Durango Nordic Ski Club member Hannah Peterson earned a gold medal against a class group of 76 freestyle skiers from the Western states Feb. 7-8 at the Junior Olympics in Soldier Hollow, Utah.
In what may have been the best performance by a Durango Nordic Club skier in years, Peterson led the field and never looked back. She finished nearly a half minute ahead of her nearest competition, who was a full minute ahead of hers in the 10K event for 16-19 year olds.
“Hannah’s race was awesome,” said head coach Gary Colliander. “To see her ski with the strength and confidence she did this past weekend was really great. She’s worked hard and has checked a lot of her season goals off already, but for her to get her first win was a big step. I hope this boosts her confidence as we head toward the season final in Vail and Junior Nationals in Stowe, Vermont.”
Haakon Sigurslid nearly made it double gold for Durango in the classic sprint races. He won the U18-U20 qualifier by an unlikely three seconds over the 106-strong field but lost the final by a toenail, settling for silver. The sprint course was lengthened to 1.5K from the historical 1.0K and involved a climb and downhill for racers of all ages. Peterson finished fifth in the same event for women.
“Haakon has been getting stronger and stronger over the past two weekend ... winning his sprint qualifier by nearly three seconds was testament to his strength in this discipline and watching him work through the rounds and have it come down to a lunge for the line in the finals was so exciting for everyone to watch,” Colliander said.
“What has also been almost more impressive is his improvement in distance racing. He’s shown that he is more balanced between sprint and distance events.”
Sigurslid finished 10th in the 15K freestyle.
Many other DNSC skiers posted impressive results as well in these unofficial Western states championships.
Kiri May beat the other U8 girl both days and added to her pile of gold.
U12 Wiley Corra garnered silver in the classic and bronze in the free.
U12 Jordan Taylor took bronze in the classic while U10 Ruby May skated to bronze.
Other top five finishers include: Anna Fake with a fourth in the U16 sprint (82 competitors), U12 Ethan Craig with fourths (of 39) both days and U8 Halle Logan who was fifth both days.
One of the brightest spots for Coach Colliander was the performance of his U16 women. Katja Freeburn (eighth/10th), Anna Fake (fourth, 12th), Marit May (11th/15th) and Maggie Wigton (12th/16th) made up the second-fastest U16 women’s contingent of the 47 teams at the meet. These four were topped only by Steamboat Springs.
Excellent performances also were turned in by freestylers Avra Saslow (21st) and Abe Ott (26th), who continue to make their case for inclusion on the Junior National team.
Other skiers who improved in this meet where 635 athletes participated were: U8 Carter Taylor (sixth both days), U12s Logan Moore (11th/10th), Georgia Mynatt (16th/20th), Ruthie Holcomb (17th free), Paul Knight (19th/26th), Cece Compton (41st/40th), Carmen Hall (42nd both days), Alma Wolf (53rd, 61st), U14 Cobe Freeburn (26th/33rd), U16 Dylan Williamson (65th/52nd), U18s Charlie Greenberg (45th/36th) and Gordon Giannini (73rd/55th).
The next and last Junior Nationals Qualifier will be held in Vail on Feb. 21 and 22. The Junior National team will be announced at the end of the competition.
