Whitefish junior nordic skier finishes among the top nationally

Maeve Ingelfinger never expected to medal at a national-level nordic skiing championship, but recently she stood on the podium twice at Junior Nationals.

In mid-March, she went into the national nordic ski championships with the hope of a top-10 finish in the U16 girls division and came away with both second and third place in the classic sprint and classic mass start distance race, respectively.

With a taste of succeeding at this level, the Whitefish sophomore is seeing the sport of Nordic skiing in a new light.

“Initially coming into this season, I was planning on just having [cross country skiing] be like a fun sport for me; still racing and wanting to be competitive with it, but not pushing it to the next level,” she said. “But after the races and Junior Nationals when I started doing well, I think I want to take it further and maybe even race in college.”

Though Ingelfinger competed in all four events at nationals, the most thrilling finish happened in the sprint final. For that race, Ingelfinger took a little advice from her coach to heart and in turn pushed her skiing to the next level.

Coming into the final after a full day of racing multiple heats, Ingelfinger says she remembered a little advice her Glacier Nordic Club competition coach Jennie Bender gave her prior to the race. After the second hill, she would not tuck and instead double pole through the flat section to get an edge on the other racers. It worked, as the other skiers went to tuck while Ingelfinger pushed hard.

“I was barely in the lead by the top of the hill…” Ingelfinger recalled. “I kept double poling over that and the girls to my sides started tucking so I gained some really vital ground on that.”

Then it was one technical turn and into the downhill to the finish line. In the last moment of the race, she lunged forward over the line to nab the second-place result with two girls finishing tenths of a second behind her.

Though the result was unexpected for Ingelfinger and the Glacier Nordic team, her coach is sure this is just the beginning for the promising young skier.

“It was very exciting to see Maeve experience a huge breakthrough moment in her career as an athlete,” Bender said. “You have not heard the last from Maeve, this is just the beginning.”

Ingelfinger went into the season feeling strong, but not realizing she could be competitive at the national level. She says her coaches helped prepare her physically as well as help develop her mental game for race days.

Throughout the competitive season, Ingelfinger didn’t podium but raced well. In the last two Junior National Qualifiers, she earned the results needed to qualify for the national championships. It had been a goal of hers that she fell short of two years ago, and she was excited for the opportunity this year.

Ingelfinger felt prior to her performance at nationals that she was a better skate skier, but now thinks she’s equally competitive in the skate or classic style races.

“The classic (race) days actually really surprised me, but I think I'm about equal (in both styles) now.”

She says her favorite event is probably the skate sprint, but thinks they are all fun and challenging. Ingelfinger enjoys cross country skiing more than other racing activities, like running for instance, because it is easier on her body as it’s gliding versus pounding the pavement. And the technical skills needed to ski well keep it stimulating.

“It's a full-body sport,” she says. “It's really fun — course conditions and technicalities make the races way more interesting I think than cross country or track.”

Ingelfinger first got into the sport as a little girl going out for snowy adventures with her family. It started out real casual, even after she moved to Whitefish and joined the Glacier Nordic Club at age 10. At first, it was a place to have fun with her friends — which it still is — but the team was also able to help her fulfill more competitive ambitions.

“Eventually when I was ready to push it for the next level, they pushed it with me,” Ingelfinger said. “That was really helpful and they're a great club.”

Nordic skiing is her highest priority when it comes to extracurricular activities, but she is a well-rounded young woman. Ingelfinger also competes in high school track and field, soccer and cross country. In school she is interested in science and as part of the Freeflow Club, she can combine her love of the outdoors with her interest in science.

She loves doing everything outdoors, including downhill skiing, rock climbing, hiking and many more hobbies. She is close with her family, her parents and brother, and they adventure together often.

“They’re the main reason that I got into it (outdoor recreation) because they just exposed me to all this cool stuff at a young age and kept building it with me,” she said.

As the Nordic ski season concludes, Ingelfinger is looking ahead to track meets for the immediate future. But come summertime she says she will refocus on offseason training with the Glacier Nordic Club and keep her eye on another shot at Junior Nationals next year.