Skinnyski.com High School Rankings - Week 4

January 13, 2014

Commentary: 

Mesabi East plays heavily into the rankings this week, as we get one of the first real head-to-head matchups with teams.  It also provides a glimpse, especially for the skate race, of how the skiers might perform come the State Meet in February.

One of the biggest surprises of Mesabi was Forest Lake's Leo Hipp.  While Hipp and his near twin Quinn Duffy have been on the cusp list for weeks, Hipp has been making a strong push in recent weeks with conference wins (sans Steve Hokanson) and then on Saturday, blew up the field with a victory in the boys skate.  Hipps jumps up to #6 -- and his number may keep rising.  

The rest of the boys field is still a real jumble.  Ketterson skied very well at Nationals, but didn't race Mesabi.  He'll stay at number 1 this week.   Nick Gardner makes a serious statement for moving up with a dominating classic victory at Mesabi - rewarded with #3.  Steve Hokanson has put out a steady set of solid performances, earning the #2 position.  However, expect these numbers to remain fluid.  (Side note: Rochester's Ian Torchia would be our #1, if he was racing in the Minnesota high school scene.)

As much as the boys field as been in motion, the girls rankings have been fairly stable.  A big congrats to Vivian Hett and Mattie Watts for performing so well at Nationals that they earned spots on the U18 trip to Finland in late January.  And while most of the Midwest skiers came back from Nationals after the first two races, Hett, Watts and Alayna Sonnesyn all raced through Wednesday, with Watts and Sonnesyn then dualing again at Mesabi!  

Moving up this week for the girls:  Caroline Brisbois jumps up a few positions with some good results, including third Minnesotan in Mesabi skate.  Youngster Anna Johnson moves into the top 10, proving herself against some top metro competitors at Mesabi.

Mesabi provided great validation for the top ranked teams as Forest Lake boys and Wayzata girls collected the titles.   The rest of the team results require a bit of reading-between-the-lines.  Both Robbinsdale-Armstrong and Irondale girls were missing key skiers, which we believe would have propelled their teams into the top five.  Eden Prairie girls were one of the nice surprises, as a number of skiers are improving. A single point separated Forest Lake's two closest competitors at Mesabi, and so we keep Duluth East and Minneapolis Southwest at 2 and 3.  Eagan boys crank out an impressive Mesabi result to push their way onto the list at number 5.

Up next, hopefully more conference results as school (and warmer weather) is back in full session, along with another round of JNQ racing this weekend ...

Girls Teams

  1. Wayzata
  2. Stillwater
  3. Robbinsdale-Armstrong
  4. Duluth East
  5. Irondale

On the cusp: Eden Prairie; Mesabi East, Burnsville

Boys Teams

  1. Forest Lake
  2. Duluth East
  3. Minneapolis Southwest
  4. St. Louis Park
  5. Eagan

On the cusp: Osseo, Stillwater, Mounds View

Girls Individuals

  1. Vivian Hett, Burnsville
  2. Mattie Watts, Irondale
  3. Alayna Sonnesyn, Wayzata
  4. Caroline Brisbois, Roseville
  5. Rocci Wolhk, Forest Lake
  6. Sarah Bezdicek, Osseo
  7. Hannah Rudd, Robbinsdale-Armstrong
  8. Allison Ternes, White Bear Lake
  9. Anna Johnson, Mesabi East
  10. Anna French, Wayzata

On the cusp:  Maria Hauer, Little Falls; Margie Freed, Eastview; Elowyn Pfeiffer, Highland Park; Erin Moening, Highland Park; Megan Weaver, Stillwater; Eryn Stewart, Eden Prairie; Ashley Herman, Duluth East

Boys Individuals

  1. Zak Ketterson, Bloomington Jefferson
  2. Steve Hokanson, Mounds View
  3. Nick Gardner, MPA
  4. Scott Harrison, Mound-Westonka
  5. Andrew Egger, Benilde-St.Margaret's
  6. Leo Hipp, Forest Lake
  7. Sam Johnson, Mesabi East
  8. Sam Sinkler, Minneapolis Southwest
  9. Sean Cork, St. Louis Park
  10. Keaton Long, Duluth East

On the cusp:  Jon Delaney, Robbinsdale-Armstrong; Quinn Duffy, Forest Lake; Tamer Mische-Richter, Bloomington Kennedy; Joey Martin, Elk River; Sam Boardman, Park-Woodbury-East Ridge; Jake Ajax, SLP/St.Anthony;  Josh Podpeskar, Eagan

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