May 5, 2022 at 7:22 a.m.
Hodag Alpine announces year-end awards
Hodag Alpine announces year-end awards
The team presented most valuable and most improved award in most disciplines. Junior Max Durkee swept both awards in boys' snowboarding. AJ Gillespie and McKenna Nash were named the team's most valuable skiers. Lukas Bishop and Maddie Ewan were named the team's most improved skiers. Nicole Long, the lone girls' snowboarder on the team, also took home MVP honors.
Durkee won three meets and placed second in another as he won the individual Northern Conference title. Despite a mishap in giant slalom, Durkee led the boys' snowboarders at WIARA state meet.
Durkee finished fourth in the conference and 36th at state in 2021, and coach Rod Olson said making the move up to a faster, more competitive snowboard was the basis for Durkee sweeping both awards this season.
"He had to completely learn a new side of snowboard, going to a hard board, a straight board," Olson said during Sunday's banquet. "It's not at all like the road he has spent all that time on. It demanded a ton of extra time. Every time I was at (Ski) Brule, he was there, and as well at Granite Peak. And it showed in the state ranks, considerably."
Gillespie assumed the No. 1 role on the boys' ski team this winter following the graduation of Ty Springer and Patrick Stemper. Gillespie finished third in the conference standings, up from seventh in 2021 and finished 97th at the state meet. In addition to the most valuable award, Gillespie also won the Coaches' Award.
"He was really instrumental in a lot of the young skiers' development, being emotionally intelligent about what was going on with people, talking to us outside team events. Just a lot of focus," Olson said.
Nash was the lone state qualifier for the RHS girls' ski team, placing ninth in the individual Northern Conference standings to earn a spot in La Crosse. Hampered by a foot injury, Nash finished 103rd at state.
"She was just solid all year long, unwavering in mental toughness and able to handle much more than her own skiing and performance," Olson noted.
Long, a sophomore, put up solid numbers despite being the lone member of the Hodag girls' snowboard team. She finished second in the conference standings, placing second in three straight meets before taking the conference finale at Granite Peak. Long finished 21st in her WIARA state debut.
"She's a lot of fun. She's got a lot of moves," Olson said. "She found out what it's all about this year and I think things will go great. Not only the most valuable, but most crucial member of the girls' snowboard team (to) get some ladies out there with her."
Olson noted the coaching staff factored in performance in races, in practice and in the weight room, along with attitude and leadership when determining the most improved awards. Bishop improved five spots in the Northern Conference boys' ski rankings this winter, finishing 16th. Ewan was 22nd in the girls' ski standings, up from 28th in 2021.
Additionally Nash, Gillespie and Durkee were also honored as team captains. The team also presented 18 varsity letters during the banquet. To win a letter, athletes were required to compete on varsity in at least half of the team's events.
The Hodags had a successful season overall. The team won the Northern Conference boys' skiing and snowboarding titles and had individual state qualifiers in both disciplines on the girls' side.
"We had another good year, performance-wise," Olson said. "We hope to keep going next year with the boys' teams. The girls' teams were going to have to rebuild the numbers ... but we're hoping to get out there and generate some more interest."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
WEATHER SPONSORED BY
E-Editions
Latest News
E-Editions
Events
August
To Submit an Event Sign in first
Today's Events
No calendar events have been scheduled for today.
Comments:
You must login to comment.