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SHS skiing opens season at Loveland

Janice Kurbjun
summit daily news
Summit Daily/Janice Kurbjun
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Up against the tough Evergreen team, several Summit High alpine skiers still managed to qualify for state at the season opener at Loveland Ski Area.

State qualifiers finish in the top third of the racing field.

On the boys side, Daniel McFadden cruised to second overall behind defending state champion Jake Bender, from the Evergreen team. McFadden was a hefty 1.44 seconds behind Bender after the first run, but maintained his second place spot in the second run. Conditions were sunny and relatively warm, at about 25 degrees on the Loveland Valley course.



Meanwhile, team captain Lucas Michieli qualified for state after keeping his status after a ninth-place finish in his first run. Ryan Wignall also maintained his position to qualify while several others were on the cusp. Official results weren’t available to verify their status.

“(Fretz and Bilenduke) had great second runs,” coach Karl Barth said. “This was a good meet, especially for the boys.”



On the girls’ side, Katy Harris bumped herself from third place (behind by just 8 hundredths of a second) after her first run to first place overall in the Loveland race.

Ellie Brown-Wolf raced from 15th to 11th overall, and Nicole Wagner was on the fringe of qualifying after finishing 17th in her first run.

“It was a tough field to qualify in because it was pretty stacked,” Barth said. “There were some good girls there.”

First-ever racers Kylie Berget and Clair MacMurray didn’t place, but put in good efforts for first-timers, the coach said.

Beating Evergreen – a team comprised of the stacked Jefferson County schools – was a wish for the coaches, but did not become a reality Friday. Also attending Friday’s race were Platte Valley, Lake County and Nederland.

“It was good everyone finished,” assistant coach Tommy Gogolen said, to which Barth added, “They skied smart.”


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