Holt continues to capture Nordic ski racing medals

Glacier Nordic Ski Team continued to earn medals after Stella Holt seized the gold medal in the sprint race at the 2009 Junior Olympics in Truckee, Calif., on March 9.

Holt finished off her week at Junior Olympics with a seventh-place finish in the 5K skate race, the bronze medal in the 5K classic race, and the silver medal in the relay with her Intermountain team mates.

Jack Steele had a solid Junior Olympics with a 14th place in the sprint race and 10th place in the classic 5K race. In the exciting relay races, Steele anchored the Intermountain No. 2 team, and his stellar finish earned them fourth place, beating the New England No. 1 team.

Marshall Opel finished his final Junior Olympics as a member of Glacier Nordic as he is graduating and heading to Montana State University. Opel placed 15th in the sprints and 37th in the 15K skate race.

The Intermountain Team earned second place in the overall team competition for the Alaska Cup. This result came down to the final race on the final day when New England classic skiers won the day. Team Alaska took third. Ten divisions compete for this overall trophy.

The race courses were extremely difficult and at a breathless 8,000-foot elevation, coach Larry Bruce said. There were demanding, steep long uphills and technical, tricky downhills.

“Holt’s gold medal is an outstanding achievement of human spirit,” he said. “It’s hard to imagine Holt’s strength, determination and discipline which placed her among the nation’s best skiers who recently returned from bronze medal performances in Norway.”