VIRGINIA MEISSNER SNO-PARK — A group of Ridgeview and Redmond Proficiency Academy students is so committed to skiing that the members find their own transportation to the mountains, up to three times a week.

They don’t even mind that their Oregon Interscholastic Ski Racing Association club doesn’t get a lot of support from the schools.

“Skiing is really great because it’s an individual sport for me,” said Ridgeview’s Natalie Hill, who also plays softball for the Ravens. “It’s kind of like a family, we all go to the races and scream for each other, which is fun.”

Hill, 16, has been skiing since she was 8. She views the sport as good for all ages.

“It’s easy for little kids to do, my little sister does it,” she said at a practice last week at Virginia Meissner Sno-Park just north of Mt. Bachelor. “It’s a great, long-lasting sport you can do your entire life.”

Even though Hill has been involved with the sport for much of her life, coach David Smullin said many of the team members, which include nine students from Ridgeview and four girls from RPA, are new to the sport this season. He said the new skiers are already making progress — having decreased their percentage of time behind top finishers by 30 to 40 percent between the first two meets of the season.

In the team’s third meet of the season, the OISRA XC Oregon Invitational on Jan. 28 at Mt. Bachelor, the RPA girls finished fourth with 47 points, while Ridgeview was ninth of 10 teams with 89 points. Summit won with 6 points. RPA’s Sarah Kilroy, who finished fourth on the 5,000-meter course with a time of 14 minutes, 26.3 seconds, was the top finisher from Redmond. Liv Downing of Summit won the event with a time of 13:55.2.

Ridgeview finished seventh of eight teams in the boys event, with 68 points. Summit won the boys event with nine points. Fourth-place Albert Hesse was the Ravens’ top finisher with a time of 13:03.8, about 34 seconds behind first-place Will Lange of Summit.

The team has a handful of skiers who can perform well at the state meet, including Hesse and Kilroy, Smullin said.

Ridgeview junior Hesse competed at state last year, finishing 19th in the 6.2K freestyle, shortly after taking up skiing. He went on to finish seventh at the state track meet in the 3,000 meters as a sophomore and then finished 10th in fall 2016 at state in cross-country.

Cross-country skiing is more aerobic than its running counterpart, Hesse said.

“It helps me prepare for track season,” he said. “I also like running, so why not?”

Hesse, who was born in Ukraine and adopted by an American couple at 9, found out not long after he started skiing that his birth grandfather competed for the Soviet Union as a biathlete, which combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting, in the Winter Olympics.

“I was like, yes, I’m going in the right direction,” Hesse said.

Hesse measures himself primarily on how well he does against those who also run cross-country and ski, particularly competitors for Intermountain Conference rivals Summit and Bend High.

After finishing fourth Jan. 28, Hesse won the 18K race the next day at the Great Nordeen, an all-ages cross-country event between Mt. Bachelor and the Wanoga Sno-park. His time of 44:05.7 was more than 10 minutes faster than the winning time in the 2016 race, reflecting a trend of fast times on the day.

Smullin started the program in 1999, originally to represent Redmond High. But no Panthers are currently on the team, which has taken hits as schools have pulled back involvement. While skiing hasn’t been an OSAA sport, skiers used to have to meet academic standards to compete and money for the program had to go through the school.

The team has dropped in numbers since its days of winning state championships, which the Redmond girls did as recently as 2011. In its heyday, Smullin said more than 30 Redmond High students were on the team.

Now, the uniforms are about the only tie to the high schools.

“They recognize us as a club, but we don’t get any support,” Smullin said. “It’s kind of an unusual situation.”

Each practice and race, three or four vans will car pool the skiers into the Cascades.

“All the transportation, everything, is voluntary,” Smullin said.

The team is funded through donations. The skiers received new Ridgeview and RPA uniforms this season.

Wearing the RPA green is new for twin sophomores Jane and Jessica Whitticar, who attend the public charter school. Because RPA doesn’t sponsor OSAA teams, the Whitticars compete for Ridgeview in track and cross-country.

“It’s really fun,” Jessica said. “In cross-country and track we represent a school that’s not our own, but, in skiing, we represent our own school.”

The twins, in their second year of skiing, love getting away from town to the snowy trails where they practice and compete.

“I like it a lot,” Jessica said. “It’s nice to have colder weather, but it’s way hard to get the technique down.”

— Reporter: 541-548-2186, gfolsom@redmondspokesman.com