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In addition to finishing as state runners-up, the Ely Nordic Wolves entered uncharted waters when it came to individual recognition.
Not one, not two, not three, but a whopping four members of the high school boys Nordic skiing team received all-state recognition.
Based on their performance at the state meet, seniors Dylan Durkin and Eli Olson and sophomores Oliver Hohenstein and Aksel Skustad were all named to the all-state team, as picked by the state’s coaches association.
It’s believed to be the first time in Ely history that any team had four All State selections in any sport in one year.
The recognition comes on the heels of a banner year for the Wolves, one in which they won the section title on Feb. 6 and followed up a week later at Giants Ridge by placing second - behind Twin Cities behemoth Wayzata - in the single-class state meet.
Todd Hohenstein, the Wolves’ head coach, singled out the seniors - Durkin and Olson - for leading the way.
“They really set the standard of what it looked like to work hard right away in June of last year,” said Hohenstein.
“There is a saying; “Skiers are made in June, July, and August.” and that has been well established with some of our other accomplished nordic skiers from Ely.”
After winning the section individual title, Durkin wound up eighth overall at state to cap a brilliant prep career.
“Dylan finished last season and was already thinking about making it known that he wanted to compete for the individual section championship,” said Hohenstein.“ I definitely supported the goal, but thought I haven’t seen the high level of commitment from Dylan that would be needed to make that goal a reality. Throughout the summer training sessions a new drive and determination emerged from him. I hadn’t seen Dylan ever work that hard in practice. He started to do the little things as well. Making sure he had proper hydration during the workout so he could workout longer. He took training seriously and as a result, found another level of performance.”
Olson regularly finished near the heap among individual skiers throughout the season, and at sections and state he teamed up with Oliver Hohenstein on a sprint relay that took second in the state.
“Eli has always used a thoughtful approach to his improvement,” said Hohenstein. “He has a very good mind - body connection. Some skiers go out and they just naturally ski with great form and technique. Others require fine tuning and adjustments. Eli is very good at taking feedback from a coach and making adjustments. He loves setting physical challenges for himself and just going out and seeing if he can meet the challenge. He is our skier that just loves to ski, loves the way it feels while skiing, and how it makes him feel after. I think he will find a way to keep skiing while in college to help him stay balanced.”
Ely’s seniors on the all state team were joined by two sophomores who have already made their mark on both the section and state stage.
Both also have caught the attention of others, and were chosen to represent the Midwest Region at the U16 Junior National Championships, which are slated for March 10-15 at Salt Lake City, Utah.
Skustad earned his all state certificate by placing 19th at the state meet.
“Aksel is one of those “natural” skiers,” said Hohenstein. “He just moves in a very efficient and powerful way on skis. He has been skiing since he could walk and much of his early skiing was downhill. He has no problems navigating a tough downhill section of a Nordic race course. He is similar to Dylan in the way he skis and I wouldn’t be surprised if one day he puts up similar results. Of course he knows that it would require a lot of training, but I’m almost certain that he would say that with a smile on his face as he loves to work hard.”
Oliver Hohenstein, the son of the head coach, turned from individual performance to team in the postseason, joining Olson in the sprint relay.
“Oliver would be similar to Eli,” said Todd Hohenstein. “ He loves to think about ways to improve his skiing and responds well to coaching that...doesn’t come from his father. I say that tongue and cheek as I think we have built a great relationship as father/son coach/ skier. Oliver loves the sport and loves pushing himself to work harder than anyone else. Oliver and Aksel have been skiing together since they were four years old. They have had many ski racing adventures over the years and they both look forward to seeing how far they both can go, pushing each other to dig deeper the whole way there.”
