Nordic Racing in Colorado Kicks Off with a Weekend in Steamboat

This past weekend marked the start of the Cross Country ski racing season with a USSA race hosted by Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club.  The race was originally to be hosted in Summit Country, but due to a lack of snow, they were forced to change venues to Steamboat. 

The Durango Nordic Ski Club travelled to Steamboat to participate in these early season ski races, with a focus on getting early season race starts prior to the First Junior National Qualifier race that will be held December 17^th and 18^th in Crested Butte.  On Saturday December 3^rd everyone raced 5 kilometers around a fast course using skate technique.  The J2 (14 and 15 years old) category was lead by Durango Nordic skier Cully Brown.  Following him in 5^th place was Durango Nordic skier Charlie Greenberg.  For the girls, Hannah Peterson placed 2^nd.  In the J1 (16 and 17) boys category, Haakon Sigurslid of Durango placed 3^rd, followed by Sepp Kuss in 8^th.  For the J1 girls, Amy Katz placed 7^th, Kaylee Blevins placed 12^th, Lily Oswald placed 13^th, and Emma Greenberg placed 19^th. 

Saturday’s race was around the same course, but using classic technique.  All racers again competed in a 5km race besides the J1 boys who raced an extra loop to increase the distance to 10km.  Cully Brown of Durango again lead the J2 boys, followed by Charlie Greenberg in 5^th.  Hannah Peterson placed 6^th in the J2 girls race.  In the J1 girls race, Durango was again lead by Amy Katz in 10^th, Kaylee Blevins in 12^th, Lily Oswald in 14^th, and Emma Greenberg in 19^th.  The Durango Nordic J1 boys got around the 10km course in good fashion, with Haakon Sigurslid again claiming the 3^rd place position, followed by Sepp Kuss in 9^th.

“These preseason races are good for us to participate in as a team,” says head coach Josh Dalley “as they help get us used to the speed of racing as well as a weekend of skiing ‘on snow’.  For the past week we have been forced to go back to dryland training, so the cold weather and snow in Steamboat this past weekend was beneficial for our training as well.”  Now that the snow is falling in Durango, Dalley is looking forward to kicking off ski training for the whole team.  For more results, visit the Durango Nordic Ski Club website at www.durangonordic.org.