onds off of Ankeny. Rounding out the podium in the
men’s race was Will Brandenburg, who came back
from sixth place in the first run to have the fastest time
overall in the afternoon slalom. Matt Strand came in
fourth.
In the women’s race, New Zealand’s Taylor Rapely finished second to Ide with the Kikut sisters from
Green Valley Mountain School taking third and fourth.
Also on the slopes were the Lund brothers, Jake and
Max. Jake, a U.S. ski team alum, finished in a dead
heat with Conor McDonald for eighth place on Feb.
26. Max, who skis for St. Olaf College, came in right
behind him in tenth. Strand took the men’s slalom win
on Feb. 26 as well as the Nagy Cup overall title. Anke-
ny, who was in first place after the first run, struggled
on the second run, falling and hiking a total of three
times. The crowd cheered wildly for the athlete as he
relentlessly hiked the steep pitch again and again in
order to complete the race. The Christianson brothers
came in second and third on the podium. Although he
tried valiantly, Kieffer was unable to beat older brother
Charles either of the days. Chris Frank came in fourth
place, just in front of U.S. skier Robby Kelley, who
took fifth. Sara Kikut snagged the top spot of podium
on Feb. 26, preventing Central Nation from making a
total sweep of the podium. Ide came in second, 0.16
seconds off. Strong rounded out the podium in third.
Officials also announced the first winner of the Nagy
Alpine Growth Scholarship, which was established in
Dan’s honor, to Laura Post, a Minnesota native who
races for Buck Hill. “Laura blew us away in her inter-
view,” said Navin. The high school senior plans to race
USCSA in college. The nonprofit fund is supported by
contributions from the skiing community.
Interested donors may contact Mark Navin at
mnavin@spee-dee.com or Kirstin Mallow at
kmallow@gmail.com.
Charles Christianson
Kieffer Christianson
