Sarah Riley of Proctor, MN topped the Senior women's field by almost a minute, giving her a good start towards a spot on the World Championship team. Riley, training at the US Olympic Education Center in Marquette, shot 10 for 10.

In the senior men's race, Jacob Beste of Minneapolis and Dan Campbell of Hastings placed 4th and 5th respectively, 1:03 behind the race winner, Lowell Bailey of Lake Placid. Campbell has been struggling since suffering a severe case of frostbite on his hands at a competition two weeks ago. Beste and Campbell will both need to put together good races on Saturday and Sunday to have a chance at qualifying for the World Championships to be held in mid March in Hanty Mansisk, Siberia.

In the junior men's category, Brian Olsen of Bloomington surprised the field, beating out local hero Tim Burke of Lake Placid, and Anders Osthus, Duluth. In the Youth Men it was a Minnesota sweep, with Bjorn Bakken, Duluth, 1st, Kurt Farchmin, Duluth 2nd, and Tyler Gerling, Grand Rapids, 3rd.

In the youth women's field, Brnyden Manbeck of Grand Rapids placed 1st with 90% shooting and a solid skiing performance. Competition resumes on Saturday with the Pursuit Format competition, and Sunday with the Relay Format competition.