Skiing to Seward
February 6, 2020
Recently, the Seward High Nordic Ski Team hosted their annual meet. Seven teams, including Homer, Soldotna, Grace, Palmer, Valdez and Kenai Central, came together to tackle the hilly, technical course at Mile 12. Spectators lined the course, consisting of parents, teammates, coaches, and supporters from the community.
The SHS Nordic Ski Team has only had a month of skiing on snow due to poor winter conditions, but they still showed off their talent this weekend at the meet. Coach Cureton sent all of his returning skiers into the JV races to get a taste of the competition for this year, while starting his brand new skiers in the community race.
Cody Bryden, Clay Petersen, Sam Paperman, and Gavin Foote competed in the men’s junior varsity, while Alexi Walker and Belladonna Proietti raced in the women’s JV. Cody tied in 10th place with a respectful time of 18:26, with Clay shortly behind him.
Last weekend, the ski team traveled to Homer on January 31st and February 1st, to attack one of the most difficult courses of the season that includes a 1-kilometer uphill. Fridays’ conditions were perfect for Clay Petersen to get 13th in the classic ski race. On Saturday, after a long cold night, conditions changed. The extreme cold and low humidity created large crystals on the snow making it extremely slow for all the racers. Alexi Walker decided to put that behind her, and in doing so, had a great skate race even with a broken ski pole.
Thursday after school, the nordic team will be leaving for the Region competition at Government peak near Palmer. In order to race at state, skiers must compete at this race and meet coach requirements. February 15th will be the last race of the season at Kenai for everyone who doesn’t qualify for state. The following weekend will be state, happening at the Kincaid Trails in Anchorage. These races will consist of the top skiers from across the state.
