Sisters skiers notch third-place finish

The Sisters boys alpine ski team captured a third-place finish at the Sisters Schuss Ski Race at Hoodoo on Saturday.

Summit High took first and Bend High second in the Central Oregon league's third race of the season.

"Many skiers struggled on a tough, long slalom course at Hoodoo. After Friday's rain, the snow conditions were hard and fast on a technically challenging run," said Coach Greg Ausman.

Dillon Witt, Kyle Wattenberg and Yasha Saldi led the Sisters racers to their best finish of the season, edging out Redmond, Ridgeview and Crook County.

Witt and Wattenberg both turned in strong runs, 51.33 and 55.34 seconds, respectively, to pick up points for the team. Logan Calmettes, Wade Pratt and Logan Scherer each had consistent runs to round out the team effort. Witt placed 11th and Saldi placed 16th out of 50 racers.

Betsy Ausman, Danielle Rudinsky and Emily Ausman led the Sisters girls racers. The girls finished behind Bend, Summit and Redmond.

"Our racers skied well on a tough course and held their own against many strong Bend and Summit skiers," said Coach Ausman.

The Sisters team will join the other teams of the Oregon School Ski Association (OSSA) this Saturday for the first Ore-Cal Classic Ski Race.

Nine high school alpine teams from Northern California will ski in giant slalom races at Mt. Bachelor. OSSA expects to have 60 to 75 out-of-state racers from high schools in Redding, Shasta, Red Bluff, Eureka, Yreka and Mount Shasta.

"We are excited to have the Northern California skiers compete with our OSSA skiers in this first interstate competition. Next year we hope to travel there," said Coach Ausman.

The Ore-Cal Classic races are set for the Cliffhanger run on Mt. Bachelor.