Nordic racers earn top-10 finishes

Glacier Nordic Ski Team racer Connor

Gray finished in an impressive 11th place at the first Junior

Olympic sprint qualifier at West Yellowstone last weekend. Gray was

also 22nd overall in the 10K classic with a 33:37.7. He was the

fourth place J1 finisher in the race.

“Connor did awesome,” Glacier coach

Robin Brooks said. “He was fighting against a bunch of college

kids. This course fit him really well.”

Glacier’s Henry Holt finished 10th in

the sprint in the J2 finals. It was his first time getting into the

finals. He added another top-15 finish in the 5k classic race with

a 16:41.

“Our goal was for him to have a

top-10,” Brooks said. “He skied really well.”

Cassidy Grady qualified 18th overall in

the sprints in a tough J2 field. She earned 24th in the 5k classic

race. This was her first Junior Olympic qualifier.

“There’s a lot to learn and this was a

good experience for her,” Brooks said. “You have to learn how to

fight in a group in sprints and that’s not something you can

teach.”

Brooks said conditions were prime in

West Yellowstone.

“The tracks were hard and fast,” she

said. “We haven’t skied in tracks since Thanksgiving.”

The team has been training on Big

Mountain with the lack of snow in town. Brooks is hopeful this

latest storm dumps enough snow to open the golf course and

Stillwater Nordic Center.

“Everyone is in pretty good shape

physically,” Brooks said. “Technically there is always stuff to

work on.”

Glacier next travels to Soldier Hollow

in Utah for the second Junior Olympic qualifier.

Former Glacier team member Jack Steele

competed at West Yellowstone and was sixth overall in the J1/OJ

sprint race. He took second overall in the 10k classic with a

29:19.1. Steele is currently training with the Sun Valley Ski

Education Foundation.

Glacier alumni Stella Holt has already

pre-qualified for Junior Nationals as a member of the Middlebury

Nordic team. However, she may choose to race in the NCAA nationals

if she qualifies.