2016 Wisconsin High School Nordic Championship Recap

Telemark, while dormant in so many ways, was a hopping with energy and excitement as over 400 high school and middle school cross country skiers, along with the traveling circus support staff that supports their efforts, came together to lay it all on the line for the 35th edition of the state Nordic championship. Good snow, grooming, organization, and temperatures set the stage for an exciting weekend of racing, and the athletes responded in kind.

The courses this year were variations on a theme with the Telemark Chase Junior National Qualifier in January, and the past three years of the championship being held at Telemark to build on. It was decided that having a two lap event for the high school skiers going 3.3 kilometers and the middle school group running the same course for a single lap to conclude the program. Having a course where the skiers could be seen easily in multiple locations was a benefit of the configuration and that certainly seemed to play well with the crowd.

When all the dust (snow that is) settled, the big name players came through with the headlines.

Lakeland boys had the team title, Ashwaubenon girls dominated, and the most of the predicted names were in the hunt. Mack FitzPatrick established a big lead in the classic event Saturday with a 43 second lead over team mate Will Bodewes. Bodewes came back strong Sunday in the freestyle pursuit, winning that race, but didn't have enough strength to reel in the smooth sailing leader of the pursuit. Abby Jarzin, Ashwaubenon had much the same experience as she bested her teammate and last year's champion, Allisa Niggeman in the skate to bring home the individual title in style as she took a four second lead and stretched it to 40 with a consistently high tempo.

While it's easy to focus on the winners some drama also comes from those further down the list and illustrates the importance of each individuals contribution and effort supporting the team score. On the girls' side, a tie developed between Peak Nordic and Lakeland, 40 points apiece for third place. The bylaws of the coaches association dictate that in such an occurrence the times of the third and fourth place skiers from each team be compared for tie breaking purposes. Lakeland takes third because of the skiing of girls further down the line, those who work just as hard as the top finishers.

If there were any surprises in the weekend, they came from the youngsters. A fairly new club, Wausau United Nordic, had a powerhouse championship as freshman Olivia Dreger took a strong third in the classic and would not relinquish that position, however determined the surges from fourth place Lakelands' Nicole Gilman, and held on for a podium spot. The shocker was when Olivia's support crew, sophomore Anna Buckberger and Ally Swenson, freshman, hung on to 14th and 21st places respectively to take second in the team title to the Ashwaubenon girls. No experience, young, and flying below the radar, these girls are going to be a factor for quite a few years to come.

Looking at the boys and girls results there are now a lot of freshman making an impact, something not as common in the past and certainly what looks to be a trend for the future. Further analysis of the middle school results show the top eight boys to all be 8th graders and the top seven of the girls also, minus the champion, hard skiing 7th grader Mia Case, who skis like an eighth grader. A number of high school coaches are looking forward to next year with anticipation.

If anything jumps out from the results this year, it is that the middle school programs in the state are alive, doing well, and contributing very quickly to the high school teams they feed into. In the past a typical coach would follow a child skier through development, beginning in youth programs, working through elementary and middle school, and then into high school. It's called parenting. Today we see a group of middle school coaches who remain with that age group and refine both their individual skills, and also the skills that are age appropriate, something like a teacher who realizes that accumulated knowledge of a particular grade level can be very specific and unique to that window of development. It could be also that having coaches certification clinics and levels for the past three years in the Midwest is starting to show promise and have recognizable benefits. Wow, maybe there is something to that educational concept paying off. Who'd a thunk.

Another take away from the weekend is that there is a variety of clubs contributing among the athletes in the top twenty in the high school divisions. Sure, this year we had the first two boys and girls from the same teams, but the rest of the field showed a lot of different club colors and those high school clubs had strong middle school programs, and while it didn't show up in results, I'm betting those programs had elementary feeders with experienced and passionate parents and adults. I know I had to meet the groomer Saturday night for a typical way past my bedtime session in the Pisten Bulley dream machine, and found the Sawmill Saloon in Seeley to be a convenient location to hookup. Lo and behold, I found there a coach from one of the smallest school districts in the state chatting up a young lady, “recruiting” for his team, who had a middle school child. Whatever his motivation, he has a team that has fun, skis well, and even has a school administrator who skis with the team on a regular basis. Miracles happen.

I think I see a pattern here. It sounds so simple, but having those adults who are willing to sacrifice their needs, egos, and time lie at the core of our growth. We all have our skiing natures, feeding into past performance, future dreams and goals, and requiring a certain amount of self centered “Me time”, but hats off to all the teams' adults who put their lives on hold, not only this past weekend, but for the season, to share the Nordic racing life with the future of our sport, kids.