Thursday Duluth Marshall was able to hold their 16th annual Marshall Sprints at the Spirit Mountain Nordic Center. The Hilltoppers hosted boys and girls Nordic ski teams from Cook County, Duluth East, Cloquet and beyond.

“We’re so lucky to have snowmaking in this town, and for Nordic skiing to have it valued. Now any given night for practice, we’ll have 300 kids out here skiing,” Dave Johnson said, head coach of Duluth Marshall ski.

In the girls Sprint Finals the Duluth East Greyhounds controlled most of the field. Lydia Kraker crossed the finish line first, with Proctor/Hermantown’s Della Bettendorf finishing second right on her heels.

In the boys Sprint Finals Duluth East’s Paavo Rova would pull ahead and take first place ahead of Ely’s Dylan Durkin for the Greyhound sweep.

“This is a jump for me this season,” Rova said post-race. “I haven’t been at the top quite yet, I’ve been more in the middle and back of the team. So this is a big jump for me now, and hopefully it starts to look better.”

Sections for Nordic ski are February 7 at Giants Ridge.