relatively deep field of athletes to the Minnesota State High School League Section 7 Alpine race circuit.
Thefirst race of the year fielded eight regional teams with nearly 120 racers at Mount Du Lac near Duluth last week.
The girls’ Alpine team took home individual hardware including a team third place finish. Team Captain Molly Rider (junior) demonstrated she belongs among the region’s elite racers, finishing second place overall. Molly was just 1.73 seconds behind the first place finisher (who by the way is a junior Olympic national qualifier).
Signe Larson (ninth grade) finished fifth overall in a tough field showcasing the area’s top skiers. “
Having two top five finishers and recognizing several of the other top girls are competing for national positions is impressive for our young Cook County/Silver Bay girls team,” said Assistant Coach Jim Elverhoy.
Ali Boettcher (Silver Bay) just missed her first top 10 result with an 11th place finish. Rose Ingebrigtsen (ninth grade), Megan Lehto (eighth grade) and Amber Todd (11th grade) all had solid races contributing to the team’s third place finish. Foreign Exchange Student Kristina Andebua, while new to ski racing, brings experience from her years skiing in the European Alps. Katie Smedsted (Silver Bay – tenth grader) returned to the race circuit after missing last year’s season due to reconstructive knee surgery.
Theyoung boys’ team was led by 11th grader Karl Ingebrigtsen followed by teammate tenth grader Collin Berglund. Both boys had top 20 finishes. Karl’s second run of the day was the ninth fastest race of the afternoon. “Today, Karl and Collin put together two good runs – when they put together two stellar runs – they will become a noticeable force,” said Coach Jim Vick.
High expectations abound for young Anders Zimmer. Anders had a remarkable second run of the day with the third fastest time of the afternoon. And even with a slip on his first run, Anders still managed a top 20 finish.
Luke Fenwick (ninth grade), Clay Gruber Shultz (11th grade), Kyle Martinson (ninth grade) and Joe Borud (eighth grade) along with returning Silver Bay veteran Dexter Yoki (10th grade) rounded out the boys’ team for the day.
The team travels to Giants Ridge on Thursday December 16, 2009 and then will break for the holiday season. The New Year ramps up with five races in January. Mark January 21st on your calendar for the Cook County Invitational at Lutsen Mountains.
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