Dedication has led LHS' Voos to standout season

Feb. 14—There aren't many student-athletes that hold higher expectations for themselves than Laramie High junior Jack Voos.

This season, Voos has finished inside the top 10 of six Nordic ski races, winning two in the process. He won a 4k classic in 8 minutes, 10.5 seconds at the Lander Invite on Dec. 9, and a 6.5k freestyle in 18:28 at the Don and Sue Jacobson Memorial on Jan. 6.

Voos finished the 6.5k freestyle 22 seconds ahead of second place. He believes that was his best performance this season, and that the result became the new benchmark for him.

"(The season) has been a little bit disappointing, from my perspective," Voos said. "I wanted to perform a little better than I have been, but I also can't be mad at the results. I wanted to win a lot more races, but there's still nationals coming up in a few weeks.

"That's what really counts. If I have good races at both state and nationals, that's all that matters."

Voos' biggest disappointment came at the super junior national qualifier at the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center from Jan. 26-28. He placed well enough in the sprint race to qualify in the under-18 age group, but when combined with the under-20 group, he missed the cut.

"I missed qualifying for sprints by about 2.4 seconds," Voos said. "It was a bummer. It was super-hot, about 45-50 degrees, and the snow just turned to slush. The tracks got super chopped up, and it was like skiing on ice and powder, making it difficult on all parts of the course."

First-place finishes in the state freestyle and classic races are at the top of Voos' to-do board for the remainder of the season. A year ago, he took fourth at state in the classic at 16:24.7 and sixth in the freestyle at 31:02.7.

During the freestyle race, his ski became detached, causing disappointment and frustration. Voos is confident he won't suffer a similar fate, and believes it was a freak accident.

Voos' high-level expectations developed through an intense work ethic and earnest demeanor. LHS Nordic coach Rebecca Watson believes Voos has become one of the top skiers in the state.

"He has worked to become a top skier in every sense of the word," Watson said. "He does a ton of work during the offseason, and continues to do a lot of work during the season. He works hard in other sports and the classroom.

"He really puts 110% into everything that he does."

Added Voos: "I've got a couple pairs of roller skis to use over the summer, and I go on all types of runs and lift a lot of weights. Weightlifting helps a lot, because skiing is a high-powered sport. Your muscles are constantly firing, so being able to get into the gym helps a lot with endurance and power."

Voos cares more about the placement in a race than his time because of how the course conditions can vary on any given day. Placing inside the top 10 no longer satisfies him as his hunger for first place takes over.

"I care about (placement) and beating guys from other schools that I want to beat," Voos said. "I would consider finishing in the top three a pretty successful day, but first place is what I am chasing every race."

Voos referred to Kelly Walsh's Fisk-Bergstrom Johansson as his longest rival and someone he strives to beat. He mentioned beating Johansson in the eighth grade for a state championship, but noted the two are friends outside of skiing.

For Voos, he feels his strengths as a skier have come from his ability to be technically sound. He described his mindset as going out and wanting it more than everybody else, saying it naturally develops when he compete as much as he does.

"It's a good feeling to know you're the best athlete," Voos said. "It's fun seeing your hard work pay off. The feeling you get from putting in all those hours and seeing the results you want is what drives me to be a better athlete."

Throughout his life, Voos has also run track, but plans to stop this year to focus on skiing. His goal is to ski in college, and he believes the extra work will help him attain that.

Voos traveled to a college race in Steamboat, Colorado, earlier this year to get on the radar of college programs. While none of the schools stand out as his preferred destination, Voos knows he wants to stay close to Wyoming and would prefer to attend college in Colorado, Utah or Montana.

"He's right on track to ski in college," Watson said. "For him, it's a matter of getting results on a national level and continuing to do the work he's been doing."

Before high school, Watson heard Voos' name through the grapevine as a potential skier coming through the middle school ranks. Since then, she says, he's steadily taken his skills to the next level.

Voos sees Watson and former club coach Dan Lewis as mentors. In addition to practicing with Watson, Voos still finds time twice a week to work with Lewis on various technique-based drills.

Watson believes Voos has shown himself to be accepting of coaching and criticisms, which isn't always a shared trait among passionate individuals.

"He brings an element of seriousness to the team," Watson said. "Dedication and seriousness. He also understands you've got to have fun, and is willing to play around with teammates when the time is right."

Austin Edmonds covers Laramie High, University of Wyoming and community athletics for WyoSports. He can be reached at aedmonds@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @_austinedmonds.