Both The Dalles boys’ and girls’ ski team members put together solid enough times this past Saturday on the Middlefork Course at Mount Hood Meadows to qualify for the OISRA state meet.
Led by gutty giant slalom performances by Martin Carter, Liam Brewer, James Pashek, George Harrison and Ethan Martin, the Riverhawk boys will be given a state shot for the second consecutive season.
“We went into the race not having Preston Klindt, one of our top skiers, but the younger boys, James, Ethan and George really stepped up and filled the void for a very solid team third-place finish,” said head coach Dane Klindt. “They are all showing a lot of improvement and I was very proud of them all.”
Carter had the best finish on the boys’ side, finishing runs of 49.60 and 50.47 seconds for a combined mark of one minute and 40.07 seconds, good for fourth place overall, just 4.3 seconds behind first-place winner, Colin Howe, of Columbia High School (1:35.77).
Coach Klindt said that everything appears to be coming together for Carter, who is inching closer and closer to the Mount Hood Ski League field.
Brewer had one of his best efforts of the regular season Saturday, staking claim to a 13th place time of 1:49.05, with attempts of 53.49 and 55.56, helping his cause.
“Liam stepped up and is having all his hard work pay off,” coach Klindt added. “His skiing ability has progressed tremendously this year, and I’m hoping for a top-10 finish next week to finish out the league year. He has the potential and I think he now has the confidence.”
Pashek also completed a pair of impressive tries, going for 1:01.02 on his first attempt, before capping his day with a 1:01.46 and a 2:02.48 time.
On his second run, Pashek fell behind early and nearly feel twice, but athletic ability and toughness, he restored order enough to earn 22nd place and give the Riverhawks an impressive three-person total of 5:31.60 for third place in the team standings, a shade more than five seconds behind second-place Sandy (5:26.92).
Hood River Valley wound up taking top honors, as Chris McElwee (1:35.96), Colson Zack (1:42.17) and Oskar Anderson (1:43.32) combined for their 5:01.28.
Grant High School (5:38.04) placed fourth, and Cleveland tallied a 6:01.04 to secure fifth place.
Also for The Dalles, Harrison, a rising freshman, was vaulted to the fourth spot on the team and he responded with tries of 1:04.81 and 1:06.98 for a 25th place tally of 2:11.79.
“George is my go-to guy,” coach Klindt said. “No matter what the circumstance, I can count on George to come through with a time.”
Rounding out the Riverhawk boys was Martin, who followed up a 1:07.97 with a 1:07.27 and a combined 2:15.24 for 26th place out of the 33 individuals.
Once again, The Dalles’ Petra van Kessel jumped up the ranks to lead the girls’ team, posting runs of 1:00.39 and 1:01.46 for her 2:01.85 to finish in 15th place in a field of 33.
Addie Klindt, motored ahead for a 2:09.23 to score 24th place, as she racked up nearly identical times. She had a 1:04.84 in her initial attempt, and then added a 1:04.39.
“Addie skied two very solid runs,” coach Klindt said. “She has been working hard on her technique and is ready to let it loose.”
Although she was not 100 percent, Emma Diede powered through illness to help the girls’ team punch their state ticket, as she had times of 1:16.85 and 1:12.85 for a 2:29.50.
Without senior standout Robin Pashek, the Lady Hawks totaled 6:40.58 to end up in fifth place as a team.
“Only having three skiers left, it was important for them all to finish, and that’s what they did,” coach Klindt said. “It puts a lot of pressure on them, but these girls welcomed the challenge.”
Led by the 1-2-3 trio of Josie Peterson (1:39.23), Chloe Kurahara (1:41.14) and Erin Sutherland (1:41.55), Hood River Valley notched a three-person time of 5:01.92 to pick up first-place team honors in the girls’ standings.
St. Mary’s Academy (5:30.06), Cleveland (5:56.21), Sandy (6:01.11), The Dalles (6:40.58) and Grant (7:22.11) made up the rest of the teams.
The other female skier, Sydney Reed, a senior out of Dufur High School, put together a solid two-turn time of 2:04.96 to wind up in 20th place.
Reed started out with a 1:01.34 and capped her afternoon with a 1:03.62. Her time was 12.46 seconds off from a top-10 output.
“Sydney skied great. My only disappointment in Sydney is that she is a senior and won’t be around next year for me to coach,” Klindt said. “Her racing is great to watch and it’s hard to believe this is her first year.”
Matthew Gragg, from South Wasco County, added another top-15 effort to his slate, pushing to a two-turn time of 1:47.29, 11.52 seconds behind Columbia’s Colin Howe (1:35.77).
Dufur’s Louis Red Cloud placed 16th, turning tries of 56.11 and 56.06 into a 1:52.17, a shade more than five seconds from 10th place.
“Louis skied two conservative runs,” coach Klindt added. “He held back a little this weekend, but proved to himself that his skills are as good as anyone’s out there. I’m looking forward to what he does next week.”
Cole Kortge, also from Dufur, hit the powder for times of 1:05.33 and 1:06.08 for a 2:11.41 and 24th place in the male standings, nearly a 10-second improvement from his initial giant slalom run on Jan. 28.
The three groups have one final regular-season race this Saturday at 9 a.m. on the Ski Bowl Course, before state on March 1-3.
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