Skinnyski.com High School Rankings - Week 5

January 19, 2015

Commentary: 

Anna French is scary.  Since hanging up her running flats in early December (after competing for the National cross-country running title), French has been moving up the results list every week.  Over the weekend, she was the shining star of the Telemark JNQ races, clearly posting the top junior times both days on some very difficult courses.  She should probably be ranked number one based on her trajectory, but we'll give Nicole Schneider another week at the top based on her long term solid performance this season.  The exact ranking of the girls top ten continues to be a struggle, as they are all very evenly matched, and interchange results from week to week.  However, two more rising stars to keep an eye on are Michaela Keller-Miller and Siri Bohacek.  Both Keller-Miller and Bohacek come from strong teams (Wayzata, Stillwater) where they are competing against top skiers every week, and have been improving steadily.

With Zak Ketterson sitting out of action, it was left to the rest of the field to face off for the top position.  Leo Hipp and Tamer Mische-Richter both produced excellent results, possibly benefiting from some rest after US Nationals.  They showed remarkable consistency and perhaps have begun to separate themselves from the rest of the chase pack.  Liam Schmelze is one of the rising stars this season and continues make improvements, posting his best classical result so far as he is closing the gap to his teammate, Sean Cork.  It's a real dogfight in the latter half of the rankings and on down into the cusp even, as a number of those could make an argument for a top ten position.  However, consistency continues to be an issue.

After an very long run at number one, the Forest Lake boys team is relieved of that burden.  St. Louis Park has been gunning for the top of the heap all season, and have met the challenge in just about every encounter.  Schmelzle's continued improvement proves their Mesabi East victory was no fluke.  It remains to be seen which team can bring the most consistent result across the board though, and you can expect this battle will only truly be resolved at the State Meet.  However, the both front runners need to keep one eye on Duluth East.  The stealthy Greyhounds have been improving, and have some new blood rocketing up their roster.  

With the revival of Anna French, and the Keller-Miller sisters, Wayzata looks to be unstoppable.  Armstrong-Robbinsdale continues to show impressive depth of their squad, as does their closest challenger, Stillwater.  Eastview keeps the pressure on for that top three position.  

A couple of side notes this week:

Each week we usually receive some feedback on the rankings.   As can be expected, nearly all of it comes from a perspective of a team or individual that the person has a personal interest in, and feels is under-ranked (no one ever writes to say they feel "over-ranked").  Almost all the time, the commentary is civil and with best intentions.   We usually respond and try to explain our rationale for the particular ranking (besides the long commentary supplied with each weekly ranking).  But every once and a while, we seem to draw real ire.   Last week was one of those situations: 
  "... Your continual reference to JO races make your rankings look bias and elitist. Also the lack of in depth coverage of the Mesabi [Invite] disgusted me. Maybe you should and others really look at the loose way you use the term high school racing, high school races, and high school rankings, it seems to me those terms are being used quite frequently in the pursuit of monies. ... "

To be clear, we don't really receive any financial compensation for our rankings (not even bribes!) or for any of our event coverage.   We did post updates on the Mesabi Invite leading up to the event, and posted a same day event recap and results.  None of that was any different than most years past.  And in fact, we have covered more high school races this season then in any of the previous.  But understand, we are a cross-country ski website, and not exclusively devoted to high school ski racing.

JNQ and High School racing:  The topic of JNQ (Junior National Qualifiers) and high school racing comes up every season.  For our own part, we try very hard to gather ranking information from as many sources as possible.  The JNQs provide a unique opportunity to see nearly all of the top high school contenders face off in head-to-head competition.  Well over 90% of the skiers who finish in the top 15 at the State Meet will have competed in some type of additional high level junior racing (usually either Junior Nationals or Junior Biathlon).   At the same time, we try hard not to penalize the few skiers that for one reason or another aren't competing with their peers at those events.  We analyze all of the conference meets that are sent in (if you don't see your meet results on this website, then talk to your coach).  The conference races are an integral part of our rankings, and we relish the opportunity to pour over each set, seeing not only the top performers but the new and rising stars.  However, the junior cross-country skiing world presents some unique challenges.  Many of the elite skiers aren't just racing the JNQs for points and an opportunity to compete at Junior Nationals.  For the older skiers, strong performances at JNQs can lead to college scholarship offers and a chance to continue competing at the collegiate level.  This can force skiers (and coaches) to make difficult decisions about racing schedules.  There are times when top skiers might be missing from conference races as it has been determined the need to rest.  But, the Minnesota high school system requires that all skiers complete at least three high school races in order to qualify for the section competition.  This sometimes leads to the situation of having a top skier entering a race, but not really performing to the best of their abilities.  This latter situation can be extremely frustrating, not only to those of us monitoring the results, but to those competitors who had hoped to actually race against the best.  In the end, I believe most of us would agree: if you put on a bib, then give the race your best effort.

In wrapping up,  please try to remember the high school rankings are just that -- rankings.  There is no bowl selection based on the rankings, no trophy for being ranked number one -- its all just an opinion.  If you decide you don't agree, please, feel free to drop us a note with your logic.  But if you really feel the need to accuse us of bias, profiting in someway financially, or some other type of slander, you might consider seeking some therapeutic remedies.

Conference racing continues this week, as well as another JNQ, this one in the Twin Cities this weekend...

Individuals

Boys

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

Cusp: Quinn Duffy, Forest Lake; Keaton Long, Duluth East; Noah Poling, Winona;  Tom Norman, Armstrong; Tommy Babcock, Forest Lake; Henry Jarvinen, Edina; Davis Long, Forest Lake; Isaac Wieber, St. Cloud Tech; Noah Baker, Brainerd; Sam Hanson, Stillwater; Shad Kraftson, Stillwater; Tyler Kobilarcsik, Chanhassen; Nate Blichfeldt, Burnsville; Xavier Mansfield, Patrick-Henry; Will Christensen, Eden Prairie 

Girls

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

Cusp: Anna Johnson, Mesabi East; Abigail Drach, Eden Prairie; Kelly Koch, Burnsville; Hanna Torvi, Roseville; Renae Anderson, Hopkins; Dottie Anderson, Robbinsdale-Armstrong; Kristine Keller-Miller, Wayzata; Ingrid Thyr, Breck; Emma Greenlee, Mesabi East; Claire Benton, Hopkins; Rana Kraftson, Stillwater; Megan Weaver, Stillwater; Cela Peterson, Stillwater; Hannah Bettendorf, Proctor/Hermantown; Naomi Boehm, Roseville

Teams

Boys

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

Cusp: Irondale, Winona, Mesabi East, Minnehaha Academy, 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. Ely
  10. Duluth East

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

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