Jumpers swarm Pine Valley

Jumpers from as far away as Chicago and Ishpeming, Michigan traveled to northern Minnesota last week for Central Division meets in Cloquet and Coleraine.

The Cloquet Ski Club hosted its invitational on Friday, Dec. 30, at Pine Valley. The Cloquet ski jumps - built in the 1960s from steel donated by the railroads - join Coleraine as the only jumps left in Greater Minnesota.

More than 50 jumpers competed in this year's meet.

"We handed out 70 bibs, but some kids did more than one jump," explained ski jumping coach Ken Ripp, adding that Friday's meet was the first competition of the year for many people.

During Friday's competition, the youngest skiers went first, jumping the 5-meter (the length of the run, not the height of the jump), which is basically a little bump in the snow behind the chalet. Parents were clapping and standing guard below to make sure no one ran into a nearby light post.

Next up was the 10-meter jump on the big hill, the run twice as long but still made out of snow and not too scary.

The 20-meter jump followed, each competitor jumping twice, climbing up the metal structure before zooming back down, crouching low on the run and then springing off the end of the jump, trying for skis in a V-shape, arms back, head up, trying to delay the landing as long as possible.

Only a few jumpers went off the 40-meter, which looms over the treetops at Pine Valley.

Ripp said there was a good contingent of skiers from the Chicago-area Norge Ski Club.

The local Cloquet ski club continues its boom cycle. Ripp said they have more than 60 kids signed up for ski jumping and nearly 200 for Nordic skiing. The club was able to add to its trove of ski equipment thanks to a grant this year, which meant they could outfit every skier who needed gear. The club charges a nominal fee for equipment rental each season,because they want to make sure joining the lifelong sport is affordable for kids, who can use their skis all winter long wherever they go.

The Cloquet Ski Club was recognized as Club of the Year by USA Nordic in 2020, in part for its exponential growth and strong volunteer base.

Ripp credited word-of-mouth and an active group of parents for the jump in numbers.

"A friend jumps or skis, and they bring another friend and they realize it's a fun place to be," he said. "It's an inclusive atmosphere - and we have hot chocolate! That doesn't happen everywhere."

Cloquet voters approved a half-cent sales tax in November that includes money for renovating the ski jumps at Pine Valley.

The next local competition is the Cloquet City Meet, which includes jumping and Nordic skiing and usually falls in February or March. That meet is open to all ages.

Following is a full list of results from the day.

RPTSJ Results

U6 5M FEMALE

1 CAIYA MAKI-FOUST, Cameron, 86.5 points

OPEN 5M FEMALE

1 SYLVIA KILPELA, Ishpeming, 102.0

2 TORI HARDER, Cameron, 96.5

U6 5M MALE

1 DANIEL ILKIV, Norge, 102.5

OPEN 10M FEMALE

1 EMILY KINNUNEN, Cloquet, 147.1

2 PATIENCE SHILTS, Cloquet, 130.9

3 CLAIRE BIEBL, Cloquet, 120.0

4 ZOE MULINIX, Cameron, 97.2

OPEN 10M MALE

1 OLIVER STENGLEIN, Norge, 135.2

2 KALLEN MIENS, Cloquet, 119.5

U8 10M FEMALE

1 EVELYN KUEHL, Eau Claire, 135.7

U8 10M MALE

1 COLE STANTON, Norge, 129.9

2 DANIEL ILKIV, Norge, 118.5

3 DENNEN HANSON, Cloquet, 101.7

4 HUCK KEENAN, Snowflake, 95.9

U10 10M FEMALE

1 ASTRID MORRIS, Cloquet, 138.0

2 ROWAN ROCKENSTEIN, Cloquet, 135.9

3 AUBREY LINDEN, Cloquet, 134.2

4 FRANCES LANGER, Cloquet, 133.4

5 LUELLA MARC, Cloquet, 132.2

6 TALIA MAKI-FOUST, Cameron, 128.3

7 LAYLA GERSTNER, Cameron, 128.1

8 ELLIA ANTUS, Cloquet, 122.3

9 JOHANNA RACKLIFFE, Cloquet, 118.2

9 REINA MIENS, Cloquet, 118.2

11 QUINN PETERSON, Cloquet, 106.4

12 DYLAN HANSON, Cloquet, 104.8

13 ANNELI KILPELA, Ishpeming, 93.9

14 SUMMER DUPRE, Eau Claire, 76.4

15 EDITH MORRIS, Cloquet, 51.3

U10 10M MALE

1 DAVID WHITING, Blackhawk, 134.9

1 MILES STANTON, Norge, 134.9

3 AUGUST STENGLEIN, Norge, 106.9

4 ARI NELSON, Cloquet, 76.7

OPEN 20M FEMALE

1 CLARA THOMPSON, Cloquet, 124.8

OPEN 20M MALE

1 EPHRAM MARC, Cloquet, 104.5

2 LOGAN MACKEY, Itasca, 86.6

U12 20M FEMALE

1 ELISA WHITING, Blackhawk, 141.8

2 ROWAN ROCKENSTEIN, Cloquet, 115.7

3 FRANCES LANGER, Cloquet, 115.1

4 ASTRID MORRIS, Cloquet, 108.9

5 AUBREY LINDEN, Cloquet, 92.9

6 LUELLA MARC, Cloquet, 88.6

7 ELLIA ANTUS, Cloquet, 83.2

8 REINA MIENS, Cloquet, 82.2

9 EVELYN KUEHL, Eau Claire, 64.9

U12 20M MALE

1 ETHAN KUEHL. Eau Claire, 153.9

2 SIMON LANGER, Cloquet, 149.5

3 BOONE KEENAN, Snowflake, 133.1

4 BROCK PETERSON, Cloquet, 131.6

5 ORIAN HENDRICKSON, Cloquet, 130.6

6 COLLIN SHILTS, Cloquet, 117.0

7 RYDER SWANSON, Itasca, 116.6

8 COLE STANTON, Norge, 102.1

8 BRAD HARDER, Cameron, 102.1

10 MILES STANTON, Norge, 100.7

11 DAVID WHITING, Blackhawk, 93.5

12 WESTON HARDER, Cameron, 89.6

13 JONAH VELASQUEZ, Eau Claire, 63.5

U14 40M FEMALE

1 ELISA WHITING, Blackhawk, 141.9

U14 40M MALE

1 ISAIAH LANGER, Cloquet, 192.4

2 JOEL LINDEN, Cloquet, 176.1

3 SIMON LANGER, Cloquet, 170.3

4 ETHAN KUEHL, Eau Claire, 145.3

5 MAX LARSON, Ishpeming, 100.3

6 BROCK PETERSON, Cloquet, 95.9

7 ORIAN HENDRICKSON, Cloquet, 80.2

U20 40M MALE

1 PAYTON SWANSON, Itasca, 174.1

*****

RPT-NC Results

OPEN 5M FEMALE

1 Sylvia Kilpela, Ishpeming, 03:17.0

U6 MALE

1 Daniel Ilkiv, Norge, 08:05.0

U8 FEMALE

1 Evelyn Kuehl, Eau Claire, 10:00.0

U10 FEMALE

1 Rowan Rockenstein, Cloquet, 05:57.0

2 Astrid Morris, Cloquet, 06:15.0

3 Aubrey Linden, Cloquet, 06:14.0

4 Frances Langer, Cloquet, 06:23.0

5 Layla Gerstner, Cameron, 06:35.0

6 Ellia Antus, Cloquet, 06:36.0

7 Quinn Peterson, Cloquet, 06:23.0

8 Dylan Hanson, Cloquet, 06:40.0

9 Anneli Kilpela, Ishpeming, 06:44.0

10 Talia Maki-Foust, Cameron, 08:05.0

11 Reina Miens, Cloquet, 08:00.0

12 Summer Dupre, Eau Claire, 07:28.0

U10 MALE

1 David Whiting, Blackhawk, 06:00.0

U12 FEMALE

1 Elisa Whiting, Blackhawk, 10:35.0

U12 MALE

1 Simon Langer, Cloquet, 08:54.0

2 Brock Peterson, Cloquet, 09:45.0

3 Ethan Kuehl, Eau Claire, 11:38.0

4 Orian Hendrickson, Cloquet, 12:13.0

5 Ryder Swanson, Itasca, 13:50.0

6 Jonah Velasquez, Eau Claire, 13:49.0

U14 MALE

1 Isaiah Langer, Cloquet, 09:12.0

2 Joel Linden, Cloquet, 11:14.0

3 Max Larson, Ishpeming, 12:11.0