Nordic ski racers face state meet

The Sisters High School Nordic Ski team will culminate its first season as members of Oregon High School Nordic (OHSNO) with the state championships set for February 22-23, at Mt. Bachelor.

The two days of competition include Friday's 5-kilometer classic race at noon, followed by a 7.5-kilometer freestyle race on Saturday which begins at 10 a.m.

Racing concludes with 3x1-kilometer freestyle relay at 1 p.m.

While OHSNO considers this event the Oregon championships, the event is under the umbrella of the Northwest Nordic Championships, with teams coming from Idaho, Northern California and Washington. Oregon's results will be separated from the overall results to determine individual and team champions.

"It's a tremendous opportunity to ski against high school racers from all over the northwest," said coach Tom Blust.

Sisters joined OHSNO this year after the Oregon Interscholastic Ski Racing Association (OISRA) lost most of the schools from Central Oregon a year earlier to the upstart OHSNO organizers. OISRA, which has shrunk to just eight teams, is holding its state championships this weekend near Mount Hood.

Sisters won the OISRA girls team championship last year, and Molly Blust was the overall state champion among girls as a sophomore. Summit High School is the favorite this year among Oregon teams for both boys and girls, according to Blust, but he expects his squad to be competitive.

"We plan to evaluate at the conclusion of the season which organization (OISRA or OHSNO) we will go with for the future," he said.