Rhinelander Nordic skier to compete at Junior National Championship

Rhinelander Nordic's Olin Slette heads for a podium finish at the Junior National Qualifier classic 6.6 km race at the Ariens Nordic Center in Brillion Jan. 29. Submitted photo/Cathy Putnam

For the Star Journal

Rhinelander High School Nordic skier Olin Slette has been named to the Junior National Cross Country Ski team today and will compete in the Junior National Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska March 13-16.

Slette competed in four weeks of racing and was among 36 high school and early college skiers from Wisconsin and Michigan who qualified for the national team Feb. 18 at Wirth Park in Minneapolis.

Wisconsin recently joined the Great Lakes Division, giving the state’s top skiers increased opportunity to ski at the national level.  The Junior National system is a pipeline for World Cup and Olympic Nordic level skiing in the United States.

The complete team roster includes:

 U20 men:  Casey Van Hefty, Benjamin Dohlby, Grant Rocheleau, Derek Waddick, Joseph Stumpf, Noah Jahnke, Myles Brown. 

U20 women: Eleanor Bennett, Sylvia Meza and Kiersten Rotar. 

U18 men: Dietrich Mattison, Kristian Hudacek, Charles Vater, Owen Wick, Jonathon Hanson, Edison Byrum, Aiden Ecker. 

U18 women:  Fran Peterson, Josephine Kwasny, Anne Straka, Arianne Olson, Lillian Franzen, Grace Kern, Madyson Rosenberger, Sophie Stephenson. 

U16 men: Jack Dahlby, Ben Buchmann, Cole Mirek, Olin Slette. 

U16 women:  Lauren Carlton, Stella Meza, Greta Dickman, Krin Blegen, Riley Grossklaus, Margaret Bennett, and Sophia Jedlewska.