Vail Mountain School skier claims double gold at CHSAA Nordic state championships

Vail Mountain School sophomore Isla Elton claimed a pair of state titles at the CHSAA Nordic state ski meet last weekend. Elton won the 5-kilometer classic race by 14 seconds at the Steamboat Touring Center on Feb. 27 and returned the following day to dominate a skate race of the same distance at Howelsen Hill.

“Going into this, I just wanted to have fun with my team for the last race of the season and I did that,” Elton told CHSAA. “I wanted to put it all out there to see if I could (win both).”

“Isla is a special athlete with her cool and calm pre-race routines and composure,” Vail Mountain coach Shawn Ellenbaum stated in an email to the Vail Daily. “Ice in her veins, mentally she is always locked in. We knew classic would be her best chance to win as she has won every classic race she entered.”

Elton has battled Summit’s Ella Hagen throughout the season, but on Thursday it was Poudre’s Elayna Potter who posed the biggest challenge. Elton covered the course in 16 minutes, 45.7 seconds with Potter (16:59.7) and Lake County’s Finnley Stanek (17:11.0) rounding out the podium. Hagen (17:33.4) finished fourth. On Friday, Elton finished in 15:07.7, 11 seconds clear of Hagen in second. Both athletes were well ahead of third-place finisher Chloe King (16:01.5).

“Isla was a little concerned Ella would have a better shot to stay with her on this course,” Ellenbaum said, adding that the pair discussed various strategies. The coach told his athlete he was confident she would pull away from the Tiger senior and prevent any drafting effect. Elton leaned into her double-pole strength to do exactly that.

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“On this course, if you are able to hammer through some of the transitions near the end and then grind up that last hill, you can be home free on the downhill,” Ellenbaum said.

“Ella really pushed me, and I knew she was my competition,” Elton added. “She pushed me to be a better athlete and competitor, and she’s a role model. It was really special to be able to do this race with her.”

Elyza Pyke led Battle Mountain in 13th on the classic day and the Huskies poured three athletes into the top-12 on the skate day with Bella Williams (sixth), Eden DeMino (seventh) and Ruthie DeMino (12th).

“A nod to Carla Hahn as well,” Battle Mountain coach Lisa Isom stated. Hahn was tripped at the start and lost a ski.

“(She) then got tripped again on one of the big climbs when a girl fell down in front of her,” Isom continued. “She managed to claw her way back to 21st overall, which shows a lot of grit and character.”

Lake County swept both classic and skate days to claim the girls team title — the Panthers’ first state ski title since 1996 — while the Huskies finished in fourth. Behind Isla Elton’s performances, Vail Mountain finished eighth as Caroline Provencher, Catherine Provencher and Cecily Elton finished 25th, 44th and 50th, respectively, in the skate event.

Ellenbaum said his “tightly bonded” group was led by its two seniors, Charlotte Johnson and Cecily Elton, the latter of whom was the lone female on the team as a sophomore. “She was instrumental in developing the team as she put her heart into it every year,” Ellenbaum said. “(She) helped build the team to over 11 participants this year.”

The Eagle Valley girls finished ninth to round out Eagle County teams.

Summit came away with the boys crown, but the Devils put up a tremendous challenge. After trailing by just five points after day 1, Paul Steiner’s crew finished with 483 points to claim the silver medal.

“Not much more a person can ask other than use your technique, remain mentally strong and like we’ve been saying this season ‘see black floaties,'” the head coach said. “The vibes were positive and the willingness to let it all go was free flowing.”

The Devils put three in the classic top-10, with Jonah Barber and Tyler Blair finishing neck and neck in third and fourth, respectively. Jack Sargent rounded out the scoring in ninth.

“(He) has put in a ton of effort and remained dedicated the past few seasons,” Steiner said of Sargent. “‘Trust the process’ is something he says every now and then and that showed.”

Summit’s dynamic duo of Carter Niemkiewicz (13:38.3) and James Sowers (13:54.1) went 1-2 in the classic race. In the skate, Sowers took the win by four seconds over Steamboat Springs’ Charlie Wiedel as Niemkiewicz placed third. Vail Mountain School’s Teddy Brunner was sixth in the classic and fourth in the skate.

“He has been on nordic skis for 2 1/2 months, so really this was an incredible finish and it left him hungry for next season,” said Ellenbaum, who also received an impressive performance from another rookie, freshman Tyler Ciluzzi, who was seventh.

Brunner was in podium position until falling on one of the final sharp turns. Blair — who has generally experienced better success in skate throughout the season — suffered a similar fate, albeit at the start of the race, and was forced to fight his way back just to place 10th.

“I so badly wished I could have changed the beginning for Tyler,” said Steiner, who reflected on the entire meet by saying, “New normals were made. Some very valuable new normals.”

Steiner emphasized his team’s growth in technique and passion throughout the year and also praised his fellow Eagle County coaches.

“It was really cool to see how stoked Shawn was with Isla’s double wins,” he said. “Lisa brings the hype with her crew at Battle Mountain. I’m thankful that we’re all competitors but also willing to help and support one another.” 

Elton’s season isn’t done quite yet. Also a Ski and Snowboard Club Vail skier, Elton will compete at the U.S. Junior Nationals at Soldier Hollow starting next week.

“Isla is a tough competitor, a true Nordic phenom,” Ellenbaum said. “She won with style and grace. Perfect technique from all her effort and coaches around the valley helped her secure a place in VMS Nordic history.”