Boys ski team takes ninth in state races

The Outlaws Boys Ski Team finished in ninth place out of a field of 20 schools at the Oregon Interscholastic Ski Race Association State Championship held March 6-8 at Mount Hood Meadows.

More importantly, they gained valuable experience competing against the best high school skiers in Oregon. The boys had qualified to go to state by taking second place in the league this year.

Each downhill skier competed in two Slalom races and two Giant Slalom races. The times were compiled to determine individual and team results.

Coach Todd Williver was upbeat in his assessment.

"We finished one minute and five seconds behind Lakeridge (the state champion), but only five seconds out of sixth place," he said. "I was pleased with the results. We have a very young team, and none of the boys had ever been there before."

For the Slalom event, Karana Ellis finished in 11th place, followed by Nick Yopp in 31st, Justin Thomas (58th), and Brandon Overstreet (98th).

Joel Meyer and Chris Boyle both fell and did not finish.

In the Giant Slalom, Karana Ellis finished in 12th place, Justin Thomas took 34th, Joel Meyer placed 49th, Brandon Overstreet was good for a 74th place finish, and Chris Boyle ended the two runs in 99th.

Nick Yopp fell and was not able to finish.

The combined events meant that Karana Ellis finished in ninth place overall, Justin Thomas took 38th, and Brandon Overstreet was 79th.

Approximately 150 boys competed at the state meet.

While the girls team did not qualify for the competition, they were well represented by Whitney Engstrom, who took 13th in both the Slalom and the Giant Slalom, for a 13th place finish overall.

"There were about 120 girls who raced," said Coach Williver.

"For her to be in top 15 is an excellent result.

"The season was great," Williver said. "Just to pick off Mountain View and get to the state championship was a benefit.

"The experience of competing at state will really help this young team mature and get faster."