Weather hampers Nordic ski races

After having last week’s race canceled at Mt. Hood due to heavy snowfall, the Sisters High School Nordic ski team faced near whiteout conditions at Mt. Bachelor on Saturday, February 4, which forced race officials to modify the race plan.

Rather than conducting a pursuit race, which includes two phases, officials decided to simplify and run just one mass-start five-kilometer classic race.

“The wind was unbelievable, so to keep everyone out there a couple of more hours to finish the pursuit portion of the race would have been uncomfortable, if not dangerous,” said Sisters coach Lee Fischer.

The Outlaws girls, missing top racer Jena Rickards, ended up third out of the four complete teams with 25 team points, behind Redmond (6) and Crescent Valley (22). St. Mary’s Academy had 34 and ACMA of Beaverton was incomplete.

The Redmond girls swept the top four places with league-leader Sarah Hartley touring the course in 18 minutes, 59 seconds for the victory. Audrey Tehan (22:05) and Molly Blust (22:42) finished seventh and eighth respectively. Erin Kanzig (24:48) was the third scorer for the Outlaws. Other finishers for Sisters included Rachel Sims (26:59), Ryanne Conrads (27:58), Mac Gould (28:15), and Nikki Thomas (29:43).

The boys team fared better as Kelly Crowther (19:57), Jacob Evan (20:02), and Stefan Redfield (20:33) finished third, fourth and sixth to push Redmond.

The Panthers pulled off the win by taking the top two spots to collect eight points to 13 for Sisters. Corvallis was third with 54 points. Shane Menold won the race in 18 minutes and 38 seconds.

Jeremy Evan (21:26), Wes Ford (21:35) and Lucas Glick (24:19) all finished in the top 11, showing some real depth, according to Fischer.

“The boys team has more strength than we’ve ever had,” said Fischer. “I’m real proud of them.”

Perennial Northern Division powerhouse Summit officially bagged the season last week after a dispute with the Oregon Interscholastic Ski Racing Association about two Storm skiers who received $500 apiece in scholarship money to help cover race expenses to race and train with a club.

The Northern Division Championships are scheduled for Saturday, February 11 at Hoodoo. The team will then have week off before the State Championships set for February 24-25 at Mt. Hood.