February 19, 2016 at 4:41 p.m.
Middle school skiers fare well at state sprints
Middle school skiers fare well at state sprints
By By Jim Wood-
The skate relay race took place Saturday with three-skier teams competing head-to-head. On the girls' side, several Hodags made the podium. Eighth-grader Jenna Younker, along with her relay team, earned second place in this fast-paced event. Jenna's relay team included two other athletes from Bay Nordic out of Green Bay. Rhinelander Middle School did not have enough athletes present to form enough three-person teams to complete a Rhinelander team for Jenna. A second Hodag team made up of fifth-grader Gracie Kern, seventh-grader Gwyneth Lowry and sixth-grader Anna Wood, just missed the podium with a fourth-place finish.
The Hodag boys also had a strong showing on Saturday. Eighth-grader Breckin Younker and fifth-grader Jett Biolo combined with an eight-grade skier from Hayward to finish third overall. Even with the mixed teams being formed for some of the Hodag skiers, they all held their ground in this exciting race format to help their respective teams place in the top three.
Sunday's race was a classic style individual 1K sprint race. All but two of the Hodag skiers made it through the qualification rounds and into the semifinal races. From the semifinals, the middle school girls advanced two skiers, Wood and Jenna Younker to the B-Final race. They finished seventh and eighth respectively. On the boys side, Jett Biolo advanced to the B-Final race and placed 10th. Breckin Younker advanced out of the semifinals in fourth-place to earn a spot in the A-Final premiere race where he finished eighth in a very strong field of skiers.
I was really impressed with the effort on both the athletes and their families that traveled Madison to provide this opportunity to our young skiers. This was a great building block for these athletes to compete against the best skiers in their age groups from around the state.
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