Marshall Helmberger
DULUTH Ely skiers took the top spots in a tough field here on Tuesday, but both the boys and girls finished second overall on the challenging 5K Spirit Mountain course.
Ely junior Gabriel Pointer took first place in the varsity boys competition, with a time of 12:20.4. Jon Hakala finished in the fourth spot (13:07.8) and Micah Larson finished seventh (13:38.7).
For the girls, sophomore Zoe Devine dominated the field, finishing first with a time of 13:59.0. Phoebe Helms finished in sixth place and was the only other Ely competitor to finish in the top ten.
“Ely did well individually, but we’re definitely in a building year team-wise,” said Ely Head Coach Paula Anderson. The boys competed this week without their standout, Jasper Johnston, who was competing in the CXC Cup, a qualifying regional competition for the Junior Nationals in Cable, Wis. Johnston took first place in the classic competition during that event.