Vail Mountain School skier sweeps Colorado High School Ski League classic and skate races at Snow Mountain Ranch

Vail Mountain School skier Isla Elton swept the 3.5-kilometer classic and 4.7-kilometer skate races at Snow Mountain Ranch on Friday during the second weekend of Colorado High School Ski League competition. Elton nipped Nederland’s Kajsa Wik — who won the season opener at Gold Run a week prior — by one second in the morning classic race, completing the course in 12 minutes, 28.33 seconds. Her afternoon victory was a bit more dominant. Elton was the only athlete to break 14 minutes, coming through 26 seconds ahead of Wik to take the title.

Teams contested a wave start classic race in the morning, with five athletes leaving in 30-second intervals starting at 10 a.m. The skate race, an individual start, began at 1:30 p.m.

Lake County topped the 12-team field in the classic event, but Summit edged the defending state champions by one point in the skate race. Battle Mountain was third in both races for girls while the boys placed eighth.

“We have many new skiers who did their first skate ski race and first double race,” stated Huskies coach Lisa Isom, who had numerous athletes come within seconds of the state-qualifying cut.

“So, we hope to see our state roster get even bigger in the next couple of weeks,” she continued. “Cold and windy, but the kids just keep working to improve each week. We love having some new skiers in the mix with our veterans.”

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Battle Mountain already officially qualified eight athletes for the state meet, which is at Maloit Park on Feb. 20-21. Eden DeMino led the Huskies with a ninth-place classic finish and a 12th in the skate. Gabe Dozois was the top Husky athlete in both boys races.

In addition to Elton’s victories, Vail Mountain School also put together a nice showing on the boys side with Teddy Brunner taking second and Tyler Ciluzzi placing fifth in the classic race. Brunner followed that up with a bronze in the skate race.

The Eagle Valley boys continued their season-long battle with defending state champion Summit. The Devils finished second as a team behind the Tigers in both classic and skate team competitions for the second-straight week.

“The boys are locked in each day,” head coach Paul Steiner stated. “Oftentimes the challenge lies in convincing talent to go to the well — luckily, it’s not an issue for us.”

Jonah Barber and Tyler Blair posted top-10s in both races, with Barber’s bronze highlighting the classic and Blair’s fifth leading the way in the skate. Levi Daly scored for the first time as the team’s fourth skier.

“It is great to see him coming into his own,” Steiner said of Daly, who sat out the entire 2024-25 season because of a surgery. “He has been skiing with a mission right out of the shoot.”

Cayle Brummer and Dylan Milam are both knocking on the state-qualifying door as well.

“They are seizing their opportunities,” Steiner said.

Eva Klesner led the Devils in both classic and skate races. The sophomore posted a pair of state-qualifying performances, including a 22nd-place finish in the skate race. Steiner said Klesner “isn’t afraid to go to the well.”

“(She) continues to develop both her technique and mental toughness,” the coach continued. “One of the biggest points of pride is how she’s been conducting herself at practice and embracing our situation. She’s making the most of it.”

Hailey Ehman finished inside the state cut-off with her 32nd in the skate race and was one spot out in the classic race as the Devils’ second skier. Tovah Pollack was the team’s third finisher as freshmen Mia Whirley and Nina Hesseltine continue to vie for the fourth and final spot.

“They’re having healthy and fun competition with each other,” Steiner added. “The support the girls have for one another is great and what we’re all about. They are flying the flag in a genuine way.”

The Nordic circuit travels to the Steamboat Springs Touring Center for a classic race on Jan. 24.

Vail Mountain School leads Alpine skiers in Aspen

Vail Mountain School put three athletes into the top-12 in the giant slalom in Aspen on Jan. 16. Sophomore Colin Kanada placed fourth overall to lead the Rangers to a third-place team finish, with freshman Peter Mennen coming through in eighth and senior Carter Pierce rounding out the scoring in 12th.

Aspen’s Joshua Stephen won the individual title with a two-run time of 1:11.47, about 1.5 seconds ahead of runner up Soren Shepherd of Steamboat Springs. Aspen scored 171 points to take the team title as well, with the Sailors finishing three points back in second. Battle Mountain came through in fourth, led by freshman Aksel Ulvestad’s 10th-place finish. Tage TerBush led Eagle Valley to a sixth-place finish by securing another top-20 individual result.

On the girls side, Vail Mountain’s Gracie Cohn led all local skiers with a fourth-place finish. Battle Mountain finished third as a team, with Eleanor Armistead and Savannah Thomas both skiing into the top 10. Aspen swept the podium and had four skiers in the top 6, with Ava Somers taking the top spot to lead the Skiers to the team crown.