Seeley Lake Nordic's Junior Prep Team starting the 1K race. Head coach Bridget Laird said this was their first race. Because of the lack of snow, they have had very little time to work on skills and technique.
20K winner Orion Berryman of Missoula flying in to the finish leaving his nearest competition 12 minutes behind him. He finished in 1:00:08.
Seeley Lake junior prep team skiers Isis Snow and Ryan Pitman crossing the finish line together in the 1K as their parents and other spectators cheer for them.
Seeley Lake's Klayton Kovatch had some tough competition in the 5K. With less than a quarter mile to the finish, Sandpoint's Jett Longanecker was hot on his heals. Kovatch crossed the finish line two seconds ahead for second place.
Seeley Lake's Ella Batchelder and Ovando racer Zia Kloetzel pushing it to the finish in the girls' 5K. Kloetzel finished one second ahead of Batchelder placing her third overall and Batchelder fourth with a time of 25:02.30.
Seeley Lake's Owen Hoag had no competition in the 10K. He finished 24 minutes ahead of his two competitors with a time of 32:13.26.
Glacier Nordic Club's Nate Ingelfinger pushing to the finish for the gold metal in the boys 5k with a time of 16:51.73.
SEELEY LAKE – The eight annual Skiesta race was in question due to lack of snow until Monday, Jan. 14. However, with more than six inches of new snow to work with, the trails were in great shape for the race Saturday, Jan. 19.
The race drew more than 60 skiers from the local area as well as teams from Whitefish, Mont. and Sandpoint, Idaho. Many families participated with ages ranging from four-years-old to 60. Racers reported having a great time enjoying the beautiful trails, fast snow and good competition.
This was the first year the Sandpoint Nordic Club participated as a club. One of the coaches said a few of the racers participated last year and encouraged the club to participate. The coaches expressed how impressed they were with the trail conditions and loved the rolling topography the course offered, not something they are used to coming from Sandpoint. They were also excited to find another race that was not only fun, but offered some good competition for their young skiers.
Glacier Nordic Club returned again this year sweeping the gold for the female and male 5K and placing in the top three for both male and female 3K races.
Fourteen-year-old Nate Ingelfinger with Glacier Nordic returned for his third Skiesta. Last year he took second in the 5K and was determined to win it this year. He finished first this year in the 5K by more than a minute.
"It was a really hilly course and that made it fun," said Ingelfinger. "It's a nice small race so it's not as crowded [as larger races] and you get to push yourself. It's just really fun and a cool place."
Ingelfinger's sister Maeve took the top spot in the female 5K winning by nearly two minutes. Their parents also raced with Ingelfinger's mother Cynthia winning the female 10K in 38:28.42 and his father Franz placing third in the men's 20K with a time of 1:12:13.
The Seeley Lake Nordic Ski Team has 25 skiers this year. Fifteen skiers participated in the 10K, 5K, 3K and 1K races.
Seeley Lake's Head Coach Bridget Laird said she started the junior prep team this year to encourage young students to get into racing. There are currently 11 on the junior prep team ranging from second to fifth grade.
"It's for kids who haven't really learned how to skate ski, haven't focused on technique or raced but who think they want to head in that direction," said Laird.
Eight members of the junior prep team raced in the 1K for their first race. Ryan Pitman and Isis Snow finished second and third in the girls' race. Seeley swept the top three spots in the boys' race with Sam Welch finishing first, Dominick Wink second and Harrison Burton in third.
"I didn't want to do the ski team at first because I thought it was just for older kids but there are people that are younger than me on it," said Pitman whose favorite part is going down the big hills.
When asked about her first race, Pitman said, "I was so nervous. When we were pulling up, I didn't want to do it. And then after I got started, Isis and I were going really fast and going really good. I only fell once."
Pitman and Snow skied together during the race and finished together with Pitman sliding in second place, 0.4 seconds ahead of Snow.
Laird, who also coordinated the race was pleased with how well it went. They used a remote competitive timing unit for the first time. Despite having a few challenges with the remote system, Laird said they hope to use it again in the future.
"The race went extraordinarily well considering we didn't really even advertise because we didn't launch online registration until Monday [Jan. 14]," said Laird. "It just blows my mind the generosity and the commitment of our volunteers [for these events]. It is so heartwarming - the people from baking cookies, to helping with registration, to grooming our trails and putting up signs at night so no one gets lost, every little piece of a race, especially when kids are involved – that people just come together and make it work. They are just incredible."
Laird added, "It was neat to see people coming from Sandpoint and West Yellowstone to Seeley as well as the caliber of adults racing in the 20K," said Laird who pointed out the 20K winners Christi Richards and Orion Berryman have won the 50K OSCR several different years. "I just love it. It is unique."
Local skier results (Seeley Lake Nordic and Junior Prep Team members noted by an *):
20K Men: Tim Swanberg, Ovando: 5th Place, 1st in age group, 1:16.25
20K Women: Madeline Swanberg, Ovando: 4th place, 1st in age group, 1:33.58
10K Men: Owen Hoag*, Seeley Lake: 1st place, 32:13.26
5K Girls: Zia Kloetzel, Ovando: 3rd Place, 25:01.32; Ella Batchelder*, Seeley Lake: 4th place, 1st in age group, 25:02.30
5K Boys: Klayton Kovatch*, Seeley Lake: 2nd place, 17:58.86; Sam Ayers*, Seeley Lake: 6th place, 3rd in age group, 27:15.74
3K Girls: Hattie Batchelder*, Seeley Lake: 4th place, 1st in age group: 12:39.00
3K Boys: Noah Stone*, Seeley Lake: 4th place, 1st in age group, 11:14.95; Tyler Neher*, Seeley Lake: 6th place, 3rd in age group, 15:21.70
1K Girls: Ryan Pitman*, Seeley Lake: 2nd Place, 7:01.1; Isis Snow*, Seeley Lake: 3rd place, 1:01.51; Kieu Snow*, Seeley Lake: 4th place, 1st in age group, 9:28.27; Grace Neher*, Seeley Lake: 6th place, 3rd in age group, 10:52.69
1K Boys: Sam Welch*, Seeley Lake: 1st place, 7:42.29; Dominick Wink*, Seeley Lake: 2nd place, 8:04.25; Harrison Burton*, Seeley Lake: 3rd place, 8:58.28; Jesse Wink*, Seeley Lake: 4th place, 1st in age group, 9:35.86
Full results are available at http://competitivetiming.com/results/195586O
Reader Comments(0)