Summit High School had a strong start at the 2026 CHSAA Nordic State Championships, with five of its skiers finishing in the top eight during Friday’s boys cross country skate race at Snow Mountain Range in Granby.
John Ryan of Summit won the 5-kilometer event, finishing in 15 minutes, 54.96 seconds. He finished ahead of Teddy Brunner from Vail Mountain, who placed second with a time of 16:14.44.
Carter Niemkiewicz, the defending classic state champion from Summit, took third place for the third consecutive year in this event. His time was 16:31.53. Other Summit athletes also performed well: Daniel Butler came in sixth (17:04.27), Levi Ryan was seventh (17:07.83), and Griffin Heins finished eighth (17:11.42).
The classic race is scheduled for Saturday.
Brunner has previous experience on the podium, having placed fourth in last year’s skate race.
Charlie Wiedel from Steamboat Springs, last year’s runner-up in this event, finished fourth on Friday with a time of 16:45.16.
Other top ten finishers included Jonah Barber of Eagle Valley—who repeated his fifth-place finish from last season with a time of 16:59.19—Jackson McLaren of Steamboat Springs (ninth, 17:11.73), and Wilson Anderson of Lake County (10th, 17:14.04).
After one day of competition, Summit leads the team standings with 227 points. Eagle Valley is second with 192 points and Steamboat Springs is third with 187 points. Poudre holds fourth place at 174 points and Middle Park rounds out the top five at 170 points. Lake County sits sixth (161), followed by Battle Mountain (152) and Vail Mountain (151). Nederland is ninth with 121 points while Aspen is tenth at 113 points.
