Nordic skiers head to Cable

On a weekend that brought some much-needed snow to northern Wisconsin, several members of the Hodag Nordic Ski Team traveled to Cable to compete in a race that was a late addition to its schedule thanks to Mother Nature’s fickle behavior early on this winter.

The team competed in the Seeley Hills Classic at the American Birkebeiner Trailhead in Cable. For a second straight year a lack of snow forced the annual citizen’s jaunt from Cable to Seeley to a loop of man-made snow at the Birkie start, and race organizers added high school and middle school races to the program to make up for a number of Wisconsin Nordic Ski League events that had been canceled early in the season. 

Saturday’s races featured a five-kilometer loop for high schoolers and a 2.5-kilometer loop for middle school skiers in the classic technique. The Hodags had 13 skiers compete on Saturday and then had six skiers stick around Sunday for a skate technique race around a similar course. 

“Oh, it was fantastic to be able to come to a venue that had enough snow to be able to have the athletes ski with their proper technique  and put all their abilities together, both the Saturday and Sunday,” coach John Gillen said. “We had a bigger group of skiers on Saturday for a classic race in, which they haven’t been able to ski that technique much this season. They really put in a great effort from high school to middle school. Similarly, today with the six athletes who raced a skate race in softer snow, but awesome to have today.”

The Hodag high school squads garnered a pair of top-10 finishes during Saturday’s classic race. Sophomore Kayla Skubal paced the Hodags girls, taking eighth overall in a field of 20 skiers with a time of 19 minutes, 21 seconds. Senior Iain Rumney led the Hodag boys, coming home 10th in a field of 30 at 15:07.

“Really good to have a No. 8 finish with Kayla and Ian with a top 10, was really nice to see again for classic skiers that haven’t been able to ski much this season,” coach Gillen noted.

Jonathan Calhoun (24th, 17:06) and Aaron Calhoun (25th, 17:16) rounded out the boys’ contingent on Saturday. Mya Gillen was 17th (22:28) and Emma Mankus finished 20th (33:05) for the Hodag girls. 

The high school squad had only two skiers compete Sunday. Gillen was 17th in the skate race (24:17) while Mankus finished 20th (31:23).

In middle school action, eighth-grader Noelle Mayo scored the team’s lone podium finish, placing sixth in Saturday’s classic race (13:16). Kelsie Skubal (eighth, 13:58) and Pearl Calhoun (ninth, 14:12) also recorded top-10 finishes for the Hodags while Evelyn MacFarland finished 13th (16:04). 

Sam Loomis led the Hodag boys (13th, 13:01), followed closely by teammate Jacob MacFarland (14th, 13:02). Alexander Rusch finished 19th (16:13). 

On Sunday, Mayo narrowly missed reaching the podium again, taking seventh in the girls’ race (14:00), finishing only fractions of a second behind Chippewa Valley Nordic’s Veronica Molback for the sixth and final podium spot. Evelyn MacFarland finished 20th (17:40). Jacob MacFarland paced the Hodag boys Sunday (12th, 12:29), followed by Loomis (14th, 13:07).

While most of the Northwoods received at least 3 inches of snow from a storm system that pushed through Saturday night and Sunday, the Hodags’ schedule is still in flux. The snow came too late to save the Hodag Nordic Challenge, which was slated for this coming weekend at the Cedric A. Vig Outdoor Classroom in Rhinelander, but was canceled earlier this month due to a bleak snow forecast. The Great Lakes Junior National Qualifier race that was slated to take place in conjunction with the high school races at CAVOC was moved to the Ariens Nordic Center in Brillion.

The next scheduled race on the Hodags’ calendar is the Northern Conference meet back at the Birkie Trailhead in Cable Jan. 28, though Gillen indicated the team my look to find another race in the interim.

“We’re going to try to see what they can what we can put together in the league for races, wherever we’ve gotten snow now and add a race or two between now and when we come back here to Cable for our conference race,” he said.