WEST YELLOWSTONE – The Seeley Lake Nordic Team finished their season at the West Yellowstone Rendezvous March 2. Head Coach Bridget Laird said it was a fun season even though the team was smaller that in past years. She felt adding the Junior Prep Team helped boost participation for the younger skiers and also re-establishing the Seeley Lake Biathlon brought new excitement for the sport.
The Race Team competed in five races this winter: the Glacier Glide in Whitefish, the Seeley Lake Skiesta, the Seeley Lake OSCR, the Seeley Lake Biathlon and the West Yellowstone Rendezvous. The Prep Team for younger, less experienced kids as young as second grade competed in all three local races.
Laird said another component of the program for the Race Team was exposing skiers to “local” downhill ski areas and other Nordic trails. They skied Discovery and Blacktail and traveled to the Mt. Haggin Nordic Trails south of Anaconda.
With a slow start to the season due to the lack of snow, Laird said the Glacier Glide, first race of the season Jan. 6, was a difficult race. However, the Race Team stepped up the competition putting skiers in the top five at the Skiesta and continued to be a force to reckon with for the rest of their season.
Laird said the Seeley Lake Biathlon that returned after a two-year hiatus, got the youth excited to learn more and practice for the event. The team hopes to find other biathlons to compete in next winter.
Eight members of the Race Team participated in the West Yellowstone Rendezvous as well as Ovando skiers Tim Swanberg and his daughter Madeline. Laird said it proved to be a challenging race due to the cold and snow conditions. The course at West Yellowstone is also a little longer than they normally train for – the 5K is really closer to a 6K and the 10K is more like an 11K. However the kids had a great race.
“They all skied hard and had a great time,” wrote Laird.
Sixth-grader Sam Ayers took a wrong turn and ended up skiing the 10k course even though he was registered for the 5k. Laird said he crossed the finish line in 1:08:02 with a huge smile. After he warmed up his hands, he laughed about having skied so far.
Laird said eighth-grader Klayton Kovatch’s season challenge was racing grueling long distances competing in the 25K at both the OSCR and Rendezvous. She said he competed very well against skiers of all ages. He took seventh in his age group with a time of 1:58:00 at the Rendevous.
Tim Swanberg of Ovando placed second in the Male 50-54 age class in the 50K. His daughter Madeline Swanberg raced the 10K taking third in her age group with a time of 39:36.62.
Seeley Lake Nordic Team Results:
10K Female age 13-17: Ella Batchelder, 10th, 1:00:30.56
10K Male Age 14-17: Owen Hoag, 9th, 42:28; Eric Lorentz, 10th, 44:50.69
5K Female Age 12-13: Hattie Batchelder, 6th, 29:26.90
5K Female Age 9-11: Kilty Hanson, 7th, 35:02.03
5K Male Age 12-13: Sam Ayers, 7th, 1:08:02.08 (skied 10K course)
2K Male Age 7-9: Kimber Hanson, 5th, 13:12.86
25K Male Age 13-17: Klayton Kovatch, 7th, 1:58:00.39
To sum up the season Laird wrote, “The kids stayed pretty healthy and nobody suffered any significant injuries this winter. I am grateful to have such supportive and engaged families, amazing groomers with the Seeley Lake Nordic Club, dedicated coaches and of course, amazing snow and trails!”
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