A steady rain this morning. Showers continuing this afternoon. High 49F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..
Tonight
A shower or two around the area early, then partly cloudy overnight. Low 36F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Coming as no surprise to anyone, the HRV boys and girls ski teams are once again champions of the Mt. Hood League, officially taking the title last week after winning a giant slalom (GS) competition at Mt. Hood Ski Bowl on Saturday, which was the last event of the regular season. It was the team’s fifth victory in as many races this season.
The HRV team finished their competition with a combined time of 7 minutes, 24.38 seconds — nearly 45 seconds ahead of second-place finisher, St. Mary’s Academy. The Eagles also defeated Sandy, Cleveland, and The Dalles.
Josie Petersen was once again the fastest girl on the mountain, placing first in both her runs and recording a combined time of 2:24.19. HRV swept the first four spots of the race, with Erin Sutherland placing second (2:29.46), Sarah Hall placing third (2:31.45), and Paris Nunn taking fourth (2:33.05) — all of whom scored for HRV. Other varsity racers include Eva Jones (eighth, 2:41.12) and Reed Bauer, who placed ninth with a time of 1:21.05 on her second run after she posted a did not finish (DNF) on her first attempt. Association teammate Mattea Schwab (Horizon) finished sixth overall with a combined time of 2:36.73.
The boys race was tighter, but HRV still had a 27-second advantage over second-place finisher Sandy. The Eagles finished their competition in 7:11.39, beating The Dalles, Grant, and Cleveland (and Sandy, of course).
Christopher McElwee continues to lead the HRV boys, taking second overall in the race with a combined time of 2:20.58. He scored on both runs for HRV, as did Carter Rigert (third, 2:22.76) and Colson Zack (sixth, 2:28.05).
Other varsity skiers for the Eagles included Levy Nash (10th, 2:32.74), Oskar Anderson (12th, 2:34.39), and Mitchell Lamer (13th, 2:36.75). Association team member Colin Howe (Columbia) was the fastest boy on the slopes Saturday, winning the giant slalom with a time of 2:18.48.
With the league trophy in hand, the Eagles now set their sights on the Oregon Interscholastic Ski Racing Association (OISRA) state championships, which will be held at Mt. Hood Meadows March 1-3. Athletes will train on Wednesday, and then competition starts Thursday with girls GS on the Middle Fork run and the boys slalom on stadium. On Friday, the girls will compete in slalom and the boys will compete in giant slalom. The first races start at 10 a.m. There will also be freestyle competitions: skier-cross Wednesday morning, with time trials starting at 10:15 a.m. and an open rail jam from 3-4:30 p.m. Thursday features a halfpipe competition in the morning and a slope style event in the afternoon.
Qualifying for the slalom on the boys team are McElwee, Zack, Lamer, Nash Levy, Anderson, and Rigert. Those same athletes also qualified for the GS, as did Ezra Johnson. For the girls, Petersen, Sutherland, Jones, Chloe Kurahara, Hall, Nunn, and Bauer all qualified for the slalom and GS.
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