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Durango nordic skiers among winners in Steamboat Springs

May leads team with two gold medals while others shine in Steamboat

The Durango Nordic Ski Club athletes raced to several personal bests over the weekend of Jan. 22-23 at the Colorado University Invitational hosted by Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club, but it was the youngest competitor who made the most noise.

While many good performances highlighted the trip, it was Kiri May who stole the show in the U10/U8 girls division. May came away with two gold medals as she won Saturday and Sunday races in her age group.

“I was really excited to see our younger skiers do so well,” assistant coach Paige Elliott wrote in an email to The Durango Herald. “Many of them sported face paint or glitter and spent the time they weren’t racing cheering for their teammates. They know how to race hard and have a ton of fun.”

May closed out Saturday’s race schedule with the team’s only gold medal performance.

Saturday’s action began with a chilly fog that complicated an already challenging venue. College skiers through U16 females were the first to set off on the freestyle 5-kilometer course. Durango Nordic’s first finisher was Maggie Wigton, who finished in 11th place for the U18 girls. Katja Freeburn was close behind in 12th, and Marit May finished 15th.

For the U16 girls, Carter Reiter finished 16th, Cecilia Compton was 19th and Carmen Hall crossed the line 23rd.

After two laps around the course in the U20 boys race, Durango Nordic’s Abe Ott came in sixth place. Cobe Freeburn took seventh in the U16 5K, which was the best finish he has had this season. Luke Tichi also raced in the U16 race and came in 27th.

Durango’s U14 boys had a great race, as Wiley Corra grabbed a silver medal with a second place finish and Logan Moore finished in third right behind him to take bronze. Fred Reiter was solid in his race and took eighth in the U12 males.

In the U14 female class, Georgia Mynatt finished eighth, Jordan Taylor was 13th and Ruth Holcomb was 14th. Logan Moore’s sister, Halle Moore, added another bronze medal for the family as she finished third in the U12 race. Carter Taylor also finished in fourth and Ruby May claimed 11th.

The weekend in Steamboat was second Junior National Qualifier of the season and featured races for both junior skiers and athletes from western colleges.

“It’s always fun to ski with the college kids because they act as good inspiration,” head coach Gary Colliander said in an email to The Herald. “They give our kids an idea of what options they have to continue skiing after high school.”

Sunday saw some major improvements for Durango and more of the same from Kiri May.

Katja Freeburn earned a silver medal in the Sunday’s U18 race while Wigton improved to seventh, and Marit May came in 11th.

Corra added a silver medal in the U14 males race and three of Durango’s girls finished in the top ten of the U14 females race as Mynatt took sixth, Holcomb was seventh and Jordan Taylor finished 10th.

Building on an already successful day, Fred Reiter raced a personal best sixth in Sunday’s U12 males competition. Halle Moore pocketed another bronze in the U12 females race, as Carter Taylor finished close behind taking fourth.

Kiri May closed out the week in style for Durango with a final push in the U10/U8 1K race that catapulted her to the top of the podium once again.

heraldsports@durangoherald.com



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