Melissa Merritt

Hard work and dedication paid off for Powell High School senior Melissa Merritt, who was part of the first ever state championship Nordic Ski team for Cody High School, taking the team title in Pinedale on Feb. 28.

“It was awesome to be a part of the state championship team and see all the hard work of the season pay off,” Merritt said. “But mostly it was special to watch my teammates achieve something that’s been in the works for years. Everyone had a great race and it just felt like everything came together at the right time.”

Merritt made the decision to ski alongside the Fillies last year, after former Panther Kenna Jacobsen’s cousin, who is also Merritt’s friend, persuaded the pair to join despite Merritt having no previous skiing experience.

“Kenna and I had both done indoor track the previous year, but were looking for different offseason training options to avoid burnout, so suddenly it didn’t seem like such a crazy idea,” Merritt said. “Before she even knew us, our coach, Meggin Becker, was so supportive and excited for us to join. When our friend was communicating with her about our concern of having no experience, all she said was ‘if they can run, they can ski.’ Meggin was incredible both years about getting me equipment and knowledge I needed to succeed.”

Training with the Fillies led to a challenging week for Merritt, as she said the team typically skied on Mondays at Pahaska or Antelope Butte, but would also ski on the weekends if they didn’t have a meet that weekend.

“The rest of the days were strength training, roller skiing and running, most of which I did on my own at home,” Merritt said. “I still made an effort to go over for some non-skiing practices, which was always worth it because practice was much more fun with my teammates.”

Merritt has been a staple of the Panther cross country team for years, being part of the team’s state title her sophomore year, but was uncertain of the true difficulty of Nordic skiing until her first race.

“I had heard Nordic skiers say that skiing was harder than cross country, but I was never really sure about that until my first ski race,” she said. “Running fast is hard, but nothing quite compared to fighting for your life during a 10K race through hilly terrain in a blizzard.”

Being a part of the Panther cross country team meant that Merritt was now teammates with some of her biggest competitors out on the course, with Merritt thankful for the competition from her nearby rivals over the years.

“I’ve always appreciated having the Cody girls’ team to push our cross country team, but I wasn’t sure how the transition from friendly rivals to teammates would go,” she said.

The transition didn’t take long.

“The whole team was very welcoming and it didn’t take long to become friends,” Merritt said. “Our long bus rides included a lot of talking, playing games and laughing. It was so fun to get to know them individually. I respect those girls so much as runners, skiers and people because I was able to see how hard they worked and the way they reacted to those challenges and setbacks. I think the hardest sports create the deepest bonds, which is why I feel so close to both my cross country and Nordic teammates.”

At the state Nordic meet the Fillies had three of the top eight in the 5K race, as Raina Wachob was second, Hailie Schramm was fourth and Sadie Wachob was eighth. Similar results followed in the 10K race as Raina Wachob was second, Sadie was fifth and Schramm was seventh. 

Merritt was the fifth across the line for the Fillies taking 43rd in both races, with a time of 23 minutes, 51.3 seconds in the 5K and a time of 48 minutes, .2 seconds in the 10K.

As a team the Fillies finished with 174 points, topping the team standings by 22 points over Lander.

Following the two years with the Fillies program, Merritt felt like it was one of the best choices she made over her high school career.

“The decision to join Nordic was probably the best decision I made in high school, not because it was always fun or easy, but because it taught me more than staying in my regular sports would have,” Merritt said. “In my other sports, I’m pretty experienced and comfortable with training and racing. But with Nordic, I had to learn how to be a beginner again as a junior, which was humbling to say the least. I had to learn to focus on myself and do the best I could with the experience I had, even if it was very little. Because of Nordic, I feel like I’ve become more willing to try new things and be proud of myself for trying, regardless of the outcome.”

She said skiing has been a great way to increase her endurance and pacing, but has also helped her mentally. 

“Skiing gave me the opportunity to do things that were scary and challenging,” Merritt said. “I’ve gained confidence in my ability to do hard things, which will help me as I keep running in the future.”