Glacier Nordic sends three to Nationals

The Glacier Nordic Ski Team will send three racers to Junior Nationals next week in Minneapolis. Whitefish High School seniors Stella Holt and Jack Steele and freshman Connor Gray each earned a spot on the InterMountain Division Junior Nordic team. Coach Robin Brooks was selected to lead the OJ and J1 girls.

The three skiers punched their ticket to Minneapolis with strong performances last weekend at the season’s final qualifying race in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Holt, who was fresh off a flight back from the Scandinavian Cup in Sweden, took fifth overall in the 5K classic and third overall in the 15K skate.

“Stella did really well,” Brooks said. “She was definitely tired from traveling, but she looked great out there.”

Steele was fighting off an illness one week prior to the qualifier, Brooks said, but he still put up respectable results.

He took 14th overall in the 5K classic and 15th in the 15K skate. Steele had all but locked up his spot on the InterMountain team with his race two weeks ago at Soldier Hollow, in Utah.

Fifth-ranked Gray posted an 11th place finish in the 5K classic for J2 racers to finalize his spot on the InterMountain team.

“Connor specializes in sprints, but he still did really well,” Brooks said.

Fischer Gangemi was 29th in the 5K classic and 25th in the 15K skate, while Carl Talsma was 39th in the classic and 40th in the skate to round out the team’s scoring.

The Sun Valley course was one of the toughest of the year, Brooks said, with a few long and steep climbs and some tight corners on the descents.

“Some of the kids said it was the hardest race they’ve ever done,” she said. “We were at a higher elevation, which makes breathing harder for our team.”

Sun Valley is at about 6,000 feet while Whitefish is at around 3,000 feet, but elevation shouldn’t be a problem for the Glacier Nordic skiers at Nationals in the lowlands of Minneapolis.

There was a concern about a lack of snow at the downtown Nordic course, but a recent storm dropped 12 inches on Monday with more expected later this week. Brooks describes the course at Theodore Wirth Park as rolling with a few short and steep climbs.

“It should be good for our team,” she said.

The team leaves for Nationals on March 4. The six-day event features a freestyle sprint, 15K classic, 10K skate and a classic relay.

Glacier Nordic team members not competing in Minneapolis will travel to West Yellowstone for the Yellowstone Rendezvous Race.