GIANTS RIDGE— Longtime Ely standout skier Zoe Devine is having the best season of her impressive high school career, and showed it again here last Saturday as she placed first in a massive field in the freestyle event held as part of the Mesabi Invitational.
The annual event is among the largest high school Nordic competitions in Minnesota, and this year it brought nearly 60 teams from around the Upper Midwest to Giants Ridge to take part in both classic and freestyle, or skate, skiing competition.
Devine, now a senior, has consistently finished in the top three at meets so far this season, but this was the largest field she has faced all season, as 144 racers took part in the event. Devine took first with a time of 16:09.6, topping second place finisher, Rowan Bixler, of Duluth East, by nearly 13 seconds.
“Zoe’s first place finish was exciting for the whole team,” said Ely Head Coach Todd Hohenstein.
Yet the Ely girls team had other reasons for excitement. Strong performances by Ava Skustad (23rd with 18:25.8) and Claire Blauch (26th with 18:34.6) in the freestyle event helped lift the team to a sixth-place finish among 57 teams in the overall competition.
Adding to that mix were senior Phoebe Helms, who finished 23rd in a classic field of 140 racers with a time of 19:13.5 and Kelly Thompson, who finished 38th with a time of 20:19.5. Helms appears back on track after suffering an early season injury that had sidelined her for a time.
Ely’s young boys team, who have mostly competed at the junior varsity level until recently, showed strength as well, finishing in 19th place among 57 teams.
Sophomore Eli Olson was the top finisher for Ely, finishing 33rd in the freestyle event with a time of 15:50.0, while Silas Solum was Ely’s top finisher in the classic competition, with a time of 17:07.1. Dylan Durkin finished 43rd in the freestyle event with a time of 16:19.4.
Ely’s skiers looked sharp again on Tuesday as they competed at the Korkki Ski Center in Two Harbors in a classic competition. The girls team finished second behind Duluth East, while the boys finished in third place in the eight-team field.
Devine finished second this time among the girls as Duluth East’s Bixler was out to settle the score from Saturday’s competition. In a six-kilometer classic race, Devine finished with a time of 22:20.3, about 36 seconds behind Bixler.
Helms continued to look stronger, as she finished in tenth-place among the 56 racers competing in the girls classic event with a time of 24:02.9. Junior Claire Blauch was right behind in 12th place with a time of 24:28.1. Thompson finished at 15th with a time of 24:54.7.
On the boys side, Solum again led the way for Ely, finishing in tenth place with a time of 22:00.3, while Olson finished at 18th with a time of 23:27.6. Milo McClelland finished at 21st, with a time of 24:01.9, while Tory Hughley finished at 22nd with a time of 24:14.3.
“Two Harbors is always a light-hearted and refreshing event,” noted Hohenstein. “The kids still ski hard but often dress up in different costumes and just enjoy the day being outside competing.”
The mild conditions likely affected the skiers’ performances. “The warm conditions made waxing a little tricky,” said Hohenstein. “You just never know what type of weather you’ll get off the big lake until you arrive.”