Nordic Skiers kick off season

The largest Nordic Ski team in Sisters High School history kicked off the 2007 season in a 3.9-kilometer skate race under the lights at Hoodoo Mountain Resort on Thursday, January 4.

Skiers from Redmond, Corvallis, and Crescent Valley joined the Outlaws for the low-key, non-scoring event.

The competitors heated things up under snowy conditions, particularly in the boys race that saw just a one second difference in the top two places as Brandon Roadman and Shane Menold of Redmond battled all the way through the course. Roadman prevailed in 11:14 to 11:15 for Mendold. Kelly Crowther came through in third (11:30) as the first Outlaw across the line.

Wes Ford (13:27), Kyle Rickards (13:42), and Lucas Glick (14:11) finished eighth, ninth, and 10th respectively. Other competitors for the Outlaws included Jeremy Evan (14:20), Stefan Redfield (14:20), Parker Bennett (15:52), Tyler Elson (16:43), Jacob Evan (17:28), Nick Rice (17:28), Torrey Piatt (18:14), Josh Uttely (18:51), Jack Yinger (19:18), Jake Lasken (19:39), Andy Thomas (20:07), and Mike Calavan (20:33).

Jena Rickards blasted from the line and never looked back in completing a wire-to-wire victory in 13:59. Molly Blust came through with a second place finish for Sisters in 14:49, 10 seconds ahead of Sydney Powell of Crescent Valley. Audrey Tehan (16:09) finished sixth and Erin Kanzig also cracked the top 10 in 19:02.

Sydney Randall (19:19), Mac Gould (20:21), Rachel Sims (21:04), Julia Rahm (22:41), Nikki Thomas (22:49), and Janelle Hjelmstad (25:44) also finished strong for the Sisters squad, according to head coach Lee Fischer.

"For nearly half of the kids, this was their first ski race ever," he said. "I am proud of their efforts and look forward to the rest of the season.

The skiers travel to Willamette Pass Saturday, January 13, for the first Oregon Interscholastic Ski Racing Association meet of the season.