This past weekend the Durango Winter Sports Foundation
hosted its annual DWSF Awards Dinner where each team awards a male and a female
in the following categories: MVP, Devo
MVP, Sportsmanship, Most Improved, Rookie of the Year, and Volunteer of the
Year. Each of the coaches have input for
who they would nominate for each award Please read below for information on
this year’s winners from the Durango Nordic Ski Club
MVP: This award goes out to the male and
female who display the greatest success at a local, regional, national, and
international level. This year’s female
winner is Hannah Peterson for her success throughout the year in the RMN JNQ race
series as well as her performance at Junior Nationals. Hannah’s peak came around at the right time
as she won the last JNQ of the season, here at Durango, to secure her spot on
the RMN JN Team. At Junior Nationals
Hannah reach All-American honors in each individual race by placing 9th
in the classic sprint, 8th in the skate mass start, and 6th
in the classic individual start. This year’s
male winner was Cully Brown, who went undefeated in each RMN JNQ that he
entered this winter. Then, after
enduring and operation on his appendix, had two All-American races at Junior
Nationals, placing 3rd in the classic sprint and 2nd in
the individual start classic race.
Devo MVP: This is the second year of us having this award and it recognizes a male and a female from our development program, 13 years old and younger. Similar to the MVP award, this is awarded to the junior male and female that demonstrates success at the local and regional level. This year’s female award goes out to Jordan Taylor. This season Jordan placed either 1st or 2nd at all of the RMN Colorado Cup races that she attended. The male Devo MVP award goes to Wiley Corra, who was undefeated this season in the Colorado Cup race series.
Sportsmanship: This award goes to the male and female who exudes sportsmanship conduct. This male and female displays graciousness in winning or losing and is always quick to congratulate their fellow teammates and competitors. They lead by example and show up every day in order to give their all, either at practice or on race day. This year’s female Sportsmanship award goes to Lily Oswald. The male winner of the Sportsmanship award is Abe Ott.
Most Improved: This award is presented to the male and female
who displayed improvement throughout the ski season. The female award this year is presented to
Maggie Wigton for her continued improvement not just this year, but also over
the past few years. Maggie displayed
continue improvement from the beginning of the season until her best races, the
final RMN CO Cup races in Durango. The
male award is presented to John Rhoades.
John battled a lot of sickness this year, but through focused training
still improved throughout the season, finishing it off with extremely strong races
in Durango.
Rookie of the Year: This award is presented to male and female skiers who are in their first year in our club. It is based on their commitment to, and love of, the sport and how they represent themselves and our team at practice and events. This year’s female award is presented to Ruby May. Ruby is always up beat and cruising around on her skis. She goes out of her way to talk with all ages of skiers on the team as well as coaches. She is going to be a great ambassador of the sport. The male award is presented to Carter Kileen. Moving here from Wisconsin, this was the first year the Kileen family is part of our club, and we are lucky to have them. Carter always brings a smile to practice and loves to race. We are looking forward to many more years to come.
Volunteer of the Year: These male and female awards are presented to volunteers to the club who help at events, fundraisers, races, and all other things Nordic. This year’s female award is presented to Nancy Agro for all of her help with the Coke race series as well as our JNQ. The male award is presented to Bill Rhoades for his timeless dedication to helping with the timing of all the Coke Races, Langlauf, as well as our JNQ.
