Nordic skiers compete under the stars

The Outlaws Nordic Ski team got to race close to home in a unique competition at Hoodoo dubbed the Sporthill Hoodoo Night Sprints on Monday, January 20. 

Rather than a traditional 5k course, teams competed on a short, one-kilometer course in different waves after each team “seeded” its skiers. In other words, the number-one skier from each team raced against the other number-one skiers from the other schools. 

The course circled the lift bases at the flat area at Hoodoo and then climbed part way up the Easy Rider hill before coming directly back to the flat base area right outside the lodge. Each skier competed in three rounds and their overall total time/place determined the final individual and team results. 

Spencer Tisdel, Emerson Backus, Ben Hayner, and Jack Turpen competed for the boys team with Tisdel leading the way with a seventh-place overall finish. Backus placed 26th, Hayner 31st, and Jack Turpen 55th among 80 entries. 

Summit took the team title with six points, followed by Bend (22), Mt. View (26), RPA/Ridgeview (34), Corvallis (50), and Sisters (55). 

For the girls, Ella Eby placed 21st, Ava Riehle 34th, and Kiara Martin 46th among 65 finishers. 

The Outlaws, coached by Jeff Hussmann and Tiffany Tisdel, appreciated a fun event right in our own backyard. 

“This is always a season highlight to be right here at Hoodoo after dark in a fast paced sort of crazy event,” said Tisdel. “We are indebted to Hoodoo for their ongoing generosity for events like this.”

Summit won the team title with three points, followed by RPA/Ridgeview (25), Bend (27), Mt. View (36), Corvallis (74), and Sisters (81). 

JD Downing, the Northern League OISRAN representative, said, “We give special thanks to Jim Hill and Sporthill for the continued financial support of the Hoodoo Night Sprints and Oregon high school skiing in general. 

Sporthill is a Eugene-based athletic clothing company, founded in 1985, specializing in apparel for runners and Nordic skiers and owned by former University of Oregon distance runner Jim Hill.