ELY – The Timberwolves ski teams showed they weren’t afraid of the cold as they dominated a home meet last Thursday, despite temperatures and a windchill that were both below zero.

It was a final tune-up opportunity for teams ahead of the section meet set for Feb. 8 at Giants Ridge, and Ely took advantage, with the boys team taking first, while the girls team missed the top spot by just two points.

Competing at Hidden Valley, the temperature was below the threshold set by the high school league for cancelling a ski competition as of the scheduled start time of 11 a.m., so organizers delayed the race to 1 p.m. The current rule requires an air temperature of minus 4 or greater to compete.

“Yesterday was fun, although nerve wracking leading up to it due to the extreme temps,” said Ely Head Coach Paula Anderson. “But we were able to get two races in within the legal limits so we were happy with that.”

Most skiers took precautions wearing additional clothing and had their faces covered to prevent frostbite.

Skiers raced a pursuit format, including a 5.1 km freestyle course and a 4.7 km classic course, with their combined time determining their place. Team scores were determined by adding the scores of the top four finishers for each team.

The Ely girls were missing one of their top skiers and their perennial rival Grand Rapids didn’t attend the meet due to widespread illness on the team.

“The girls race at Sections will be very, very close between us, Grand Rapids, and Duluth East,” said Anderson. “Ely girls have lots of experience on their side and if everyone is healthy we will have a great day.”

The Ely girls had five racers finish in the top 15. Ryne Prigge had another strong outing, taking second overall, while Emma Terwilliger was just seven seconds behind her to finish in third.

“The boys are solid, very much coming into top form right now and Sections will be fun,” said Anderson. “They are finishing closer and closer to each other at every meet, which is key.”

Ely took the top three spots in the boys competition and put seven skiers in the top 11 spots. Ben Gustafson, Jasper Johnston, and James Schwinghamer finished one, two, and three with only 15 seconds separating their finishes.

“Everyone raced their heart out yesterday and really showed how resilient and tough they are. It’s a very, very hard sport, but a very, very rewarding one as well,” added Anderson. “The community support here in Ely is unparalleled and we have the best chalet and the best fans in all of Section 7!”

Both teams should be healthy and appear ready for the Section 7 meet at Giants Ridge on Thursday, after the Timberjay’s weekly deadline. The Timberjay will post results following the race at timberjay.com.

Below is a list of Ely individual varsity girl and boy finish times and places along with the varsity team places.

ELY VARSITY GIRL

PLACE and TIME

2. Ryne Prigge 0:33:15.6

3. E. Terwilliger 0:33:22.6

8. E. Bercher 0:35:10.1

14. K. Eilrich 0:36:36.0

15. B. Pasmick 0:36:44.8

23. J. Schwinghamer 0:38:51.4

33. A. Bercher 0:40:18.4

38. L. Dalberg 0:40:56.6

40. L. Stouffer 0:41:11.1

ELY VARSITY BOY

PLACE and TIME

1. Ben Gustafson 0:28:51.0

2. J. Johnston 0:29:03.7

3. J. Schwinghamer 0:29:06.7

6. Raif Olson 0:29:50.0

8. Ethan Hasz 0:30:08.9

9. Nate Nettifee 0:30:20.6

11. Eijah Olson 0:30:43.8

27. Chase Eilrich 0:33:29.9

29. Henry Dirks 0:34:06.1

30. E. Bremner 0:34:08.4

39. A. Bremner 0:35:27.0

VARSITY GIRL

TEAM PLACES

1. Duluth East 379

2. Ely 377

3. Proctor/Hermantown 347

4. ME/Virginia/Eveleth-Gilbert 326

5. Marshall School 301

6. Cloquet-Esko-Carlton 296

7. Duluth Denfield 281

8. Two Harbors/Cook County 233

9. Hibbing 227

VARSITY BOY

TEAM PLACES

1. Ely 392

2. Duluth East 360

3. Cloquet-Esko-Carlton 355

4. Marshall School 331

5. ME/Virginia/Eveleth-Gilbert 324

6. Duluth Denfield 251

7. Proctor/Hermantown 249

8. Two Harbors/Cook County 121

9. Hibbing 81