Nordic skiers enjoy bluebird day

The Sisters Nordic team jumped into another non-league race Saturday and came through with strong showings in a 4,800-meter freestyle race against teams from the Oregon Interscholastic Ski Racing Association meet at Mt. Bachelor.

Under blue skies, Courtney Blust placed third in a competitive girls' race, finishing in 16:47 behind Micaela Martin of Summit (16:07) and Hayati Wolfenden (16:17).

Amity Calvin also placed in the top seven with a time of 18:20, while Elena Saldi placed 22nd in 19:56, among 53 finishers, which was her career-best effort.

According to Coach Tom Blust, Calvin's knee injury limits her form, forcing her to double-pole rather than skate, making her performance even more impressive.

The girls placed fifth in the relay and ended up fourth in the overall team standings among the six teams. Mountain View won the meet with 31 points, followed by South Eugene (41), Ashland (42), Sisters (59), Summit JV (62), and North Eugene (102).

Like the girls, the boys showed a lot of polish on their skis, with two finishers in the top seven as well. Mason Calmettes came through first for the Outlaws in sixth place (14:27), followed closely by Devon Calvin four seconds later in seventh (14:31). Freshman Seth Roy hung tough to finish 24th (20:17) among 36 competitors.

The three boys also turned in a solid performance in the 3x1,000-meter relay, finishing second behind Mountain View among six teams, helping them to a second-place finish overall. Mountain View won the meet with 17 points, followed by Sisters (41), South Eugene (48), Bend (57), Sheldon (84), and Ashland (93).

The Outlaws will compete again Saturday, February 11, in an OHSNO (Oregon High School Nordic) race at Meissner Sno-Park in a pursuit race in which skiers complete a classic course, followed by a skate race.