The girls and boys Winona Nordic ski teams qualified for the State meet together for the first time in eighteen years.

The state ski meet took place at Giants Ridge ski resort in Biwabik, Minnesota. The best nordic skiers in Minnesota compete in a 5k skate ski race in the morning and a 5k classic ski race in the afternoon, which is not an easy task.

The results from the skate race determine the starting positions for the classic race in the afternoon. Cotter students who competed at State included Lauren Ping and Morgan Arnold, who placed 37th and 125th out of 160 skiers, respectively.

Ping was the 3rd 8th grader in the field. The girls’ ski team placed 12th out of 16 teams, Anni Skillicorn lead the team with an 8th place finish.

“It was fun being part of the Senior High co-op team and I was happy with my race,” Lauren Ping said.

Morgan Arnold is a first year skier, thus making it to state is a big accomplishment, “I fell a lot,” she said. The state qualifying skiers are coached by Jacob Teichroew who teaches History at Cotter. The varsity boys team included no Cotter students, but they placed 16th, lead by an 83rd place finish by Mitchell Ploetz. Cotter skiers that did not compete at state include Grace Menke, Claire Ebertowski, Grace Ping, Elaine Zehr, James Greshik, Delilah Jaen, Ethan Tober, Grace Finnerty, and Eva Stango.

Junior Varsity skiers also had great ski seasons, “My favorite part of this season was the ABC Relays, ” Claire Ebertowski said.