Photo: MPHS Nordic Team Seniors (L>R): Vinny Troccoli, Selena Stoncius, Avery Mutch (team manager), Emily Deplata, Kimo Sullivan. Not pictured: Sebastian Brower.  Photo by Shawna Deplata

Last week, Middle Park High School Alpine and Nordic Teams hosted their home meets at Winter Park Resort and Snow Mountain Ranch.

On Thursday, the boys Alpine team took first place, with racers James Briggs (1st), Zach Niedzwiecki (3rd); and Nate Myers (10th) securing spots in slalom for state. 

The girls Alpine team placed second and Ella Wiser (2nd); Bethanne Droll (5th); Sofia Olsson (7th) and Ryley Hofsetz (21st) all qualified for state slalom.

Middle Park boys take two first place finishes in home meet at Snow Mountain Ranch

Following the lead of Kimo Sullivan, who earned first-place and third-place finishes, the Middle Park High School boys Nordic ski team won its two home races Saturday at Snow Mountain Ranch.

The races took place on a near-perfect day with excellent snow conditions and a well-run race put on by scores of enthusiastic local volunteers and coaches.

Top finishes in classic race

The Panther boys took first place in the classic-technique race, besting second place Steamboat Springs and third place Aspen.

Sullivan was the top Panther skier in the classic race, finishing in 3rd place with a time of 10:06 and 23 seconds behind first place. The next Panther skier was Sebastian Brower with a 5th place finish (10:15) and Alex Holinka in 9th place (10:39).

The Panther boys continued to do well in the standings, with the following finishers, the first five of which finished almost together: Gray Barker, 13th (10:55); Guy Granger, 15th (10:59); Ethan Callarman, 16th (11); Vinny Troccoli, 17th (11:02); Graydon Walker, 18th (11:04); Chance Hein, 57th (12:54); Will Kuhns, 63rd (13:11); Andy Troccoli, 64th (13:12); Ewan Gallagher, 83rd (13:45); Calvin Ciccarelli, 93rd (13:53); Kyle Vogelbacher, 98th (14:05); and Jack Nesvara, 154th (21:03).

“I think it’s great to note that eight of the top 18 skiers in the classic race, out of 161, were from Middle Park,” said head coach Dan Jamison. “That’s great team skiing.”

Kimo Sullivan at the start of the 5K Skate race, placing first and winning by nearly 4 seconds. Photo by Maire Sullivan

Sullivan wins the skate race

The Panthers skied strong in the skate race in the afternoon following the classic event. Kimo Sullivan was first overall with a time of 12:56. Next in line for the Panthers was Alex Holinka, 5th (13:03); Sebastian Brower, 7th (13:13); and Graydon Walker, 12th (13:34).

The Panther boys continued to dominate the top places with the following finishes: Vinny Troccoli, 16th (13:55); Ethan Callarman, 26th (14:31); Guy Granger, 27th (14:32); Gray Barker, 332rd (14:44); Will Kuhns, 64th (16:08); Ewan Gallagher, 83rd (17); Kyle Vogelbacher, 87th (17:13); Chance Hein, 88th (17:14); Andy Troccoli, 90th (17:24); Calvin Ciccarelli (105th (18:03); and Jack Nesvara, 147th (24:37).

A total of 154 boys and 13 teams competed in the skate race.

Panther girls take 4th in home skate race

The girls skied hard in an effort to maintain top positions in the two races Saturday. They took 4th place against 14 other teams in the skate race.

Sylvia Brower was the top skier, taking 5th place with a time of 15:39, 22 second behind the winter, Izzy Glackin of Vail Mountain School.

Other top finishers for Middle Park were: Elizabeth Hammond, 11th (16:11); Maggie Barker, 39th (18:40); Gabrielle Pellini, 56th (20:03); Selena Stoncius, 60th (20:17); Ellen Osborne, 61st (20:21); and Sierra Jamison, 67th (20:36).

A total of 115 girls and 13 teams vied in the skate race.

The girls also finished third place in the classic race in the morning, right behind Aspen and Battle Mountain.

Freshman Sylvia Brower put in a strong performance, taking 3rd place overall with a time of 11:58, 20 seconds behind the winner, Lola Villafranco of Colorado Rocky Mountain School.

Other top Panther skiers were Elizabeth Hammond in 16th place with a time of 13:10 and Maggie Barker in 30th place with a time of 14:20.

The rest of the Panther team helped bring in the points: Gabrielle Pellini, 36th (14:53); Ellen Osborne, 48th (15:33); Emily DePlata, 50th (15:43); Selena Stoncius, 56th (16:05); Sierra Jamison, 67th (16:47).

To total 121 skiers and 13 different teams competed in the classic race for the girls.

This was the final Home Race for seniors Emily Deplata, Kimo Sullivan, Sebastian Brower, Selena Stoncius, Vinny Troccoli and Team Manager Avery Mutch.

For the season, heading into the last regular season meet in Aspen on Saturday (skate race), the Panther boys are in a close race for first place. The girls are also near the top of the league rankings.

East Grand Middle School Nordic team Boys take first place at home meet

The East Grand Middle School boys Nordic ski team took first place at its home meet last Saturday at Snow Mountain Ranch.

The girls team took a third place finish.

Dane Jensen was the top East Grand skier, finishing the 3.5-K classic course in 13 minutes and taking second place. The next East Grand skier was Kadin Starr, who came in 3rd place with a time of 13:22. David Hammond of East Grand was next in 4th place with a time of 13:37.

Other boys for East Grand finished well: Carter Chamberlain, 7th (14:19); Russell Pellini (11th (15:14); Logan Walker, 12th (15:39); Samuel Zieschang, 14th (16:09); Michael McCay (18th (16:54); Patrick McCay, 20th (17:14); Colvin Villup, 28th (18:54); Braden Burns, 33rd (20:47); Peyton Burns, 34th (21:09); Franklin Stine, 37th (23:14); and Egan Osborne, 38th (24:20).

For the East Grand girls Anna Lantermans was the top skier, taking 6th place with a time of 16:07. Next for East Grand was Paige Vecchiarelli, 12th (19:38); Haley Miller, 14th (19:49); Lena Moss, 15th (21:53); Sabra Forquer, 16th (22:01); Reese Kervin, 19th (23:34); and Kaylee Hoover, 20th (25:05).

The middle school team finishes its season with a meet in Aspen on Saturday in the skating (freestyle) technique.