(Lander, WY) – The Lander Valley Nordic ski team will head to Pinedale this weekend for the 2026 State Nordic Ski Championships, with races set for Friday and Saturday at the Skyline Nordic Trail System near the White Pine Ski Area.
Originally slated to host the championships at Beaver Creek on South Pass, Lander officials made the call two weeks ago to move the event because of warm temperatures and a lack of consistent snow.
“There was kind of a whole crew of people involved,” head coach Gabe Joyes said. “It’s no small thing to put on any meet, particularly state. If it was going to be moved somewhere else, that location needed time to prep and prepare.”
The championships will open on Friday with freestyle races. The boys’ 5K will begin at 10 a.m., followed by the girls’ 5K at 11 a.m. Saturday’s classic races will feature the girls 10K at 10 a.m. and the boys 10K at 11 a.m. Awards are scheduled for 12:30 p.m. at the race venue in Pinedale.
Despite challenging conditions throughout the winter, Lander enters the weekend with momentum and depth. Lander will lean on the speed and experience of six Tigers who have already qualified for Junior Nationals: Logan Heller, Corbin Eddy, Twyla Beason, Nora Strike, Garrett Heller, and Landen Parker.
The season has not come without obstacles. A bus driver shortage forced the team to miss some on-snow practices, so they replaced them with running, agility, and strength sessions at school. Warm weather also made snow conditions inconsistent at Beaver Creek, often leaving athletes with the unideal situation of cleaning mud out of their bindings after practice.
“The weather’s been the biggest challenge,” Joyes said. “But I always take the perspective that every day is an opportunity to work on something. Whether it’s skiing, whether it’s fitness off snow, or at a bare minimum, it’s a character development opportunity.”
Joyes, in his first season at the helm, said his focus has been on the mental side of racing just as much as physical preparation.
“For me, success is how people feel when they cross the finish line,” he said. “If people are racing in a way that feels good and is fun and fast, that’s successful. Wherever that places us, that’s where it places us.”
He said one of the team’s biggest areas of growth has been helping athletes separate their race results from their self-worth.
“Your value as a human being is not in direct correlation to your last race result,” Joyes said. “If you can’t enjoy the sport, what’s the point? I hope all these kids enjoy sports forever.”
With six Junior Nationals qualifiers leading the charge and a roster that has battled through one of the more unpredictable winters in recent memory, Lander will look to finish the season strong on the trails in Pinedale.
Joyes would like to give thanks to “Norm Cessna, George Hunker, Maggie Heller, Emily Tilden, Jonathan Weaver, Brian Parker, Scott Kane, and Eliah Pedersen, who all helped volunteer coach this year, and to Ellen Bechtel, who volunteered with so much of the behind-the-scenes work and organization.”
The six skiers headed to Junior Nationals have a GoFundMe page where they’re looking to raise funds for their trips, which can be found here.
State competition begins Friday morning at 10 a.m.