Minnesota State Meet Preview
February 14, 2012After the worst winter on record, we should all feel fortunate that the Minnesota State Meet is even being held this Thursday! The lack of snow, especially in the southern two-thirds of the state, has meant most teams have had to rely on either snowmaking venues or dryland training for nearly the entire season. In fact, only the two northern sections held their championships on natural snow. But the big week is here, we've got real snow at Giants Ridge and all the major players are expected to compete.
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There is one important change to note this year: The tracking rule for the classical race has been suspended for reasons of safety due to the low snow conditions, especially off-trail.
As of Tuesday morning, the weather was looking ideal for the State Meet. Morning temperatures around 20F rising to the upper 20s for the afternoon. Unlike last year, where excessive heat generated waxing nightmares, especially in the classical races, if the forecast holds, this year's waxing should almost be a "no-brainer" and allow for a level playing field of competition. And a real pleasure for the hundreds of spectators lining the course.
The Minnesota high school Nordic skiing program is the largest in the Nation. Each season, thousands of high school kids compete over a vast array of trails across Minnesota with many hoping to someday earn a trip to "State". In early February, the sections competition arrives and the competition is winnowed down to a select few. Only eight teams are selected for each boys and girls divisions. And then the top eight skiers not on the winning team move on.
For the most part, the system works well. However, there are chinks in the armor. Most glaring, that a team could advance 4, 5, 6 or even all 7 skiers to the State Meet, but because they didn't win the section title, they aren't scored in the team competition. This season, the Eden Prairie squad suffered heart-breaking section losses in both the boys and girls races yet managed to advance all seven of their boys and six of their girls. The Ely boys, Stillwater boys, and Minneapolis Southwest girls all advanced at least five skiers. (We'll publish an unofficial team scoring of all the teams that advanced at least four, a few days after the State Meet.)
Before we go on to the individuals, we'd like to cast light on just two stories that exemplify the depth of the Minnesota high school racing scene:
• Ian Torchia, 10th grade, Rochester Lourdes, Rochester, MN - Torchia's high school, like nearly all of the southern Minnesota high schools, doesn't have an official high school Nordic ski team. Yet this sophmore skier competed in the Pre-Birkie 26K freestyle race last Saturday, finishing an incredible 8th overall out of a field of more than 400!
• Isaak Ridge, 12th grade, Irondale, New Brighton, MN - Ridge competed in Section 5 on Wednesday, missing out in the selection to advance to the State Meet in his final year. Sunday morning he drove up with to Hayward and competed in the North End Classic race where he finished an impressive 9th out over more than 175 racers in the 24K classical race.
Both stories are all the more incredible when you consider that most high school athletes train and race almost exclusively for the 5K distance!
Our hats off to all the kids who strapped on skis this lousy winter and raced their hearts out!
Individuals
Because of the nature of the State Meet courses, some athletes will perform better (or worse) than then their ranking belies. And heck, with a field this competitive, you could run the same race each week and you'd get a different set of results each time.
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Prediction: Ben Saxton, Kyle Marshall, Sam Elfstrom, Ryan Davis, Harris Dirnberger, Jan Ketterson, Jake Richards, Eric Slater, Anders Evenson, Calvin Mehrhoff.
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Prediction: Annie Harvieux, Alayna Sonnesyn, Nora Gilbertson, Rocci Wohlk, Mattie Watts, Vivian Hett, Nikki Reker, Amy Bianco, Sarah Benton, Kris Bourne.
Teams
Number four. Each year it seems like the team title balances on the performance of the fourth skier in the scoring position. The Roseville boys bring one of the strongest trios to the State Meet in recent memory, as at one point Sam Elfstrom, Kyle Marshall and Lucas Mason were all ranked in the top 10. So the spotlight falls unfairly on their number four, Wilson Pietruszewski. Truthfully, unless the Roseville trio sweeps the podium, they'll share in part of the blame should the vaunted Roseville team lose their grip on the title. Luckily, sophmore Pietruszewski has been improving all season, moving up in the JOQ results and finishing 12th in their tough section. However, the Duluth East boys have been quietly tuning up in their northern stronghold and with just over a two minute spread between the flying Ryan Davis and their number four skier at sections, and racing on their "home" course, they appear ready to repeat as champions. Hopkins, Minnetonka and Brainerd all have great teams with four solid skiers, and on the right day could make a run at the top. And their top skiers will undoubtedly play a role in deciding the title between Roseville and Duluth East. Rounding out the teams, Forest Lake, St. Paul Central, and Eagan have aspirations of podium finishes.
Boys Prediction: Duluth East, Roseville, Hopkins, Minnetonka, Brainerd.
The Duluth East girls have steamrolled along, ping-ponging in that top ranking with Wayzata, most of the season. Like the Roseville boys, Duluth East features three of the most talented skiers in the state with Annie Harvieux, Chelsey Youngberg and Sophie Schuder. Had former teammate Anna Kubek not opted to devote her skiing passion to biathlon, Duluth East would be the runaway favorite. Wayzata had moved into a powerful union by mid-season, but the team dynamics shifted and they have struggled more recently, needing to win their section by relying on Alayna Sonnesyn's speed to bust a tie-breaker. Stillwater has been gaining respect as the typically deep team has pulled together, gaining speed and moving up. We could easily see Stillwater making that final peak at State, pulling off the upset and collecting yet another championship title. Getting little respect skiing out of central Minnesota but featuring a very solid mesh of skiers, Little Falls could be the real surprise of the group. The Falls team seems to make the State Meet year-in and year-out, but hasn't reached that top rung in a while. Roseville girls could be in the mix at the top, but recent team performances seem to have fallen off. Winona, Hopkins and Burnsville hope to make a run at the medals against stiff competition.
Girls Prediction: Duluth East, Stillwater, Wayzata, Hopkins, Little Falls.
The action gets underway at 10 am Thursday with the boys freestyle race. And pack the stadium in the afternoon as the boys classical pursuit kicks off at 1:30 pm.
Hopefully you've enjoyed our annual preview. We've gone and stuck our neck out with our predictions, check back Thursday night and revel in just how wrong we were ...