Norway’s Sofia Ruesch skied to a fourth place result Monday in the giant slalom at Pine Mountain. (Courtesy photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — The Norway High School ski team hosted a UP Conference race Monday at Pine Mountain. The four U.P. schools with ski teams participated in the event. The Knights’ girls finished second behind Marquette. Ironwood and Houghton finished third and fourth.

The Knights were led by the one-two combination of Sofia Ruesch and Sophia Fornetti who raced to a second and fifth place in the slalom. Teammate Grace Schiltz was in third place after the first of two runs, but a slip up on the second run dropped her out of contention. Ingrid Holt rounded the team scoring in slalom with an 11th place finish.

In the giant slalom the Ruesch-Fornetti duo came through again with a fourth and fifth place result. Schiltz’s 11th and Holt’s 14th rounded out the scoring for Norway giving them a comfortable margin over Ironwood in the team scoring.

“We had a very good day today,” Knights’ head coach John Bittinger said. “Ruesch and Fornetti both had an excellent day. They capitalized on the home hill advantage we get when hosting a race. Fornetti’s pair of fifth place results makes this her best high school race day. Another key for us is the consistency of Ingrid. We need scores and she keeps coming through for us.”

On the boy’s side, Skyler St John, the only boy racer for the Knights this season finished in 13th in the slalom and 15th in the giant slalom.

“Skyler has been another consistent racer for us,” Bittinger added. “Each week he puts up solid runs and stays in the middle of the pack which is great to see for a sophomore.”

The Knights head to Boyne Mountain in Boyne Falls Monday to compete in the regional finals. The state finals are at the end of the month. Last season the Knights finished fifth in the state with three of their racers earning all-state recognition.