Pechous again an all-stater

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Hastings High School senior Kelly Pechous placed 10th at the state Alpine ski meet Wednesday. By placing in the top 10, she earned a spot on the All-State team for the second consecutive year. She was eighth-place last year.

“Kelly did very well,” Hastings coach Jim Peine said. “It was very stiff competition this year at state. The competition was definitely stepped up this year over last year.”

Lane Manke and Gabriella Sorg also competed for the Raider girls. Manke placed 40th and Sorg was 53rd.

Pechous finished her first run in 39.95 seconds and her second in 40.43 for a combined time of 1:20.38.

The winner, Niki Larson of Lakeville South, had a time of 1:14.53.

“I think she could have maybe pushed a little more on her first run,” Peine said. “She skied the first one slightly conservatively, but she did a great job.”

Peine also praised the efforts Pechous puts forth in the classroom.

“Not only can she ski well, but academically, she is at the top of her class,” he said. “That’s a pretty amazing feat with how often she is skiing and practicing. In a sense, that’s the real story. She does so well academically, and has taken a lot of college courses as well.”

It was Pechous’ final race for the Raiders. She is a senior.

Manke, a junior, had a combined time of 1:27.06.

“Lane skied well,” Peine said. “I think she had one little bobble, nothing too bad. It was good experience for her next year, going into her senior year. She’s looking forward to next year.”

Sorg, an eighth-grader, had a combined time of 1:29.52.

“We’re really looking forward to seeing what her potential is,” Peine said. “Hopefully, next year, we bring the whole team up with her and Lane.”

Matt Hoffman was the lone Hastings qualifier on the boys’ side. He finished just one run on the day and didn’t place. The time in that one run placed him in the upper quarter of the meet. He had a time of 36.54.

He is a senior.

On the run, Hoffman didn’t finish, Peine said Hoffman got back on his skis a little bit and skied out of the course.

“It was good run coming up to that,” he said. “He was going for it. That’s what you have to do. You’ve got to push it as hard as you can. That’s what he was trying to do.”

Tags: alpine skiing, sports, hastings, prep