The Far West Nordic Junior Committee recently named Incline senior Melanie Swick as the 2012 Ted Beauchamp Scholarship winner.

A relative newcomer to Nordic racing, Swick has quickly turned Nordic skiing into a palpable passion in her life.

“Her focus when training and racing is unparalleled,” according to a Far West Nordic release. “She is always asking questions and wanting to learn/do more. Her enthusiasm for skiing, and life, and her always-ready smile, is infectious.”

Swick has trained year-round with the Auburn Ski Club Competition Team for the past two years, balancing her Nordic training with an equal passion for cross-country running. In fact, this past fall, she earned a third-place individual finish while helping lead her Incline girls to the Nevada 2A State cross country championship.

Never one to sit idle, Swick was out rollerskiing with the Nordic team a few days later, getting “fired up” for ski season.

Swick also is an accomplished student, earning excellent marks and taking regional top honors, together with her peers, in a recent “We the People” competition, which “promotes civic competency and responsibility in high school students.”

Being feisty, focused and tenacious, Swick has broken several rollerski tips and blown a zipper on her skate boots recently. Having the money from the Ted Beauchamp Scholarship will give her some extra cash to get new ones while she readies herself to earn a spot on the 2012 Far West Nordic Junior National Team this year.

— Information for this article came from the Far West Nordic website, www.farwestnordic.org.