The Nederland Nordic and Alpine ski teams scored some major victories in the second day of the state skiing championships, taking home the title in girls slalom.
Across the board, multiple individuals for the Panthers placed among the top-25 skiers in the second day of state events, which included boys and girls Alpine slalom and Nordic skate.
In her first year coaching at Nederland, Alpine coach Montana Fels was incredibly impressed with the number of athletes who ended up making it to state, with 21 out of a 50-man roster competing. Fels knew it would take a special mindset for her team to get the results they wanted this week.
“Leading up to state, we did a lot of mental preparation,” Fels said. “We had a lot of fun this year, but it was important to get into a focused mindset for this competition.”
Preparing mentally proved to have worked on the Alpine side of competition, as Nederland girls slalom dominated with Delaney Pratt and Cassidy Donahue finishing 6th and 10th, respectively. For boys slalom, senior Quinn Kuechenmeister also did well, placing 11th overall. As his fourth year of sate skiing has come to an end, Kuechenmeister shared Fels’ excitement about having so many athletes competing in Aspen.
“We have never had this many people at state before, and a lot are young athletes,” Kuechenmeister said. “It was important for me to help my younger teammates with getting prepared for their next couple years at state.”
In addition to Kuechenmeister’s strong finish, Nederland slalom skiers Trig Campbell and Christian Wood placed in the top-20 for boys slalom.
Nordic coach Jen Lavely also had something to celebrate as the skate skiing wrapped up. Sophomore captain Sarah Davidson landed herself among the top-20 in girls Nordic skate. Despite her age and status as the only Nederland girl to qualify for Nordic skate skiing, Davidson proved she could compete, and Lavely would agree.
“We are small but mighty, and our state team was fast, poised, and competive,” Lavely said. “We have a very talented pool of athletes in Nederland, and Boulder County truly has something to smile about.”
STATE SKIING CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Aspen Highlands
Boys results
Team scores — Battle Mountain 592.5, Aspen 578, Steamboat Springs 563, Summit 558, Middle Park 521, Vail Mountain 487, Nederland 468, Evergreen 448.5, Eagle Valley 426, Colorado Rocky Mountain 413, Clear Creek 366, Lake County 260, Platte Canyon 87.
Slalom— 1. Cook, Battle Mountain, 1:13.0; 2. Tallmadge, Evergreen, 1:13.6; 3. Riccio, Middle Park, 1:14.4; 11. Kuechenmeister, Nederland, 1:20.4; 16. Campbell, Nederland, 1:23.1; 20. Wood, Nederland, 1:25.6.
Nordic skate— 1. Houtsma, Aspen, 12:37.0; 2. Wolfe, Vail Mountain, 12:37.1; 3. Sweeney, Aspen, 12:59.8.
Girls results
Team scores — Aspen 618, Battle Mountain 597, Summit 591, Vail Mountain 554, Evergreen 553, Middle Park 481.5, Eagle Valley 456.5, Steamboat Springs 400, Lake County 391.5, Nederland 384.5, Clear Creek 340, Colorado Rocky Mountain 275, Platte Canyon 223.
Slalom— 1. Miller, Evergreen, 1:23.4; 2. Thompson, Summit, 1:24.3; 3.Myers, Summit, 1:25.2; 6. Pratt, Nederland, 1:26.8; 10. Donohue, Nederland, 1:28.1.
Nordic skate— 1. Donovan, Vail Mountain, 12:14.7; 2. Boyd, Summit, 12:40.2; 3. Rossman, Battle Mountain, 14:57.5; 19. Davidson, Nederland, 17:50.1.
