Hodag Nordic competes at state sprints

The Hodag Nordic Ski team had some team and individual successes last weekend at the Wisconsin Nordic Ski League’s State Sprint Championship held at the Ariens Nordic Center in Brillion.

Overall for the weekend the high school boys placed 10th out of 14 teams, the high school girls were 11th of 13, the middle school boys were sixth out of 10 and the middle school girls were fifth out of 12.

The meet consisted of two full days of racing, with freestyle relay sprints held Saturday, Jan. 31 and individual classic sprints held Sunday, Feb. 1. 

“It was a really good weekend,” coach John Gillen said. “I think all of our racers were really happy, both days. The team sprints yesterday, the freestyle event seemed like lots of energy, and then, of course, today with the classic individual, from those who were at the bottom right on up to the top, I think they were really pleased with how they raced, and I was super happy with all their energy and placing today.”

On Saturday the Hodags partnered up for multi-lap relay races following a 1-kilometer (0.8k for middle schoolers) qualifying lap in the morning. Qualifying set the order for middle school finals and high school semifinals. The Hodags had three pair make the top-flight A Finals in their respective divisions.

On the high school girls’ side, the Hodags’ top relay of senior Kayla Skubal and freshman Noelle Mayo made the A-final and had a chance to race for a state championship. After qualifying 18th overall, they were seeded ninth for their semifinal race, but Skubal held off a late last-lap charge from Iola’s Sophia Bluma to hang on to the sixth and final transfer spot by 1.5 seconds. Skubal and Mayo finished 12th in the main event. 

The teams Jacob MacFarland and Emmett Tuckey, and Pearl Calhoun and Scarlet Hartmann got into the A-final based on morning qualifying and both team finished ninth in their respective middle school boys’ and girls’ A finals.

“The kids to be able to experience that, or re-experience that, kind of energy and that team event and then to reach a finals is really fun and exciting for not only those athletes, but for the whole team,” Gillen said. 

In the high school boys’ division, brothers Aaron and Jonathan Calhoun teamed up for a 21st-place finish in the relays while Bekah Koch and Mya Gillen took 21st in the high school girls’ division. 

Sam Loomis did not have a relay partner, due to the Hodags having an odd number of high school boys, but had an opportunity to partner with Spooner’s David Solveson as they finished 10th in the mixed high school relay.

On the middle school side, brothers Alex and Sam Rusch were 26th and the team of Urban Beuning and Kenny Koch finished 27th in the boys’ race. Evelyn MacFarland and Quinn Williams are 14th in the girls’ division. 

On Sunday, Skiers raced against the clock in the morning, with their qualifying times over a 1.1-kilometer classic loop (0.8-kilometer for middle schoolers) setting the field for later in the day. The top 32 in each division made the knockout rounds while everyone else settled in to eight-skier heats to determine their final position. 

    Rhinelander’s Pearl Calhoun, left, competes in the individual girls’ classic sprint at the WNSL State Sprint Championships in Brillion Sunday, Feb. 1. Calhoun finished eighth in the middle school girls’ division. (Contributed photograph)
  

The Hodags had seven skiers make the knockout stage, including all four middle school girls. Pearl Calhoun scored the best finish of that group, finishing second in her heat to qualify for the A-final, where she came home eighth overall in the state. 

Hartmann (22nd), Evelyn MacFarland (24th) and Williams (30th) also made the knockout rounds on the middle school girls’ side; Jacob MacFarland (20th) and Tuckey (26th) made it for the middle school boys and Skubal (26th) advanced in the high school girls’ division.

“Pearl even fell on a race and it just shows that you just got to get up and go hard and you don’t know what might happen and you just ski hard and see where you come out,” Gillen said. “Kayla skied a really good race, looking somewhere in between the top 16 and 32 of the high school girls.”

Jonathan Calhoun edged brother Aaron in a photo finish in their consolation heat as they finished 45th and 46th, respectively on the high school boys’ side. Loomis placed 61st. 

Mayo (44th), Mya Gillen (52nd) and Bekah Koch (53rd) rounded out the Hodags’ high school girls’ contingent while Alex Rusch (40th), Beuning (50th), Kenny Koch (54th) and Sam Rusch (58th) finished for the Hodag middle school boys.  

The WNSL season concludes this coming Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 7 and 8 with the State Distance Championships at the American Birkebeiner Trailhead in Cable. Saturday’s race will be a classic time trial with a freestyle pursuit on Sunday.