2005 Minnesota State High School Championships Preview
February 16, 2005
The Minnesota State High School Championships, the State
Meet, is already upon us. Again this season, the metro and
southern Minnesota skiers have had to endure another winter
of skiing over the same 2.5 km of trails for practices and
races. Yet amazingly, high school skiing in Minnesota continues
to be very popular with thousands competing each season.
This year's State Meet offers a new twist. After years of
running with the same format, the coaches have opted to switch
the order of events, featuring the freestyle format events
with interval starts in the morning, then going to classical
technique for the afternoon pursuit events. The change is
sure to bring some exciting arm-melting double pole stadium
finishes for the classical pursuit.
Individuals
In past years, there has usually been one dominant skier
by this point in the season: Winona's Garrett Heath, Hopkin's
Courtney Dauwalter, for example. This season appears to be
wide open, with a number of skiers having a serious shot at
the titles. In fact, it is possible that we could see separate
winners for each of the event categories.
Girls
St. Paul Central's Claire Luby |
Brynden Manbeck, Grand Rapids, was our preseason pick, and
while she is still tabbed to be one of the favorites, she
will face very tough competition. Saint Paul Central's Claire
Luby has greatly improved this season, and along with Ely's
Jenna Klein and Visitation's Katie Bono, will have an equal
chance at the titles. Sarah Wright, Forest Lake, appears to
have rebounded strongly at the end of the season and could
be peaking just in time, and Lakeville's Elizabeth Yetzer
should not be overlooked. Dark horses include: Audrey Weber,
St. Louis Park; Beth Tacl, St. Cloud Cathedral; and Allison
Bohn, Wayzata.
Boys
The boys race is just as wide open, with no clear favorite.
Again sticking with our preseason predictions, St. Louis Park's
Jesse Lang looks to be ready to step to the top of the podium.
And should Lang falter, his own teammate Mike Mommsen could
very well make the ascent. Jason Kask, Duluth East, has been
having a great season and along with Ben Fick of Forest Lake
and Karl Nygrun, Lakeville, easily have the talent to take
one or more titles. Wynn Roberts could become the crowd favorite.
Running almost as his own one-man team from Battle Lake, Roberts
has been steadily improving all season and has the tools to
challenge for the top. The dark horse list is long: Jesse
Bullis, Elk River; Kyle Reins, Osseo; Chris Sasse, Bloomington
Kennedy; Sam Newcomer, Hopkins; and Chris Ziegler, Detroit
Lakes.
Teams
While the individual titles are hard to call, the team titles
aren't much easier. Luckily, there are only eight possiblities...
Girls
On paper, the girls team title appears to between northern
powers Grand Rapids and Ely. Ely is still our favorite, with
a very talented group of skiers that seems to bring out the
best in each other. However, Grand Rapids retains a number
of the skiers from their defending State Championship team
of last season. Not ready to concede the title, Wayzata and
Forest Lake both have the potential to post an upset.
Boys
Ben Fick of Forest Lake |
While the girls title may come down to two teams, the boys
title is more wide open with potentially three teams needing
the best performances to capture the title. St. Louis Park,
Duluth East, or Forest Lake could be standing at the top by
the end of the day. Forest Lake, with no seniors in its top
ranks, could be reserving their rooms for 2006 as they will
likely be the next season's favorite. St. Louis Park, remaining
faithful once again to our preseason predictions, gets our
nod as the odds on favorite.
It can't be overstated – the 2005 State Meet has all
the potential to be the most competitive in a number of years.
Giants Ridge has plenty of snow and will have the trails in
their usual Olympic quality shape for the big meet. And even
the weather appears to be cooperating, with temperatures expected
to be in the teens. If you follow Minnesota High School skiing,
then the only place to be on Friday is trailside at Giants
Ridge!
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