Adam Figgins, Nederland. An onslaught of snow followed the 2019 skiing state championships in Durango at Purgatory.

Alpine Skiing

For the Eldora trained, state renowned Alpine team, the 2018-2019 season was one of success, fun, camaraderie and hard work. Nederland’s alpine skiers competed at top levels throughout the season and continued to impress at the state competition. Nederland boys placed first as a team in Slalom and Giant Slalom in their league, just as they had been doing throughout the season.

The Nederland girls performed excellently as well and placed second in their league for Slalom. Coach Waldman says, “State was an excellent competition and the amount of awards Nederland earned was truly inspiring.” Coach Sam said, “Everyone skied well despite the conditions,” which is important to note considering snow was falling at greater than one inch per hour during the Giant Slalom events.

Skiers pulled their weight in the mornings, and on one especially snowy night, by helping shovel the bus and shuttle out of deep snow. “The team showed great sportsmanship as well,” said coach Sundermeyer about the highly respectful team. Nederland skiers also performed well individually. Emily Creek placed sixth individually for the girls’ Giant Slalom race, Anna Katnik took 20th for girls’ Giant Slalom. Michaela Thompson placed 16th individually in Slalom. For the boys, Talus Lantz placed fifth in boys’ Slalom, Max Lynch placed ninth, and Reece Titus placed 13th.

Nordic Skiing

Coach Keegan Harris and the Nederland Nordic team also made the trip to Durango to participate in an extremely competitive field of skiers from all over Colorado. Four graduating seniors participated in the Nordic races, and three of Nederland’s five Skimeisters participated in the Nordic Races. The Nordic racers had a great set of races in Durango as Eldora prepared them for the hills they faced while at the championships. Coach Keegan says, “The athletes were all focused on being there for each other.”

Whether it was the Nordic athletes skating up to the Slalom course, or alpine athletes hiking down to the Nordic course, Nederland athletes demonstrated great teamwork and sportsmanship. Nederland seniors finished their last set of high school skiing races in Durango as well. Adam Figgins, Arianna McCue, Adler Mueller, Scout Edmondson and Wesley Nation will all be graduating in May. Helen Cross says, “State was very interesting with all the snow, and overall, the team got to have a lot of fun experiences together.” Helen Cross placed 43rd in the classic race and 51st in skate, Helen will be a senior next year. Bella Lynch also performed very well and placed 57th in classic skiing and 38th in Skate skiing. For the boys’ team, Scout Edmondson, Adler Mueller and Adam Figgins finished 57th, 60th and 63rd respectively for classic skiing. As for the Skate race, Scout finished 66th.

Skimeisters

The effort of Nederland’s Skimeisters is a marvel every year. This year, Nederland had six Skimeisters, all of which raced at state. Arianna McCue raced in all four events and this was her first year Nordic skiing. Bella Lynch, a freshman, also raced in all four events and placed fifth for the girls’ Skimeister competition. Townes Bakke is also a freshman and raced in the alpine events this year. Hatcher Edmondson, a sophomore, raced in the alpine events as well. Scout Edmondson, a senior, had his final race for high school in Durango and placed fourth for the boys’ Skimeister competition. Adler Mueller is also a senior who competed in the alpine events and classic skiing.

Special Thanks

I would like to personally thank Kristen Bergeson, Scott Bakke, Nederland Administration, Parents, Keegan Harris, Kim Sundermeyer, Seth Waldman, the Lynch Family, Shawn Edmondson and Tracy Ross, Arthur Nelson, Sam Powell, Mariah Colton, John Scarffe, Barb Hardt and everyone who was committed to the success of the Nederland ski teams.

For a list of all State Championship results, please check out https://chsaanow.com/2019-02-21/results-2019-state-skiing-championships-durango/

(Photos by Scott Bakke)

(Originally published in the March 7, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)