Glacier Nordic preparing for qualifiers

After a little more than two months of training with this year's Glacier Nordic Ski Team, coach Ben Morley says a number of team members are on the fast track to qualify for Junior Nationals.

"We have got some strong skiers this year," he said.

To make the Junior National event — slated for March in Presque Isle, Maine — skiers must first make the Intermountain Nordic Ski Team through a series of qualifying races across the region. The first qualifying race is in Bozeman next weekend.

Jack Steele, a junior at Whitefish High School, has really impressed the coach with his conditioning in the early stages of the season and is looking to make consecutive trips to Nationals. He was one of two racers who made the Intermountain team last season.

"We had a race out at Essex, and Jack is the only one who beat me," Morley said. "That's impressive because I know where my fitness level is."

Whitefish junior Stella Holt — last season's Junior National champion — is recovering nicely from a leg injury suffered after a fall on Mount Gould in Glacier National Park this past summer, according to Morley, and is looking to be in the mix as a top racer again.

"She is doing much better and is getting her endurance back," Morley said. "I'm psyched for her. She is still right in there. It will be about a month for her to get back to where she was."

Whitefish senior Anne Miller is a sleeper pick for making the Junior National team, according to Morley. She got third overall at Essex among 13 racers.

"She is racing really strong this year and is one to watch for as a breakthrough," Morley said.

There are some strong J2 skiers, too, who will be contenders to make the trip east, including Connor Gray, Fischer Gangemi and Henry Holt.

Since Morley moved to Whitefish this fall from Jackson Hole, Wyo., to take the helm of the team, the valley's snowpack has been fickle. The trails at Whitefish Lake Golf Club were closed after rain fell in late December, but Morley has been creative and has pushed the team's conditioning in other ways.

"Early on, we skied up Russ's Street, trying to get on any snow we could and get into shape," he said. "We've been doing a lot of running and strength training. We're going out five to six days a week. These early days are what will make a difference at the end of the season."

Before the golf course trails reopened after this week's snow storm, the team was getting their on-snow training up on the Nordic trails below Big Mountain. The Glacier Nordic Club was grooming 11 kilometers of skate trails on Cedar Loop, Haskill Basin Road and Badger Loop.

"It's been great to train on the hills up there," Morley said.