By Jennifer Herber

The Hastings Raiders Alpine Ski Team heads to the state alpine meet at Giants Ridge in Biwabik, Minnesota on February 16 as Section 4 Champions! Each skier needed to put together two successfully fast runs down icy slopes. The girls team placed fifth overall and will be sending two individual qualifiers. Sophomore Abbigail Pelava is making her second trip to the state meet after placing 11th with a combined time of 1:03.80, and first-time state qualifier seventh grader Kate Nowak finished in 15th place overall with a combined time of 1:05.15.

Coach Jason Gergen was excited for Nowak and is glad to see Pelava bounce back after a season-ending injury in last year’s section race. “It’s exciting to have a 7th grader qualify for the state meet and I am really proud of her.”

The Raider boys dominated the Section meet with 437 points for a first-place win over Woodbury with 370 points. Nineteen boy’s teams competed under challenging conditions.

Coach Gergen was proud of the way the team is performing, “The boys are skiing well, peaking at the right time, and coming together as a group. They will face stiff competition and will have to ski well while being mentally tough.”

The Raider boys will compete with a wealth of experience as state participants, with four of the six boys returning as state competitors. Senior Caleb Kimmes, senior Charlie Millholin, junior Aaron Herber, and sophomore Jackson Reents were part of the 2020 Raider boys who qualified as a team.

Sophomore Jackson Reents will make his second trip to the state meet as the 2022 Section 4 Individual Champion with a combined time of 58.34, followed by junior Aaron Herber who is making his fourth trip to the state meet after placing second with a combined time of 1:00.11. Sophomore Cole Caturia makes his second trip to the state meet placing eighth with a combined time of 1:01.24, followed by firsttime state competitor Zach Rother who placed 16th with a combined time of 1:02.91. Second-time state competitor senior Caleb Kimmes finished in 17th place with a combined time of 1:02.99, and freshman Gavin Molitor placed 38th with a combined time of 1:07.99.

This will be Molitor’s first trip to the state meet. Senior Charlie Millholin will join the team as an alternate along with senior Fernando Castello as team consultant. The Raiders skied Giants Ridge successfully earlier this season placing second at the Giants Ridge Invitational in January. Go Raiders!

Girls Full Results Sophomore Abbigail Pelava finished 11th (1:03.80), seventh grader Kate Nowak placed 15th (1:05.15), freshman Alexa Loritz placed 45th (1:10:44), junior Mallory Karnick placed 47th (1:10.79), sophomore Jolie Pettit placed 53rd (1:12.35), followed by senior Taylor Pelava.

Boys Team L-R Coach Paul Lindstrom, Coach Jason Gergen, Jackson Reents, Cole Caturia, Aaron Herber, Gavin Molitor, Zach Rother, Caleb Kimmes, Coach Carl Dabruzzi.Photo courtesy of Tricia Pelava