HS Nordic Competes in First Race of Season
The Lake County High School Nordic team competed in their first race of the season on Friday, January 29th. A small group of Panthers took part in a 5.4 km skate competition against athletes from Clear Creek, Nederland, Summit, and Evergreen high schools.
The course wove through the trees and fairways of the golf course, undulating from slight inclines to slight descents. As another coach noted, “it was the perfect course for the first skate race.”
The boys were the first off the line, each individually starting in fifteen second intervals. Lake County had three athletes compete: Desmond Sandoval, Izayah Baxter, and Elijah Wilcox. Izayah and Elijah both attend Salida High School but compete for Lake County. Elijah placed 13th, Desmond 22nd, and Izayah 25th out of the thirty finishers. As a team, the boys were 4th out of the five schools.
Coach Karl Remsen remarked about the boys, “Elijah and Izayah did a great job for their first ever 5km nordic race. They don’t get much time on snow since they are in Salida, so it was fun to see them skiing fast. Desmond has been getting stronger each week and is really focused on improving his skating. I could tell how much he has improved by how much of the course he was able to V-2.”
Five Panther girls also competed in a field of twenty-four competitors. Elona Greene led the team with a 3rd place finish. Brynna Lenhard was next in 6th place, an excellent start to her high school career. Violet Hill, Katie Sena (who attends school in Colorado Springs but races for Lake County), and Michaela Main were 8th, 9th, and 10th respectively to place all five Lake County racers in the top ten. With their great finishes, Lake County won the girls race, edging out Evergreen by three points.
“It is nice that the girls won, but that was not a goal for today. Each athlete focused on her own technique, mental, or pacing goal and executed her own race plan. We wanted to gain experience and improve rather than focus on what the results were,” coach Remsen noted.
Athletic Director Mike Vagher mentioned at the conclusion of the event, “We are grateful to Dan and the Leadville Cross Country Ski Council for allowing us to race at the Golf Course and for doing such a great job grooming. The skiing was excellent today!”
The Lake County Nordic team will compete in their first classic race at Gold Run in Breckenridge on February 5th.
