The Saranac Lake and Lake Placid Nordic teams hit the trails under ideal conditions. The temperature was pleasant and the snow was fast. And what made the evening even more enjoyable was that many of the skiers were coming off a pair of high-pressure races two weekends ago at Gore Mountain and Mount Van Hoevenberg that served as qualifiers for the junior national championships.

The Red Storm swept the top spots in both the boys and girls varsity events Tuesday. Saranac Lake’s boys took the first eight positions going against a Blue Bombers team that was without its top skiers, who took the night off following a busy recent few days of racing. The Red Storm also grabbed the first four places in the girls race.

Adrian Hayden and Nick Kelting tied for first place in the boys 5-kilometer skate race and Sophia Kelting was the girls winner.

In the boys contest, Hayden and Kelting, along with third-place finisher Colter Cheney-Seymour, skied the entire race as the lead trio, and they reached the finish line three across wearing wide smiles. Hayden and Kelting clocked a winning time of 17 minutes, 27 seconds, with Cheney-Seymour finishing a second back.

Saranac Lake’s Sophia Kelting skis ahead of teammate Sylvie Linck during racing Tuesday evening at the Dewey Mountain Recreation Center. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

Tuesday’s win was the second in less than a week for Hayden, who also placed fourth at Gore Mountain on Jan. 18 in a competition that featured numerous high school skiers from across northern and central New York.

“The goal for tonight was just to set a good baseline, I guess, for upcoming 5ks, just so we have something to work off of. “ said Hayden, a junior. “We’ve only done two so far. We’re just building the times, a little bit faster every time, so we’re ready for states.

“It’s been a good season, the second win for this year,” Hayden continued. “This year, I’m looking to help our team win states. It’s just a matter of putting the work in for the next month and a half, and if we have good races on that day, then it’s doable.”

Sam Ash placed fourth in 18:48 and Reuben Bernstein finished fifth in 18:54. Also for the Red Storm, Griffin Smith finished sixth, Jackson Small was seventh and Jasper Weich skied into eighth place. Finnley Donahue had Lake Placid’s top boys result in ninth place.

Rounding out the boys varsity field were Saranac Lake’s Aidan Hesseltine in 10th, Lake Placid’s Will Tansey and Morgan Martin of Saranac Lake tied for 11th and the Red Storm’s Jacob Duryea finishing 13th.

Lynn Palen of Lake Placid nears the finish line at Dewey Mountain. She was the top racer for the Blue Bombers girls, placing fifth. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

Sophia Kelting, a freshman, edged out teammate Sylvie Linck for the girls victory. Kelting won in 19:08 and Linck was just one second behind.

Kelting has been enjoying a breakout season as a member of Saranac Lake’s unbeaten girls team, with her top performance a victory on Jan. 18 at Gore Mountain in a qualifier where she secured a trip to the junior national championships being held in California.

“Pretty much everything has been going right when it comes to skiing,” Kelting said. “I’ve been working really hard and doing a lot of training and it’s been working out.

“It’s was nice out there,” she added. “It cooled down over night, so skiing was actually pretty good today. I just wanted to ski well, get good glide. I wasn’t expecting too much from tonight. I just decided to go out there, make sure everything went smoothly, and then it is what it is, and I’m proud of my result.”

Saranac Lake also took the next two spots, with Evelyn Eller third in 20:30 and Bella Wissler placing fourth in 21:13. Lynn Palen was the Blue Bombers top racer, finishing fifth in 21:50. Lake Placid’s Ellie Evans and Anya Morgan skied to respective sixth- and seventh-place results, Saranac Lake’s Ruby Smith was eighth, Harley Cohen of the Blue Bombers finished ninth, and Helena Dramm of the Red Storm was 10th

Sydney Lawrence and Alexa Harper placed 11th and 12th for the Blue Bombers. Saranac Lake skiers Annelise Dramm, Emma Wood and Gwen Mader took the next three positions in order to round out the girls field.

The Saranac Lake and Lake Placid nordic teams will be back on the trails again Thursday, competing on the Blue Bombers home course at Mount Van Hoevenberg starting at 4 p.m.