PAHASKA TEEPEE – Nordic ski teams from across the state gathered at the resort of Pahaska Teepee for the Cody Invitational on Feb. 16-17. The racecourse was located only a few miles from the eastern gates to Yellowstone National Park, replete with beautiful scenery and wildlife.

The Pinedale High School girls’ varsity team snagged second place following two days of competition featuring a 4-kilometer skate race on Friday followed by an 8-kilometer classic course on Saturday. Pinedale tallied 131 points overall to beat Lander, Kelly Walsh, Sheridan and Jackson.

Sophomore Olivia Tolson set the pace for Pinedale on both days. Tolson garnered third place in the girls’ varsity 8-kilometer classic on Saturday, clocking in at 26 minutes, 21.8 seconds.

Timing the 4-kilometer skate race on Friday in at 19:00.30, Tolson earned fourth place.

The Pinedale boys’ varsity team placed sixth overall with 74 points.

4K Skate results

Sophomore Bryn Arne took 21st place in the girls’ varsity race, posting a time of 24:15.30.

Fellow sophomore Evalyn Smith placed 25th with a time of 27:14.60. Libby Olson, also a sophomore, rounded out the girls’ race with a 27th-place finish timed in at 28:53.10.

On the boys’ varsity course, freshman Nyle Swenson led the pack with a 17th-place finish at 19:34.50. Sophomore Aiden Bucy came in 36th place at 22:42.70, with sophomore Keaton Jones in 45th place at 25:28.40 and freshman Henry Wendt in 50th at 29:58.00.

8K Classic results

Both the girls’ and boys’ teams demonstrated considerable improvement on the leaderboard on Saturday’s significantly longer course.

Sophomore Alyce Hayward finished 13th in girls’ varsity, clocking in at 33:09.10. Smith took 15th place at 35:12.40, followed by Olson in 16th place at 35:17.30 and Arne in 19th at 36:41.20.

In boys’ varsity, Swenson picked up 11th place with a time of 30:04.20. Jones hit the finish line in 19th place at 31:51.60 with Bucy in 26th place at 34:48.90.

The Cody Invitational wrapped up the regular season for Nordic ski teams in Wyoming. Up next is the State Nordic Skiing Championships hosted by Natrona County High School at the Casper Nordic Trails on Casper Mountain from Feb. 23-24.

Friday consists of a 5-kilometer freestyle race beginning at 10 a.m. Athletes compete on a 10-kilometer classic course on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.