Editor’s note: Readers nominated their all-time favorite Summit County athletes for Peak Performers: The Mount Rushmore of Summit County. Voting is live until March 7 at SummitDaily.com/peakperformers.
Nominee: Josh Dayton
Sport: Nordic skiing
Josh Dayton, the younger of the Dayton brothers and a 2003 Summit High School graduate, had a successful career for the Tigers as an All-State skier and on the Rocky Mountain Nordic circuit before competing for Western State Colorado University for three years.
In 2006, Dayton became one of the first skiers to represent the Western State Nordic team at the NCAA Ski Championships. During his time with the Summit High Tigers and at Western State, Dayton excelled in classic and freestyle races as one of the country’s best collegiate skiers.
At the 2006 NCAA Ski Championships in Steamboat Springs, Dayton raced to a 16th-place showing in the freestyle race, one of the best results in his school’s history. Dayton also finished 27th in the classic race at the 2006 NCAA Ski Championships.
He remains a huge part of the Summit County Nordic skiing family, a familiar face at the local Nordic centers and a part of the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center community.