Nordic team winds up season at state

The Sisters Outlaws didn't have quite the finish they hoped for at the Oregon High School Nordic State Championships, held February 26 and 27 at Mt. Bachelor, but the teams still had a successful season in the eyes of coach Tom Blust.

Summit swept both the boys and girls team titles, while the Outlaws ended up in fourth place for both boys and girls after expecting to finish as high as second.

"It appeared that we were a little off our best, and most of the other teams really stepped up," said Blust. "With the exception of Summit, our team had been equal to all the other teams in the OHSNO league through the regular season, so our expectations did not quite come to fruition."

The competition began Friday with a 7.1-kilometer skate race on heavy, wet snow, which took its toll on all the skiers. Courtney Blust placed 10th (25:51.8) as the leader for Sisters, 1:37 behind the winner, Isabella Smith, of Summit. Amity Calvin ended up 20th (28:17), and Janelle Hjelmstad 27th (29:18) to score for the Outlaws.

Emi Conrads (35:10), Riley Barrett (38:16), and Jenna Rheuben (38:43) all skied hard, according to Blust.

Parker Bennett, typically among the top seven in the OHSNO league, struggled with illness all week and wound up in 15th place on day one, four minutes (23:14) behind the winner, Pat Madden of Summit. Alex Yinger scored as the second finisher for the Outlaws, placing 26th in 24:44, and Mason Calmettes came through next in 25:48 for 32nd place.

Jake Lasken (28:12), Andy Thomas (29:45), and Erik Lund (30:58) also competed for Sisters.

Day two's classic race, under sunny skies and much better snow conditions, proved to be a bit better for the Outlaws skiers, but not enough to move up in the standings significantly.

Amity Calvin led the girls in 10th place in the 5-kilometer course in 20:17, just over three minutes behind Summit's Smith. Blust was close behind in 20:33 for 13th place, while Janelle Hjelmstad moved up to 24th in 22:38. The remaining finishers for Sisters included Emi Conrads (26:03), Riley Barrett (26:07), and Jenna Rheuben (27:44).

Parker Bennett muscled through the course in 17:44, to finish 14th, to lead the boys team. Alex Yinger cracked the top 20, placing 19th in 18:04, and Mason Calmettes placed 36th in 19:25 among 58 finishers.

Pat Madden won the race by over a full minute (14:02) to claim his second state title in as many days.

Results of the cumulative combined times from the two days found Courtney Blust as the sole individual among the Outlaws to crack the top 10 overall, placing ninth. Coach Blust noted that senior Janelle Hjelmstad, who placed 25th overall, ended on a high note with the best skiing of her career.

Summit's girls 21 points easily bested the rest of the field of Redmond (42), Bend (71), Sisters (101), Crescent Valley (115) and Corvallis (166). The Storm's boys team dominated even more completely, scoring a perfect 15 points to overcome Bend (62), Redmond (66), Sisters (99), Corvallis (124) and Crescent Valley (136).

"It was a good season with great kids," said Blust. "I am really going to miss the six seniors on the team."