DULUTH— The relatively young Ely boys Nordic ski team showed once again that it’s a potential powerhouse down the road as it placed six skiers in the top 20 in a field of 76 racers at the Duluth East Invite held here last Thursday, Feb. 1.
Juniors Dylan Durkin and Silas Solum essentially tied for seventh place with combined pursuit times of 27:05. Freshman Aksel Skustad was right behind in ninth place with a time of 27:32, while fellow freshman Oliver Hohenstein came in 14th in 28:14. Juniors Milo McClelland and Eli Olson finished 16th and 17th respectively in times of 28:30 and 29:05, while freshman Caleb Larson came in 21st with a time of 29:48.
Those times gave Ely the second-place team finish, behind senior-dominated Duluth East.
On the girls side, Ely senior Ava Skustad finished in 15th place with a time of 32:49, while senior Claire Blauch took 20th with a time of 33:22. As a team, the Ely girls finished in third place behind winners Duluth East and second place Proctor/Hermantown.