Great skiing guys, keep up the hard work and dedication; part of learning to go faster is pushing your boundaries!”

Coach Gergen

True Minnesota winter weather finally blew in this week and with it brought a flurry of four races over three days for the Hastings Raiders Alpine Ski Team Wednesday through Saturday. The Raiders competed on Wednesday, Jan. 10 at Afton Alps in their first conference race of the season. While Hastings is no longer technically part of any conference due to a lack of teams to meet the threshold set in the conference bylaws, the MEC Alpine coaches have continued to work and race together while adding the Minneapolis Public Schools to their ranks.
Coach Gergen is proud of his team and recognized his athletes for a job well done on the Raider girls team at Wednesday’s Afton race. Kate Nowak was the top finisher in ninth followed closely by Abbi Pelava and Alexa Loritz in 14th and 18th. Claire Caturia, Maddie Herdt, and Maddie Paulson added valuable points in 43rd, 47th, 58th and 74th places. Rookies Claire Montgomery (50th), Kylie Strausborger (75th), and Lia Ferguson (78th) are wasting no time in making an impact with the team and improving every day.
Coach Gergen said, “I want to recognize Khadijatou Wane, who is our extraordinary exchange student this season. Khadija had only skied once before this season and made her race debut at Afton on Wednesday night.”
On the Raider boys’ team, Jackson Reents continued his winning ways and led the team with two strong finishes. He was followed by Cole Caturia, Finn Caturia, and James Millhollin in ninth, 21st, and 26th places respectively. Weston Chandler and James McNamara contributed to the Hastings’ point total in 45th and 57th places. Seventh graders Max and Lenox Bauer were off to fast starts competing in their first varsity race. Max finished 54th and Lenox finished 58th.
Says Coach Gergen of the men’s team, “Great skiing guys, keep up the hard work and dedication; part of learning to go faster is pushing your boundaries!”
The JV boys were led by Jadon Mike finishing in seventh place. Fischer Kaufmann was in 11th and was followed by his brother Jens in 14th, with Nathan Schield finishing in 17th place. Seventh graders Henry Featherstone and Leighton Stoffel also made their race debuts for Hastings. Henry finished in 15th and Leighton in 20th.
Says Coach Gergen of his newest racers, “I can't tell you how exciting it is to see all of the talent coming out for the Hastings Alpine Ski Team!”
The Raiders went on to compete again Friday, Jan. 12 during the snowy Welch Invitational against area schools. The Raiders boys finished second overall to St. Thomas Academy and will use that momentum the rest of the season. The boys’ race was won by Cole Caturia with two solid runs. Jackson Reents finished ninth with James Millhollin close behind in 12th. Axton Bauer, Will Bauer, James McNamara and Weston Chandler all displayed solid skiing and finished 18th, 24th, 25th, and 26th places respectively. Rookies James Samii and Max Bauer finished in 31st and 41st while Finn Caturia had a slight bobble in his second run.
The Raider girls finished in fourth place overall and were led by Abbi Pelava in sixth place followed closely by Kate Nowak in eighth. Clare Caturia and Addison Maniak were solid performers in 21st and 24th place. Rookie Claire Montgomery finished her first Welch Invite in 27th place. Alexa Loritz, Maddie Herdt, and Maddie Paulson all skied well and finished in 34th, 38th, and 40th place. First year racers Lia Ferguson and Kylie Strausborger both skied well and finished in 39th and 42nd position.
There was no rest for the Raiders as soon after the completion of the Welch Invite, varsity racers and their parents hopped in their cars and trekked north to Biwabik, Minn. to compete in two races the following day on Jan. 13 for the Giants Ridge Sunrise and Sunset Race Invitational hosted by Rock Ridge and Hibbing schools. The Sunrise Race had crisp and brisk single digit temperatures with wind chills far below zero, but that did not temper the festive race spirit of the competition with many schools pitching tents with propane heaters and tailgating around grills and campfires.
The Raider girls finished in eighth place overall in the morning and ninth in the afternoon out of 20 teams. Abbi Pelava led the way with an 11th place morning race and 12th place finish in the afternoon. Kate Nowak skied to solid 17th and 18th place finishes with Alexa Loritz following closely in 23rd and 24th. Claire Caturia finished her morning race in 87th and afternoon in 106th. Maddie Herdt was consistent with 94th and 99th place finishes. Maddie Paulson enjoyed her first race at the ridge and finished in 96th in the morning and 108th in the afternoon. Addison Maniak wasn't able to finish her morning race, but came back in the afternoon with a pair of strong runs finishing in 86th.
The Raider boys’ team was consistent with back-to-back fourth place finishes. Reents showed how comfortable he is on the State Meet slopes winning both the AM and PM races with the four fastest runs of the day. Cole Caturia and Finn Caturia were each strong and consistent performers with Cole finishing in fifth and sixth and his cousin Finn finishing in 24th and 26th place. James Millhollin put down some solid runs finishing in 44th and 49th overall while James McNamara made the most of his first trip to the Giants invite finishing 48th in the morning and 65th in the afternoon. Will Bauer was also a solid finisher for Hastings with a 49th and 61st place finish. Weston Chandler wasn't holding back in either of his races which led to a couple of falls, but his aggression was unmatched!
The Hastings Raiders Alpine Team carries a strong tradition of alumni giving back to the team. Said Coach Gergen, “I want to give thanks to so many of the alumni who have helped out over the past few weeks. Aaron Herber has made practices more efficient with his hard work. Tommy Karnick, Alexa Kimmes, Hayden Niebur, Mallory Karnick, Jacob Schield, Sam Molitor, have all been a huge help on the hill at races and practices. Adam Peine has also been helping (the coaching staff) with practices and we can't thank him enough.”
Coach Gergen also gave a shout out to alumni Miranda Ries who worked out at the Afton Race and to Charlie Millhollin and Zach Rother for braving the cold and lending a hand at Giants Ridge this weekend. Coach Gergen went on to say, “I think it's great to keep alumni involved as a network for current and former racers.”
The next conference race will be at Wild Mountain on Jan. 15 which boasts even colder temps for competition, but this will not chill the spirit of the Raiders!