Girls’ Nordic Team is State Champion!
The Lady Panther nordic team won the first ever CHSAA girls’ nordic skiing state title this week! Previously alpine and nordic skiing scores were combined for state championships, but now they are identified as separate sports under the CHSAA umbrella.
The state meet was held in Steamboat Springs and opened with an individual start 5K classic race on Thursday. Freshman Finnley Stanek earned herself a spot on the Wall of Champions with a 3rd place finish. Junior Aimee Lenhard took 5th, while sophomores Chloe King and Lyza Zoller were 8th and 9th place respectively. While Lake County accomplished 4 skiers in the top 10, bigger schools like Summit and Poudre High School were only able to get 2 skiers in the top 10, and Battle Mountain and Steamboat Springs didn’t have anyone in the top 10!
Friday morning featured a mass start 5K skate race. For the most part, the Panther ladies were able to avoid crashes and entanglements and ski to another strong finish. King led the team on Friday, finishing 3rd and earning herself a spot on the Wall of Champions. Stanek crossed the line in 4th. Lenhard was 8th, and Zoller was 13th. Lake County won that event over Battle Mountain by 10 points.
The final event of the weekend was a 4 x 1.4K relay, with the first two legs skiing classic and the second two legs skating. Stanek and Lenhard did the classic legs, and King and Zoller skated. They had a great battle against the Summit ladies, but ended up 2nd. Still, the team had done enough already to win the state title by 16 points.
Other ladies that were part of Lake County’s success this weekend and through the season are Grace Green, Indigo and Amara Olsen, Susie Bullock, Tal Sheleg, Layla Horning, and Tilly Kirr.
Despite finishing 7th as a team in both the classic and the skate races, the Lake County men were able to place 4th in the relay and beat out Middle Park by 1 point for the overall 4th place spot at state! Representing Lake County on the men’s side were Jaren and Jude Peters, Logan Charles, Wilson Anderson, Raymond Harvey and Ephraim Bunch.
