High school Nordic racing got underway last Friday at the Auburn Ski Club, bringing roughly 50 of the area’s top prep skiers out for the 6-kilometer freestyle opener.

North Tahoe senior and defending Nordic state champion, Kili Lehmkuhl, captured the season-opening win, finishing the course with a time of 20 minutes, 30.5 seconds. Lehmkuhl is also the defending cross-country running state champion. Sugar Bowl Academy junior Hayden McJunkin, who is also the defending girls’ Nevada Interscholastic Cycling League state champion, was second with a time of 21:20.3. North Tahoe senior Alani Powell took third with a time of 22:59. Truckee junior Petra Kidd was fourth with a time of 23:19.8, followed by teammate Hannah Hammond in fifth place with a time of 23:57.2.

On the boys’ side, Sugar Bowl Academy’s Pascal Wettermark cruised to first place by more than 23 seconds, finishing with a time of 18:43. North Tahoe’s Jake Hacker (19:07.3) and Cooper Honeywell (19:57.3) were second and third, respectively. Logan Selander led Truckee with a time of 20:32.9 for fourth place. Sugar Bowl Academy skiers Marc Bender (20:55.9) and Christian Nygard (21:20.3) were the next two finishers, claiming fifth and sixth, respectively.

Justin Scacco is a reporter for the Sierra Sun. Contact him at jscacco@sierrasun.com or 530-550-2643.