LCHS Boys Nordic Team Finishes Season Strong at State Meet!
The Lake County Nordic Boys Team had five skiers compete in the Colorado High School State Championships in Steamboat Springs this past Thursday and Friday. The team placed 8th for the weekend out of thirteen teams with nordic skiers.
Through dumping snow, the boys raced around a five-kilometer loop at the Steamboat Springs Touring Center in an individual start skate race on Thursday.
Joe Koch led the team with his best race of the season, placing 19th. Brandon Hanson climbed through the middle of the course well and placed 26th. Freshman Conner Lenhard had a key race to be the third scorer for the team and placed 49th. Zayden Tufte fought through the remnants of a cold and placed 59th. Sam Frykholm was 66th, a solid finish for a freshman in his first state race.
The boys team placed 7th on the day, just besting host Steamboat Springs in 8th by one point. “Conner really came through when it mattered for us,” noted Coach Karl Remsen. “He wasn’t in our top three at any of the regular season races, but he was ready to step up and ski fast today.”
Friday was a five-kilometer classic race at the famed Howelson Hill. The course climbed for three and a half kilometers before dropping back down into the stadium and the finish. With some fresh snow and cold weather, the classic skiing was excellent for all the competitors.
Joe once again led the Panthers, this time placing 28th. Thirty seconds later, Brandon Hanson finished up his career by placing 34th. Zayden had a strong classic race despite his lingering illness and was 42nd, at the front of a large pack of skiers. Conner doubled poled across the line a few seconds later to place 46th, and Sam was only ten seconds behind that in 54th.
The boys couldn’t quite match their 7th place from the day before, placing 8th for the day and securing 8th overall for the championships as a Nordic team. When the alpine team’s scores were combined, the boys ended up 12th as an overall ski team out of fifteen total teams.
Coach Remsen noted afterwards, “The team had a good couple of days, and there is a lot to look forward to in our future as well. We will miss Brandon, but we will return Joe, Zayden, Conner, and Sam for next year.”