Jackson 2026 Jan 31

Race Report – Jackson Day 2 - CLASSIC Ski Race

Today’s 10 km Classic race was held on the same course as yesterday. Varsity athletes skied four laps of the course (with an ~80 m climb per lap), while JV athletes completed two laps. The tracks had been set the night before but were filled in many places with blown in snow, making them relatively slow and shallow. Snow conditions changed dramatically throughout the day, with rising temperatures, intermittent wind, and cloud cover occasionally blocking the sun. As coaches, we felt unsettled about wax selection. Even early in the morning on colder snow, our kick was not working well, and as temperatures increased, conditions became truly challenging.

Several teams experienced significant wax issues. At one point, I helped an athlete from another team scrape ice off his skis mid-race. He literally carried an inch of ice underneath his ski. Olivia Tollson, yesterday’s winner, fell at the start due to ski icing up and, despite fighting through the entire race and suffering multiple additional falls, finished in 8th place.

Varsity Boys

The first race of the day was Varsity Boys, contested as a mass start. With eight lanes—one for each team—the nervous energy was obvious. Abe Hughes led the charge for Sheridan but unfortunately tripped at the start (not due to icing, but simply a stumble). This cost all of our boys a few seconds, though everyone recovered well and settled into the race.

Due to mixed results in testing, the boys raced on different wax setups. Gabe and I favored one particular kick wax, and Gabe was pleased with his choice post race. He also reported excellent glide, which allowed him to gain ground on the downhills even as others pulled away on the climbs. Kade also reported a decent kick after applying a last-minute wax layer we had identified as promising. Abe, however, struggled with kick throughout the race. Despite this—and another fall—he skied impressively and broke into the top 10, finishing first for Sheridan. Kade briefly passed Abe during the race, but Abe ultimately finished just ahead of Kade.

Abe, Kade, and Gabe earned 21, 20, and 15 points respectively for Sheridan. We have grown accustomed to seeing Luke, Andre, and Eric also score team points, but today only Luke was able to do so. He earned two points by placing 34th overall. This was possible because when a team places more than five skiers in the top 30, only the top five score, and the remaining points cascade down to the next teams. Luke benefited from four Jackson skiers and one Laramie skier not earning a sixth team score.

Varsity Girls

The second race, held about an hour later, was Varsity Girls. Thanks to another coach and friend, we found a wax combination that initially seemed excellent for the conditions. It allowed us to differentiate between athletes with naturally effective kick and those who needed extra support. Excited to finally dial things in, we prepared all the skis.

Six minutes before the start, Kayley returned from testing and reported that her wax was not working—every coach’s nightmare. We quickly adjusted by covering part of her kick zone (“under the toe”) with a different wax and sent her to the start. Brynn, meanwhile, had not tested her skis and was racing on the same setup Kayley initially rejected. For Brynn and Ella, we had added additional stickiness, anticipating they would benefit from more support on the climbs.

Macey was unable to race after waking up extremely nauseous, which turned out to be the right choice watching her development through the day. Kayley had also reported significant stomach issues prior to the start and warned us she might not finish. On the bus ride home, she experienced a full blown stomach bug.

Kayley led our team out of the start and skied reasonably well into the first downhill. There, however, she had to work much harder to generate speed and still lost ground in the glide, raising concerns about her skis. By the end of the first lap, she had fallen back to 8th place with a noticeable gap to the front. I was prepared to write the race off as bad skis and feeling unwell. Tirza from Jackson, who placed 2nd yesterday, led the race at a blistering pace early on. This turned out to be the wrong strategy for her. During the second lap, Raina Wachob from Cody took over the lead, built a significant gap, and held it to the finish.

As the field passed through lap two, the gap between Kayley and the leaders had stayed steady without further increasing—a promising sign. Knowing Kayley’s strength as a distance athlete, it felt inevitable that she would begin closing the gap. By the end of the third lap, she surged from 4th into 2nd place as she passed by the stadium. Watching her determination and grit was inspiring, and at that point it seemed unlikely anyone would take that position from her. Although Nora, a talented U16 skier from Lander, briefly caught Kayley late in the race, Kayley held strong and finished 2nd, collapsing at the finish line.

Kudos to the Cody team: finishing 1st, 3rd, and 5th, they had an outstanding performance, clearly nailing the wax for the day. Jackson ultimately won the team competition thanks to their depth. Brynn, Ella, and Clara all struggled with kick, which made it difficult for them to stay competitive. Brynn earned three points for Sheridan, in addition to Kayley’s 29 points, placing Sheridan 6th out of 8 teams. Ella finished 39th overall; at times she moved very well through the field and was satisfied with her performance.

JV Race

The JV race included open-race skiers, primarily younger club athletes from Jackson. Their depth and talent are impressive. Wyatt finished 10th among JV skiers, with an additional 15 open-race skiers ahead of him (four high school–aged athletes and eleven middle school athletes, the youngest in 6th grade). The race was a valuable learning experience for Wyatt. During his first lap, he relied on diagonal stride but lacked sufficient kick and was passed on the climbs. In the second lap, he adapted by stepping out of the tracks and herringboning when necessary, resulting in a faster overall lap.

Sean finished second for Sheridan, followed by Connor, Elijah, and Colton, who had another rough weekend of struggling with altitude. Edward finished last for Sheridan, rounding out the JV race. His attitude has been excellent—quiet, steady, and never complaining. With continued effort and work on balance, he has strong potential for growth in the coming years. This weekend will also be remembered as 'Elijah’s leap to improved technique.’ All of us noticed a change in his form, especially when he has high energy.

Team Scores:

Varsity Boys:

Jackson 118

Lander 74

Kelly Walsh 62

Sheridan 58

Natrona 53

Laramie 51

Pinedale 49

Cody 0

Varsity Girls:

Jackson 102