Nordic skiers place at W. Yellowstone

Nine youths from the Glacier Nordic Ski Team traveled to West Yellowstone on Jan. 13-14 for the Intermountain Junior National Qualifier races, the first race weekend in a series of three weekend events.

The races attracted more than 350 skiers from Montana, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. In addition, the racers were able to experience skiing alongside college teams as West Yellowstone was hosting a Rocky Mountain Collegiate Race the same weekend.

The racers started with an interval classic start race on Saturday followed by a mass start skate race on Sunday. The races saw some big fields with nearly 60 boys racing in the U18/U20 category. Glacier Nordic’s U14 boys Jacob Henson and Colter Gaertner placed second and third, respectively, in the classic race.

Barrett Garcia had a solid 18th place in both the classic and skate races. Rudy Steiner also had a solid 23rd place in classic and 20th place in skate for his first ever junior qualifier.

The U16 and U18/20 boys, Winslow Nichols, Jacob Bail, and Casey Schneider, had some tough competition in both races, and skied stronger the second day, each moving up several places in the overall standings.

Emily and Cora Baily placed first and second, respectively, in the novice category for both the classic and skate races.

Classic

Novice 3K

Girls

1. Emily Bailey 12:00

2. Cora Bailey 12:30

U14 3K

Boys

2. Jacob Henson 9:28

3. Colter Gaertner 9:33

18. Barrett Garcia 10:56

23. Rudy Steiner 11:27

U16 5K

Boys

37. Winslow Nichols 20:26

U18 10K

Boys

48. Casey Schneider 35:10

54. Jacob Bailey 38:17

Skate

Novice 3K

Girls

1. Emily Bailey 9:32

2. Cora Bailey 10:47

U14 3K

Boys

4. Jacob Henson 7:40

8. Colter Gaertner 8:12

18. Barrett Garcia 8:39

20. Rudy Steiner 8:56

U16 5K

Boys

33. Winslow Nichols 16:01

U18 10K

Boys

42. Casey Schneider 28:47

49. Jacob Bailey 31:27