Outlaws take on lap race at Mt. Bachelor

The Outlaw Nordic ski team came back from a three-week break to race at Mt. Bachelor last weekend.

Over the past three weeks, the Outlaws were able to get on snow to spend some much-needed time on skis. Since no new snow has fallen, and with local ski parks remaining closed due to lack of snow, the Outlaws traveled up to Mt. Bachelor to train.

The plethora of groomed trails available at Mt. Bachelor afforded the Outlaws a chance to experiment with their technique. Significant gains were made, particularly with their balance and gliding, according to Coach Kelly Crowther. These gains in technique showed up in Saturday's race, with the Outlaws making considerable improvement in the three-lap, five-kilometer ski race.

This was the first race of the season where the entire Nordic team was present. The atmosphere was bubbling with excitement and everyone was eager to race. The event was a mass start race, as opposed to an interval start race. Mass start races are exciting for both spectator and athlete. Many times in mass start races, racers will crash and equipment can become broken.

The boys were first to race the course on Saturday and nearly the entire boys team was involved in a pile-up at the start of the race. Luckily, no equipment - or bodies - were broken and the boys skied to a strong finish.

The number-one skier for the boys Outlaws was Devon Calvin, showing up just 15 minutes prior to the race after misplacing some equipment. He finished with a time of 16:56.

The Outlaws' number-two skier, Spencer Smith, finished with a time of 22:40. This was Spencer's first race of the season and he is showing tremendous aptitude toward become a competitive skier at state this year. Also having strong races in the varsity category were Brandon Pollard, finishing in 25:31, and Seth Roy with 26:08.

The Lady Outlaws' race began without any crashes, though the technical course did test the Outlaws technique throughout the race. Facing steep descents and tight corners, the Lady Outlaws had to marshal all of their technique to ski this course.

The first Outlaws finisher for the girls was Shayla Curtis, who finished with a time of 23:45. Elena Saldi, who skied the course with impeccable technique, finished in 23:59. Betsy Ausman was the third finisher for the girls' team and she finished with a time of 25:00. Maya Wieland rounded out the Outlaws team, finishing in 30:05.

The Outlaws will travel to the Teacup race in two weeks. The skiers are hoping snowstorms in the next two weeks will improve the snow quality and snow depth across Oregon.