PROCTOR— A pre-season poll of Minnesota cross-country ski coaches ranked the Ely boys Nordic team as the fifth strongest in the state. In their season-opening meet held Dec. 10 in Proctor, the Wolves showed the coaches weren’t far off the mark as they gave second-ranked Duluth East all they could handle, finishing three skiers in the top six in a competitive field of 46 racers. Duluth East took the top three spots, but Ely senior Dylan Durkin finished in fourth with a time of 11:53. Sophomore Aksel Skustad was right behind in fifth with a time of 12:02, while senior Eli Olson took sixth with a time of 12:08. Ely junior Otto Devine finished 11th with a time of 12:53 and senior Milo McClelland finished 16th in 13:04.
Duluth East took the meet as a team with 484 points, with Ely close behind with 465 points, far ahead of third-place finishing Cloquet-Esko-Carlton with 415 points.
The Ely girls squad faced a tougher road in a three-way competition with Duluth East and Duluth Marshall. Senior Anna Dunn was the top Ely finisher, in 16th place in a time of 15:05, while senior Anna Larson finished 23rd in a time of 16:35.
The Wolves were set to compete in Grand Rapids on Thursday, after the Timberjay’s weekly deadline. Look for coverage in the Timberjay’s Dec. 27 edition if results are available as of the newspaper’s early holiday deadline. The Wolves will be off over the holidays and return to action in January.