Summit sweeps nordic skiing titles
Published 4:00 am Sunday, March 3, 2013
MOUNT BACHELOR — For six years, Oregon High School Nordic (OHSNO) has existed. Ten state championships had been contested — for boys and for girls each of the past five seasons — heading into this weekend’s championships. In all but one, the victorious colors were the green, black and silver of Summit.
On a high-overcast Saturday, the final day of the 2013 OHSNO state championships at Mt. Bachelor’s nordic area, the Storm added two more titles thanks to 11 top-10 finishers — six boys, five girls — in the classic race.
“We have a lot of depth, more than anything,” Summit coach Luke Smith said. “We have a bunch of good skiers.”
Casey Shannon finished the 5-kilometer course in 14 minutes, 9.1 seconds, to anchor Summit’s boys team, which won its sixth straight OHSNO state championship with 16 points — one point off a perfect score of 15. Bend High finished second with 48 points, followed by Hood River Valley with 67 points. Redmond High (113 points), Corvallis (151), Cleveland (179) and Crescent Valley (180) rounded out the seven-team boys field.
For the Storm, who finished first in the team relay event ahead of Bend and Hood River Valley, Alec Wiltz and Max Millslagle took second and third, respectively, while Skylar Kenna (fifth place), Zebediah Millslagle (sixth) and Nico Giannoses (ninth) all placed in the top 10.
“I don’t know what the formula is,” Smith said about Summit’s reputation of fielding successful skiers. “We’re lucky to have them. It’s kind of luck. … Maybe it’s being closer to the snow.”
Jack Widmer finished seventh to pace Bend, followed by teammates Peter Schwarz in eighth place and Steven Dougherty in 10th.
Redmond’s top finisher was Clayton Aas, who came in 17th, and Sisters was led by Devin Calvin, who took 21st.
For the girls, a day after successfully defending her freestyle state title, Summit’s Emily Hyde completed the weekend sweep by winning the classic event in 15:46.8, nearly a full minute ahead of South Salem’s Vivian Hawkinson.
“I was confident in myself,” Hyde said. “That’s the way to go. … Just have fun and ski well.”
Summit’s Anne Jarvis and Olivia Moehl joined Hyde in the top five, finishing third and fifth, respectively. The Storm won the relay as well, besting Bend and Hood River Valley, to finish atop the team standings with 20 points.
“I think Summit’s pretty dominant, generally,” Hyde said. “I think winning just adds to the fun.”
The Lava Bears took second as a team with 60 points, led by Kira Smiley’s fourth-place finish in 17:08.1. Also placing in the top 10 for Bend was Siena Brody-Heine, who claimed the ninth spot. Those two, Bend coach Ron Crawford said, have been strong all year for the Lava Bears.
“We had good skis,” Crawford said. “I think waxing changed a little bit for our girls. I think we could have done a little better on that, but our girls were strong. They had a good attitude through it and still had some good results.”
Natalie Ulum finished 11th to pace Ridgeview, and Jessica Aas led Redmond with a 12th-place showing.
But the day belonged to Summit, with the girls defending their state championship from a year ago and the boys adding a sixth straight title. Smith laughed off the thought of a dynasty. His Bend High counterpart, however, offered:
“Summit’s like the Russian team,” Crawford said. “Every time they graduate kids, up come more strong skiers. It’s always a good battle.”