MSHS Nordic Ski Team Takes Top Finishes at Noquemanon and Junior Noque
Marquette, MI – The Marquette Senior High School Nordic Team members competed in this past weekend’s Junior Noque and Noquemanon Ski Marathon and skied to top spots in many races. The course conditions were perfect for Friday and Saturday’s races with temperatures in the 20’s.
Friday night’s Junior Noque saw Ellen Wiitala and Blake Murray ski to first places finishes in the 5K Freestyle Female and Male Divisions respectively. Wiitala skied the course in 14:53.4 and Murray finished in 13:26.5. The MSHS Boys swept the podium with Eric Wagner taking 2nd by skiing the course in 13:46.2 and Marty Gray in third with a time of 14:01.3.
In Saturday’s 14th Annual Noquemanon race, MSHS Skiers took honors in many of the races. In the 24K Freestyle Half Noque, Blake Murray again raced to a podium finish taking 3rd overall with a time of 1:02.16.9. Ben Wright won the 15 and under Male Division skiing the course in 1:04.58.6. Eric Wagner won the Male 16 and 17 age division with his time of 1:04:20.4 and Andy Twohey took 3rd place in the same division with a time of 1:06.51.6. In the Female Age Division 15 and Under, Bethany Wright took 2nd skiing 24K in 1:18:04.9.
In the 12K Freestyle Race, Abby Potts took 1st overall skiing the course in 38:29.4. In the Boys Division, Logan Zueger took 2nd overall with a time of 33:09.6 followed by Matt Sutton in 3rd with a 36:39.7 time. In the 12K Classic race, Mike McFadden won the race putting down a time of 38.47.01. In the Female Division, Ali Fulsher took 3rd overall skiing in 51:03.1 with Kendra Palomaki following in 4th with a time of 51.07.9.
Other MSHS Nordic Skiers partnered up with other non-team racers to ski in the 50K Relay event whereby one skier classic skis the first 26K of the race and the other team member freestyles the second 24K of the course. Ellen Wiitala and her dad, Dan Wiitala took top honors in that category finishing the course in 2:57.01.5. Marty Gray and his dad, Paul Gray, took 3rd overall with a time of 3:37.46.6 and Kayla Argeropoulous and her team member, Elsa Carlson, skied to a 7th place overall finish with a time of 3:44.24.8.
Coach Joe Graci commented on his team’s performance, “Our team did excellent in the Junior Noque racing against a large contingent of Traverse City and Copper Country ski team members. Our team skied to first in both the female and male divisions plus we landed the top four spots in the male division.” Graci continued, “In Saturday’s races, our team again took top honors in many of the divisions. We’re working to get podium finishes in the upcoming Michigan State High School Championships in a few week.”