The Hastings Raiders alpine ski team is sending an incredible five skiers to the state alpine meet this week. The Raiders competed at the section four race on Wednesday, February 8 at Wild Mountain. Junior Jackson Reents won the section for the second consecutive time in his high school career placing first out of 117 skiers. He will be joined at the state meet by senior Aaron Herber who placed fourth, followed by junior Abbi Pelava who placed sixth, senior Zach Rother who placed 16th, and eighth grader Kate Nowak who placed 17th individually. This is a return trip to the state meet for each skier. Reents has traveled to the state meet three times before; this is Herber’s fifth visit, Pelava’s third, and Rother's and Nowak’s second trip each.

Coach Jason Gergen stated, “They all put in a great effort all season and I want to commend them for that!”

The Raider girls’ team had a strong day placing sixth out of 20 teams at sections. Sophomore Alexa Loritz placed in the top 30 with strong skiing efforts by senior Mallory Karnick, junior Jolie Pettit, and freshman Claire Caturia. The Raider boys’ team placed third, missing out on second place and state qualification by half a point. The three skiers who qualified as individuals were supported in their efforts by sophomore Gavin Molitor, senior Jacob Schield and junior Cole Caturia.

'The boys had a tremendous and memorable season that ended one race too soon,” Coach Gergen said, “This is one of the strongest teams ever who had to compete in the strongest section race in the state this year”.

The Raiders will compete at the Minnesota State Alpine Meet in Biwabik, Minnesota at Giants Ridge on Tuesday, February 14, 2023 where they will face off against the best alpine skiers in the state. Best of luck, Raiders!