COLERAINE— Timberwolves skiers lodged a solid performance here in their opening meet of the young season. Skiing at Mt. Itasca against an eight-team field, the Ely girls squad took second to powerhouse Duluth East, while the boys finished in third place behind Duluth East and Mesabi East.
Longtime Ely standout Zoe Devine, now skiing in her senior year, took second among 47 racers, finishing the 5.2 kilometer course in a time of 16:45.4. Ely junior Claire Blauch finished in 11th place with a time of 18:16.3. Fellow junior Ava Skustad took 16th with a time of 19:00.2.
For the boys, sophomore Dylan Durkin led the field for Ely, finishing in ninth place with a time of 16:24.4. Fellow sophomores Silas Solum and Eli Olson finished in twelfth and sixteenth respectively, with times of 16:48.8 and 17:30.9.
The Wolves now head into the holiday break, although they have scheduled a team mini camp at Giants Ridge from Dec. 28-30.
They’ll be back in competition on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at the Cloquet Invite, with a 4 p.m. start time.