2002-2003 Minnesota State High School Championships Preview
February 11, 2003
The Minnesota State High School Championships are this Friday
at Giants Ridge. You know it's been a very tough season for
high school skiing when the majority of the meets were held
at downhill areas (with nearly all the metro meets held in
Wisconsin!).
Here's our own take on the favorites, along with some of
the up-and-comers for this "superbowl" of high school
skiing:
Courtney Dauwalter at Section 6
Championships |
Girls - Individuals
Hopkins Courtney Dauwalter has held a lock on the number
one position all season. Dauwalter reinforced that ranking
by posting big numbers in the Section 6 meet, winning the
overall title by nearly a minute and a half over teammate
and third ranked Shannon Bergstedt. Elk River's Nicole Olson
heads the list of challengers, winning her Sectional by an
even larger margin in arguably slower conditions. Stillwater
Cayley Baird's skating and Forest Lake Laura Edlund's classical,
along with Grand Rapids Kari Lunemann and youngster Brynden
Manbeck, all have shots at preventing a sweep of the individual
events by Dauwalter.
Girls - Teams
Hopkins came into the season as the strong favorite to repeat
as State Champions, and little has changed to shake that prediction.
Besides the big anchor of Dauwalter, Bergstedt has continued
to improve this season along with teammates Ashley Pletcher,
Stephanie Block and Heidi Loosen. Providing the biggest competition
for Hopkins should be Grand Rapids. These skiers have rarely
squared off this season in JOQ events, so it's hard to get
a good reading on how close things may be. Depending on how
well Lunemann and Manbeck counter against the Dauwalter and
Bergstedt duo, teammates Katie Zupan and Anna Roessler could
be a big factor in the final outcome. Other teams that could
well vie for the top three positions include Mesabi East and
Stillwater.
Boys - Individuals
Garrett Heath leading the pack at the
Ski
Games Sprints |
The road to the State Meet has been an interesting battle
this season as the rankings have not been as clear cut as
the girls. Winona's Garett Heath appears to be the strong
candidate for the title at this point in the season. Heath
has an incredible engine and should fare well on the hilly
Giants Ridge course, especially in the freestyle pursuit.
Grand Rapids Ben Bryne has been the runner up in the rankings
most of the season, but certainly has the ability to show
the rankings have been wrong by toppling Heath at the State
Meet. And if Heath has one weakness, it might be in the classical
race. At last year's State Meet, Roseville's Tim Damrow posted
a 30 second margin over Heath. If Damrow or Bryne can grab
a sizeable margin again this year, they could notch an upset
in the pursuit race. St. Cloud Cathedral's Bob Baldwin and
Hasting's David Saunders can't be counted out of the hunt
either.
Boys - Teams
While St. Louis Park was our early favorite this year, Grand
Rapids boys have bulked up on their training with a regular
diet of hills at Mount Itasca. This could well give them the
edge at Giants Ridge to take the team title. Tyler Gerling
and Aaron Roessler have made strong improvements this season,
and ninth grader Mark Johnson has nicely filled the key fourth
position. St. Louis Park counters with an incredibly strong
and consistent team lead by Andy Cheeseboro and Jesse Lang,
along with John Erickson and others. Expect a close battle
between these schools, with the race for the title easily
coming down to that final skier.
While it's easy to look at results on paper and make "armchair
quarterback" calls, anything can happen on race day.
The State Meet is a single day event. Cold weather, a single
fall, or sickness can all play roles in shaping the final
outcome. And most of all, the pure adrenaline rush of the
meet itself has been known to push skiers to new heights.
Get out on the course Friday and watch the action unfold
first hand -- let's bring it on!
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