Nordic teams headed for the races

Tom Blust's Christmas present came a little before the holiday when loads of snow piled up in the mountains, ensuring that the Nordic ski team he coaches for Sisters High School will have plenty of the white stuff to race on for the 2009 season.

Blust returns a core of his top performers from last season on both the boys and girls teams and the addition of some new team members has him looking forward to another successful season.

Senior Wes Ford leads the boys team, with the help of Parker Bennett, who is back after a season of swimming last year. Bennett's endurance and drive make him a threat, despite his comparative inexperience, according to Blust.

The pair finished 11th and 12th respectively in the first contest of the season, a non-league meet at Meissner Sno-Park, against most of the rest of the league.

Alex Yinger, Jake Lasken, and Andy Thomas also return as experienced skiers."If the other skiers can emulate Parker's effort, we'll do great," said Blust.

Blust's daughter Molly, second overall in last year's state championships, will work on closing the gap against Summit's Bella Smith, who won the 2008 state title.

"Molly's first outing of the season was a little rough, but she should be among the leaders in the league again this year," he said.

Blust placed eighth in the race and got some solid support from two freshmen, Amity Calvin and Courtney Blust, who finished in 12th and 15th. Junior Janelle Hjelmstad is also expected to be a factor at the varsity level.

Seven teams comprise the Oregon High School Nordic Organization (OHSNO) league, including Redmond, Bend, Summit, Corvallis, Crook County and Crescent Valley.

The team will compete in four races this season, with the first race set for this Saturday, January 17 at Hoodoo Mountain Resort. After a trip to Mt. Hood for a race at Teacup on January 31, the team returns to Hoodoo for a night race on Thursday, February 12.

"Everybody loves the night race," said Blust. "It's pretty cool to be up there at night and see the course lit by lanterns."

The state championships are scheduled for February 20-21 at Mt. Bachelor. Summit, the traditional top team looks as strong as ever for both the boys and girls' teams, but other OHSNO member teams from Bend, Redmond, and Sisters hope to have an impact on the Storm's dominance.

Last year Summit's boys took the top 11 places at State and the Sisters boys are committed to not letting that happen again, according to Blust.

"We plan to break into the Summit pack," he said.