Team North Dakota took first place Feb. 4 at the U.S. National Snow Sculpting Competition in Lake Geneva, Wis. (From left) Team captain Jay Ray, Mike Nelson and Josh Zeis kneel in front of their sculpture, The Nemean Lion. (Photo/Lake Geneva News.)

Three of Frostival’s perennial snow sculpting winners have nabbed the top award in the U.S. National Snow Sculpting Championship, held in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, last week.

Competing as Team North Dakota, the three men — Jay Ray, Mike Nelson and Josh Zeis — topped a 15-team field from Alaska, Colorado, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York and Michigan, as well as four states with two teams each: Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois.

They will represent the U.S. in the World Snow Sculpting Contest in Stillwater, Minnesota, in January 2024.

Titled “The Nemean Lion,” their intricately carved, larger-than-life-sized sculpture depicts the monstrous Nemean lion of Greek mythology, with hero Hercules frozen in the act of slaying her.

This year’s contest marked only the second time that the local team has participated in the annual event. They placed third in 2022.

Team North Dakota combines the talents of the winners of first and second prizes in the masters division of the Moorhead Business Association’s Frostival competition since its inception eight years ago. This year Ray took the top spot and People’s Choice award with his “Flow,” while Team SnoKraft — the trio of Nelson, Zeis and David Swenson — placed second with “Hot Rod 1986,” an homage to the Transformers.

“It’s incredible,” Nelson said as quoted in Lake Geneva News. “Last year was the first time there’s ever been a team from North Dakota at the National Snow Sculpting Competition and we placed third. We decided to come back this year, and we took first. We’re super excited.”