Brigham, Simonson Win Both Nordic Skiing State Titles
Jackson’s Kate Brigham and Lander’s Kaleb Simonson swept the 2021 Wyoming High School Nordic Skiing State Championships in Casper this weekend.
Jackson swept both team titles. Their girls won the 10th consecutive championship and 16th in school history. The boys won their third in a row and 20th in school history.
Friday was a 5 km classic race. Brigham won the girls’ crown in 18:31.8, which was 40.3 seconds faster than her teammate, Natalie O’Brien.
1 - Kate Brigham, Jackson (18.31.8)
2 - Natalie O'Brien, Jackson (19:12.1)
3 - Kaylynn Sandall, Lander (19:12.6)
Then on Saturday, Brigham repeated as state champion in the freestyle race. She covered the 10 km course in 35:31.3. Her time was 37.2 seconds faster than O’Brien.
1 - Kate Brigham, Jackson (35:31.3)
2 - Natalie O'Brien, Jackson (36:08.5)
3 - Anni Wilmot, Lander (38:31.1)
Simonson had similar results in the boys’ division. On Friday, the Lander senior covered the 5 km classic course in 15:54.4. Simonson won by 37.6 seconds over Jackson’s Mason Wheeler.
1 - Kaleb Simonson, Lander (15:54.4)
2 - Mason Wheeler, Jackson (16:32.00)
3 - Desmond Concannon, Jackson (17:22.9)
The 10 km freestyle race saw Simonson with an even more-dominant victory. He won by 1:35.7 over Wheeler with a time of 30:37.6.
1 - Kaleb Simonson, Lander (30:37.6)
2 - Mason Wheeler, Jackson (32:13.2)
3 - Desmond Concannon, Jackson (33:00.0)
The Jackson girls scored 262 team points on their way to another championship. The Jackson boys scored 263 team points for the team title. Lander and Natrona County placed second and third in both divisions.
Girls Team Scores = Jackson 262, Lander 236, Natrona County 155, Kelly Walsh 132, Laramie 89, Cody/Sheridan 44, Pinedale 12
Boys Team Scores = Jackson 263, Lander 230, Natrona County 139, Laramie 120, Kelly Walsh 98, Cody/Sheridan 48, Pinedale 32