Steamboat Nordic skier takes silver in state championship skate race

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Steamboat Nordic skier Charlie Wiedel blasts down the final straight of the 5-kilometer skate race on Friday, taking second place in the 2025 Nordic Ski State Championships at Howelsen Hill. Wiedel edged out the third place skier by just 0.01 seconds.

The 2025 Nordic Skiing State Championships were hosted in Steamboat Springs this week with an individual start classic race at the Steamboat Ski Touring Center on Thursday and a mass start skate race and mixed discipline team relay at the Howelsen Hill Nordic Center on Friday.

Leading the charge for the Sailor boys on each day was Charlie Wiedel who placed seventh in Thursday’s classic and earned the silver medal in the 5-kilometer skate race on Friday.

As he turned the final corner in the skate race at the rodeo grounds, Wiedel was neck-and-neck with Carter Niemkiewicz of Summit, who won the classic race a day prior.

The two barrelled down the final stretch with Wiedel ultimately beating his opponent by 0.01 seconds for second place. He was less than four seconds behind the race winner.

For the Steamboat girls it was Dixie Barnes and Evie Fisher leading the way, just falling outside of the top 10 in the 5k classic race in 11th and 12th, respectively. Barnes doubled down with another 11th place finish in Friday’s skate race.