State powerhouse Duluth East is undoubtedly the Ely Nordic Wolves’ most formidable opponent.
But Mother Nature is a strong number two behind the potent Greyhounds.
An Arctic blast of cold air is wreaking havoc with the Wolves’ schedule, at perhaps the most absolute wrong time of the year.
Cold temperatures and dangerous wind chills have forced the postponement of Saturday’s Ely Invitational and set the stage for a difficult final week of the regular season.
Thursday’s Duluth East Invitational has been moved up two days to Tuesday, and the Ely meet has been rescheduled for Friday, Jan. 30, starting at 10 a.m. at Hidden Valley.
That gives the Wolves two huge meets - both to be run with formats similar to the postseason - in advance of the Section 7 competition the following week.
Ely, which picked up two second-place finishes in frigid conditions Tuesday at Two Harbors, is adjusting as best it can given the circumstances, according to head coach Todd Hohenstein.
“The cold weather forecast has done a number on our schedule for the last two weeks of our regular season,” he said. “We develop our training plan based on the schedule of the meets and so when those need to change, the training plan needs to adapt as well. The good thing is that this is built into our program. We talk to our skiers about being able to adapt to unexpected changes all season long and how it can be the difference maker in the final outcome of the race. An athlete can waste a great deal of energy worrying about things that are not under their control. We tell them to identify the problem, brainstorm solutions, make a decision, and then move with confidence into the moment.”
Tuesday’s Two Harbors Invitational mixed in some fun, with some skiers taking advantage of the opportunity to ski in costume or vintage attire on a narrow trail.
Skiers compete classic style and the Ely boys gave Duluth East a run for its money, finishing just a point shy of the state’s number-one rated team.
“It was the closest we’ve come this season to beating them in the team score,” said Hohenstien. “There is a feeling on the boys team that it’s just a matter of time before we squeak one by them. If that doesn’t happen until sections, that would be fine by me. It’s a great rivalry in the best sense of the word. Both teams reach for better performances to come out on top. Everyone needs a “Duluth East” in their life.
Ely got a huge performance from junior Aksel Skustad, who was runner-up in the classic race in 19:44, finishing behind only individual winner Benjamin Pilate of Duluth East.
Skustad was one of three Wolves in the top-three and four among the top-seven, as sophomore Wyatt Devine took fourth (20:14) and junior Oliver Hohenstein fifth (20:14).
Otto Devine, a senior, finished seventh in 20:47.
The Wolves showed off impressive depth with Brooks Brenny in 12th (21:46), followed by George Sponholz (14th, 22:05) and Blake Houde (16th, 22:34).
Oren Solum (32nd, 24:23) and Mason Molden (45th, 26:42) followed for the Wolves.
Freshman Ivy Ohlhauser led the Ely girls. In a race dominated by Duluth East, she had the best Wolves finish by taking 12th in 26:26.1.
Right behind in 14th was her classmate, Addison Kannas, who had a time of 26:33.6.
Mattie Lindsay (17th, 26:49), Molly Brophy (20th, 27:31.5) and June Nelson (24th, 27:45.8) rounded out the Wolves’ top-five, followed by Cora Brecke (26th, 28:00.7), Izzy Macho (29th, 28:39), Elsa Ellerbroek (33rd, 29:43.20) and Alison Poppler (43rd, 32:17.8).
“The girls varsity team also took second place behind Duluth East,” said Todd Hohenstein. “There are a few other teams in the section with two or three girls that are really improving, but they don’t have the depth that we have with our program. It’s going to be exciting to see who is skiing fast for us as we near the end of the season.”
• In junior varsity action, Ely’s Beck Sponholz was first overall in 26:07 and teammate Siiri Nelson placed fifth in 28:46.6.
Grady Anderson gave Ely a JV sweep, winning the boys event in 22:12.9 with Emory Hohenstein taking sixth (23:45.6).
The Wolves’ Lucy Luthens was fifth among junior high girls with a time of 18:51.2 in the 3.5-kilometer event.
Caleb Ebert took third in the junior high boys competition with a time of 16:50.
“The younger skiers also did very well with two Ely skiers winning the JV races,” said Todd Hohenstein. “Grady and Beck both showed that they love classic skiing and don’t mind if the race is longer than five kilometers.”
