By Cathy Putman
Special to The Press Times
CABLE – In a two-day competition for all-state honors, the Ashwaubenon Nordic Ski Team (ANST) boys placed third Sunday, March 7.
Skiing a familiar course at the Birkie Trailhead, athletes enjoyed balmy temperatures that soared into the 40s on both days and contended with slushy snow on the rolling, 6.75-kilometer course.
After Saturday’s freestyle competition, the ANST team held second place.
In the classic pursuit, team leader Kevin Johnson (Ashwaubenon) slipped two places to sixth, Grant Rocheleau (Bay Port) held firm at 11th and Joe Stumpf (Notre Dame Academy) improved two places to 14th.
The team’s total was two points shy of second place, which was claimed by the Iola club.
The Milwaukee area Peak Team commanded first place with four skiers in the top 10.
Pulaski sophomore Jonathan Hanson skated to 36th Saturday and improved to 31st with a speedy classic leg.
ANST senior Mason Vinoski (Ashwaubenon) was 18th in the skate race and finished 32nd Sunday, an advance of 56 places from his 2020 race.
Two West De Pere athletes, Noah Jahnke and Connor Flood, found their ski legs on the second day of the competition.
Jahnke catapulted up 14 places to 39th after a slow skate race, while Flood improved 10 places to 101st.
In the high school girls’ race, Greta Hansen (Green Bay Southwest) finished 10th, moving up from her 18th place in the freestyle leg.
“Most of our middle school and some high school kids are first-year skiers,” said coach Bernie Rocheleau. “With state postponed for three weeks, those kids showed how far they’ve come. They all hit the mark and beyond.”
Parkview middle schooler, Lauren Carleton, was the fourth girl in the two-leg, middle school pursuit.
The middle school boys all improved their overall places from Saturday to Sunday.
Ben Buchmann (Aldo Leopold) was the first to finish in 31st.
Parkview skiers included Ashtyn Andersen (40th), Erik Johnson (54th), Sean Johnson (64th) and Alex Bogenschutz (68th).