Young nationally ranked Nordic skiers from throughout the country are competing this week at the Junior Olympics on the Michigan Tech trails in Houghton. 407 skiers competed in classic races Wednesday, racing distances ranging from 5 to 15 kilometers.
The course is very challenging with many technical turns, climbs and descents. Unusual warm conditions added to the challenge.
The top skiers in today’s events were from the Midwest, Far West, and New England teams. The highest-placed skier on the Great Lakes team, Michaela Harris of Traverse City and Northern Michigan University, finished 32nd in the girls OJ (18 and 19 year old) division. Brendan Baic of Walloon Lake finished 43rd in the boys J2 (14 and 15 year old) division; Mac Brennan of East Jordan finished 66th and Ross Williams of Williamsburg finished 69th in the same race.
Jesse Smith of Traverse City finished 49h in the J1 (16 and 17 years old) boys division. Other J1 skiers from Traverse City included Elliot Putman (67st place), William Ward (75th) and Kyle Endicott (81th).
In the OJ boys race Morgan Weir of Rapid City finished 44th. In the J1 girls race, Traverse City skiers Jessie Hemming and Hannah Ciesla skied to 70th and 77th place, respectively. Emily Westerman of Traverse City finished 63rd in the girls J2 division.
VIDEO OF THE START (2.5 MB AVI)
FULL RESULTS
(PDF)