Levi Caruso competes for the Norway boys ski team. (Courtesy photo)

IRONWOOD – The Norway girls alpine ski team earned a second-place finish in a U.P. competition held recently at Powderhorn Mountain in Bessemer. It was the fourth straight race in which the Knight girls have finished runner-up to champion Marquette. Houghton placed third and Ironwood wound up fourth.

Norway, Houghton and Ironwood will compete in Division 2 in the upcoming regionals, while Marquette will compete in Division 1.

“It’s a good place for our team to be with regionals coming up,” Norway coach John Bittinger said.

Abby Hoy led the way for the Knights with a season-best third place in the giant slalom. Ingrid Holt finished in sixth while Sophia Fornetti placed eighth.

“Abby’s third-place finish is the first podium result by a freshman we have had in a very long time,” Bittinger said. “Along with that, Ingrid’s sixth was the best finish in her four years on the team.

“The progress they have made has been fun to watch.”

The Knights struggled in the slalom, Bittinger said.

Hoy was the top finisher with an eighth, followed by Sofia Wentarmini in ninth and Holt in 10th.

“Sophia Fornetti, who has consistently been our top skier, hooked a gate early on and was disqualified,” Bittinger said. “We have good depth this year, but half our team never skied on this hill before. We were a bit tentative. We will get better each year as we gain experience.”

The Norway boys placed third as they aim to catch Ironwood for second in the remaining pre-regional races.

“We have a few conference races remaining and the way these boys have been improving we have a chance to sneak into second,” Bittinger said. “That would be a great accomplishment considering we have four new high school racers out of our top five boys.”

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Compiled by Daily News sports correspondent Jerry DeRoche