Skinnyski.com High School Rankings - Week 4

January 12, 2015

Commentary: 

With the long holiday break, there was a lot of interesting racing action to consider in early January...

US Nationals:

A number of the best juniors traveled to the upper peninsula of Michigan for the US Cross-Country Skiing Championships, better known as Nationals, last week.  Nationals can be a humbling experience if you go looking for a top ten result, but when scoring against your appropriate class, the results can look a lot brighter. On the line was the opportunity to score some valuable points, which help in seeding for future races, as well as an opportunity to earn a birth on one of the elite European trip teams (U18 Nations, World Junior Championships).  For the girls, the combination of Nicole Schneider and Sarah Bezdicek shined brightest.  In the 10K skate and 5K classical, they were nearly inseparable, with Bezdicek finishing just seconds behind Schneider.  This was a huge improvement Bezdicek, who had been roughly a minute behind Schneider at the last JNQ classical race (held at the same venue).  Young Erin Moening, one of the few U16 skiers, finished in the top 15 of all the juniors for the skate race, as did Abigail Drach and Margie Freed.  For the boys, Zak Ketterson continued to reign, posting top three U18 times in both skate and classical races.  Tamer Mische-Richter and Leo Hipp continue to swap places in a close battle for best of the of the rest.

There is one more, big impact from US Nationals.  Zak Ketterson, Nicole Schneider, and Abigail Drach all scored positions on the U18 Nations trip.  This season, the U18 trip completely overlaps the Minnesota sectionals, meaning these athletes won't be able to qualify for the State Meet independently.   Instead, they will need the help of their team -- if their team can advance to the State Meet (which may have better odds with new two team selection process this season), the skiers could still compete for the State Meet title.

Mesabi, Loppet Invite:  

Not everyone has the opportunity (or desire) to compete at the US Nationals, but that doesn't mean there wasn't some fine racing still happening back in Minnesota.  The big Mesabi East Invite gave skiers a chance to shine in their featured discipline.  One of the more uplifting surprises was Rocci Wohlk, coming off a seemingly jinxed Nationals, she roared back to form on the State Meet course to top one of the better classic skiers, Amanda Kautzer.  Another skier appearing to find their form was Anna French, taking the girls freestyle title.   Sean Cork, like Wohlk and Leo Hipp, was individual who raced at Nationals, then made the journey to Biwabik to not just win, but crush in the boys classical race.  His teammate, Liam Schmelzle, had another superb skate race to complete the sweep of the titles for the St. Louis Park boys.  While the Forest Lake boys were upended for the team title, we're sticking by their number one ranking as they still bring the most well-rounded team.  Wayzata girls were bumped at Mesabi as well, but were without their number one skier, Nicole Schneider.   Much of the remaining team results are a little hard to judge, but we've provided some credit in the rankings.

The new alternate to Mesabi, the Loppet Invite, features a format almost identical to the State Meet, allowing the skiers to compete in both classical and skate pursuit.  Erin Moening and Patrick Acton proved to be the cream of the crop, validating their top rankings.

Sidebar:  When looking at skiers for the rankings, we try to consider the whole picture -- skate and classic.  For a number of top 20 skiers, they have been posting excellent times in one technique but dropping back when it comes to the other.  Part of the beauty of the sport, and being a top ranked skier, is having the skills to perform well in both disciplines. 

This weekend brings another JNQ series to the table, providing a good opportunity to see some head-to-head competition...

Individuals

Boys

  1. Zak Ketterson, Bloomington Jefferson
  2. Sean Cork, St. Louis Park
  3. Leo Hipp, Forest Lake
  4. Tamer Mische-Richter, Bloomington Kennedy
  5. Cory Rouw, St. Cloud Tech
  6. Seth Prigge, Ely
  7. Anders Sonnesyn, Wayzata
  8. Davis Long, Forest Lake
  9. Patrick Acton, Eagan
  10. Liam Schmelzle, St. Louis Park

Cusp: Isaac Wieber, St. Cloud Tech; Reed Melicher, Mesabi East; Keaton Long, Duluth East; Quinn Duffy, Forest Lake; Noah Baker, Brainerd; Tommy Babcock, Forest Lake; Tom Norman, Armstrong; Sam Hanson, Stillwater; Noah Poling, Winona; Nate Blichfeldt, Burnsville; Shad Kraftson, Stillwater

Girls

  1. Nicole Schneider, Wayzata
  2. Sarah Bezdicek, Osseo
  3. Rocci Wohlk, Forest Lake
  4. Margie Freed, Eastview
  5. Amanda Kautzer, Benilde-St.Margaret’s
  6. Erin Moening, St. Paul Highland Park
  7. Hannah Rudd, Robbinsdale-Armstrong
  8. Anna French, Wayzata
  9. Anna Johnson, Mesabi East
  10. Michaela Keller-Miller, Wayzata

Cusp: Abigail Drach, Eden Prairie; Rana Kraftson, Stillwater; Kelly Koch, Burnsville; Hanna Torvi, Roseville; Megan Weaver, Stillwater;  Ingrid Thyr, Breck; Cela Peterson, Stillwater; Maria Berg, New Prague; Claire Benton, Hopkins; Erin Bianco, Ely; Erica Fox, C-E-C;  Emma Stertz, Grand Rapids;  Emma Greenlee, Mesabi East

Teams

Boys

  1. Forest Lake
  2. St. Louis Park
  3. Duluth East
  4. Stillwater
  5. Wayzata
  6. Andover
  7. Brainerd
  8. St. Cloud Tech
  9. Winona
  10. Mesabi East

Cusp: Minneapolis Southwest, Eden Prairie, Minnehaha Academy, Irondale, Robbinsdale-Armstrong, Grand Rapids, Mora

Girls

  1. Wayzata
  2. Robbinsdale-Armstrong
  3. Stillwater
  4. Eastview
  5. Eden Prairie
  6. Hopkins
  7. Burnsville
  8. Roseville
  9. Cloquet-Esko-Carlton
  10. Mesabi East

Cusp: Ely, Grand Rapids, Duluth East, Andover, Forest Lake, St. Cloud Cath/Sartell, Mora, Irondale

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