ROCORI Student Competing At National Ski Tournament

(KNSI) – A ROCORI student is headed across the country for a big-time ski competition.

Ella Dols finished in fourth place last week at the Minnesota State High School League’s Alpine Slalom Championships at Giants Ridge. That result qualifies her to be part of Team Minnesota at the Western U.S. High School Championships in March. The event will take place from the 9th through the 11th at the Mt. Hood Ski Bowl in Oregon.

This is the first year Minnesota will have a team. It will race against Colorado, Oregon, two Nevada squads, and Wyoming. Competitors can vie for individual and team awards in the slalom and giant slalom events.

The tournament is fairly new. The inaugural event had skiers on site when COVID broke out in 2020. The first true tournament happened in 2022. The eastern half of the country has had a national championship for 40 years, covering from Michigan to the Atlantic seaboard. Organizers are hoping to emulate that model in the west.

Minnesota is the only Midwest state to take part yet. Illinois expects to field a team in the future.

___