With no one to defend the title of Oregon high school Nordic state champion, a number of Central Oregon skiers will rush in today and Saturday at Mount Hood to claim the coveted distinction for themselves.

The Oregon Interscholastic Ski Racing Association Nordic State Championship Meet will include 5-kilometer classic and 5K freestyle races as well as a 3-x-1K relay. About 15 teams and 175 of the best high school racers in Oregon are expected to participate.

In one corner will be Redmond High, the favorite to win the state meet for both boys and girls, according to most Central Oregon cross-country coaches. Both Redmond teams are reigning 2006 Northern League champions and boast at least a handful of strong seniors and tough underclassmen, who have consistently placed in the top 10 finishers at Northern League meets throughout the season. With the defending girls and boys state championship teams from Summit out of the running this year over a dispute with the OISRA, Redmond – one of Summit’s primary rivals in recent seasons – is out for blood.

In another corner will be the Bend High and Mountain View teams from the Southern League. Both possess skiers new to their teams and formidable racers, who have yet to compete against Northern League skiers this season. The two teams are also extraordinarily close in ability, promising to make for a tight race at state. For the first time in recent memory, the girls teams were tied at the top of the league by the close of the season, and the Mountain View boys team finished only two points ahead of the Bend boys team.

”I can’t even call who will win,” said Mountain View coach Eric Martin. ”It’s been really tight with Bend and Mountain View all season. Bend is better at the skate (style) and Mountain View is better at classic, and the state meet will include both. Redmond will also be tough to beat this year.”

Martin added that the Mountain View team graduated strong senior boys last year, making for a much younger team this season to take on Redmond’s experienced pool of upperclassmen.

League champion Kevin Brown, a junior, will still be a tough competitor to beat, said Martin. Senior and team captain Lucas Zettle has also been a strong racer for Mountain View this season and trained ”harder than anyone,” added Martin.

Mountain View also boasts senior Christie Osburn, the girls league champion. Senior Hannah Lee has also raced consistently well this year, often skiing into the top five at league meets.

The Sisters boys and girls teams, which finished second to Redmond in the Northern League this season, contend that they are not out of the running to ”take a few names” at state as well. Coach Lee Fischer described his crew this year as young, but a ”strong, up-and-coming team.”

”A lot of seniors could beat us, but next year we’ll surely be a contender,” said Fischer. ”We’ll be at state for the fun of it, but we’ll also take a few names. The whole team will do as well as it needs to.”

According to Fischer, girls to watch for are freshman Molly Blust and sophomore Jena Rickards, who both consistently placed high for girls at Northern League meets this season. Junior Audrey Tehan is also a skier to watch, said Fischer, along with sophomore Kelly Crowthers.

”In two more years, Kelly will be a real force to contend with,” added Fischer.

Meanwhile, the strong forces on the Redmond team are feeling the pressure – the pressure of being favorites.

”It’s different without Summit this year,” said Redmond coach Jan Mares. ”Now we’re shooting to win state, not beat Summit. We need to work hard, though. We haven’t raced the Southern League teams this year, and they have some good racers, so it’s hard to tell what will happen. Someone (from our team) could also break a ski or get sick. We just need to put our race face on and show ’em who’s boss.”

Formidable Redmond seniors include Sarah Hartley – a favorite to win the girls state title – along with Carissa Mares and Mackenzie Allen, who have been finishing at the top of the pack the entire season, along with sophomore Rita Aulie. For the boys, top forces include seniors Martin Aulie, Max Foster and Zen Newman.

Although Bend High finished at the top of its league this year, coach Gregg Strome said the team’s biggest goal at state is to enjoy it.

”Our team is a mix of experienced and inexperienced skiers,” noted Strome. ”I have no idea how it will go. I’ve heard the Northern League is good. And I’ve been told we’ll be whopped on by Redmond. I just hope (our) kids come in fired up and everything else will take care of itself.”

Standouts on the Bend team this year have included seniors Holly Bailey and Allison Phillips, juniors Harper Gossard and A.J. Nelson, and sophomore Lily Scott for the girls. For the boys, skiers who consistently placed in the top 10 in league meets included juniors Kyle Rood and Ben Schwarz, and seniors Scott Scholz and Chris Miller.

Crook County will also ski at state this year, despite its small team of only five girls. Coach Tim Zook said that senior Kelli Johnson is one of his strongest skiers and hardest workers. He also mentioned sophomore Michelly Foley, who surprised the Northern League this year by placing 13th in a league meet.

”Our attitude going in to state is to ski better than ever, achieve personal bests,” explained Zook. ”We want to have a good time and perform better as a team.”

Prep Nordic Skiing:

What: Oregon Interscholastic Ski Racing Asssociation Nordic State Championship Meet.

Where: Teacup Sno-Park near Mount Hood.

When: Today and Saturday; races today start at 1 p.m., Saturday races start at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Races: 5-kilometer classic today, and 5K freestyle and 3-x-1K relay on Saturday.