Results: Seven teams compete at 2026 Michigan HS and MS Nordic Ski Championships
Wed, Mar 4, 2026 - By Mike Muha
Four teams from the upper peninsula and three from the lower peninsula competed this past weekend at the 2026 Michigan High School and Middle School Nordic Ski Championships at Hickory Hills in Traverse City, Michigan:
Upper Peninsula Teams
- Copper Country Ski Tigers
- Ishpeming Ski Club
- Peninsula Nordic
- Superiorland Ski Club
Lower Peninsula Teams
- Crystal Nordic
- Nubs Nob Racing
- Vasa Raptors
It was three days of racing and fun, including a UP vs. LP Mixed Team Relay.
Detailed results for each day are at:
https://www.performancetiming.com/2026/02/michigan-junior-nordic-ski-championships-2026/
Image: Crystal Community Ski Club
Friday, February 27, 2026
Friday included the High School (U16-U20) Sprint and the Middle School (U12-U14) Freestyle race.
High School (U16-U20) Sprint
The U16-U20 Boys Sprint was won by Olin Slette (Superiorland Ski Club) in a photo finish with Liam Wierzba (Vasa Raptors). Augustus "Augie" Hamlin from the Copper Country Ski Tigers was third.
Peninsula Nordic's Allie Pietila won the U16-U20 Girls Sprint, followed by teammate Katelyn Lietila. Vasa Raptor Emma Dykstra was third.
Middle School (U12-U14) Freestyle
Adrien Wierzba (Vasa Raptors) took first place in the U12-U14 Freestyle, winning in 7:30. Superiorland Ski Club's Alex Nadeau took second in 7:47 followed by Vasa Raptor Arrow Cole in 7:49
In the Girls U12-U14 Freestyle, Isla Abbotts (Copper Country Ski Tigers) was first in 8:30, with Alana Springborn (Nubs Nob Racing) second in 8:42 and Marayna Pietla (Peninsula Nordic) third in 9:04.
Saturday, February 28, 2026
Saturday's races included the U16-U20 Classic and Pursuit races. Racers skied the classic race first.
U16-U20 Classic
Henry Plummer (Superiorland Ski Club) won the classic race in 14:41, followed by Olin Slette (Superiorland Ski Club) in second in 14:52, and Traverse O'Hearn (Vasa Raptors) third in 15:02.
Ava Zeratsky (Vasa Raptors) 17:29 took first for the girls, followed by Lindsay Smith (Vasa Raptors) in 18:48 and Emma Ziegler (Superiorland Ski Club) in 18:58.
U16-U20 Pursuit
After the classic, a Freestyle race was held. The winners of the U16-U20 Classic (Henry Plummer and Ava Zeratsky) each started first for the boys and girls (time 0.00). The other racers' start time were based on how far they were behind the first place finishers. For example, Olin Sletter was 11 seconds behind first place finisher Henry Plummer in the classic, so started 11 seconds behind Plummer in the freestyle. The combined time of the classic and freestyle legs was the Pursuit time.
From the racer's perspective, if they passed the person in front of them, they beat them in the Pursuit.
For the boys, Henry Plummer (Superiorland Ski Club) won both the classic and freestyle (13:05) legs for a combined time of 27:46 and the overall win for the U16-U20 Pursuit. Olin Slette (Superiorland Ski Club) was second with a combined time of 28:00, taking second in both the classic and freestyle. Liam Wierzba (Vasa Raptors) took third in 28:18. Although he placed fourth in the classic, his third place freestyle time of 13:14 gave him a lower overall time to edge out teammate Traverse O'Hearn.
For the girls, Ava Zeratsky (Vasa Raptors) won the overall pursuit in 33:25. After winning the classic, she took second in the freestyle. Emma Ziegler (Superiorland Ski Club) was the top freestyle skier and was able to lower here combined time to 34:45 to take second in the Pursuit. Lindsay Smith (Vasa Raptors) was third in 34:54, taking second in the classic and third in the freestyle.
Sunday, March 1, 2026
Sunday was the Mixed Team Relay which included some male-only teams because there were more males than females.
Each relay team was composed of 4 skiers, each skier racing a 1km leg.
An Upper Peninsula team composed of Superiorland Ski Club skiers Allie Pietila, Emma Ziegler, Henry Plummer, and Olin Slette won the mixed relay in10:40. Six seconds behind, Vasa Raptors' Ava Zeratsky, Emma Dykstra, Liam Wierzba, and Traverse O'Hearn took second in 10:46. Rounding out the podium was Avery Kelly (Crystal Nordic), Lindsay Smith (Vasa Raptors), Jack Mazurek (Vasa Raptors), and Finn Grayson (Vasa Raptors) in 10:48.
For the male-only teams, Emmett Kangas (Peninsula Nordic), Zeke Elenbaas ( Superiorland Ski Club), Riley Lovern (Ishpeming Ski Club) and Sean Ampe (Ishpeming Ski Club) took first in 11:10, followed by Elliot Isaacson (Peninsula Nordic), Joshua You (Copper Country Ski Tigers), Welly Fillmore (Superiorland Ski Club), and Eero Rutz (Superiorland Ski Club) in 11:22. In third place was Paul Isaacson (Peninsula Nordic), Troy Kangas (Peninsula Nordic), Dominic Camilli (Superiorland Ski Club), and Iain Kreag (Superiorland Ski Club) in 11:54.