Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — In the early season search for quality snow, training time and competition, the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club Ability cross-country team found just what it was looking for at the West Yellowstone Ski Festival during the weekend.

More than 20 local athletes made the trip to Montana for the cross-country event that generally serves as a kickoff to the season. The team left the Sunday before Thanksgiving to get in several days of intense training before the races.

In all, the team racked up seven days of training and two races.

“It was pleasantly rewarding for us to see their potential even at this early stage of the game,” coach Brian Tate said. “Knowing they put in a lot of training and were skiing fast was encouraging.”

In a Nov. 23 race, Steamboat skiers scored several top finishes. Max Scrimgeour was second in the J1 race and 26th overall. Charlie Von Thaden was third in the OJ classification and 27th overall.

On the girls side, Emily Hannah was first in the girls J1 and 12th overall. Mary O’Connell was the second J1 finisher, and Madison Keeffe was third. Gretchen Burkholder was the second J2 girls finisher.

On Friday, Von Thaden was the fourth in the OJ category, and Scrimgeour was the fifth J1 finisher. Hannah was first in the girls J1 division while Keeffe was third.

Von Thaden added a third-place JO finish Saturday, while Evan Weinman was the first boys J1 finisher.

In the junior event, Lars Hannah was first overall while Burkholder, Katie Brodie and Abbey Habermehl swept the women’s category.

“It was taking an opportunity to put a race bib on,” Tate said. “There were races, but the focus was getting on snow and putting in lots of training time on snow.”

The Steamboat team won’t have to go far for its next competition. Because of a lack of snow across the state, Saturday’s National Ranking List event scheduled for Gold Run Nordic Center has been moved to the Steamboat Ski Touring Center at Rollingstone Ranch Golf Club. The races begin at 10 a.m. Saturday and at 9 a.m. Sunday.

The event should feature some of the top competition in the region, including teams from the University of New Mexico and the University of Denver.

“We’re going to salvage it here, and we’re all going to race here,” Tate said.

After the weekend, the cross-country team’s next big event is the Junior National Qualifiers on Dec. 17 and 18 in Crested Butte.

To reach Luke Graham, call 970-871-4229 or email lgraham@SteamboatToday.com