NewColeraine JNQ: Freestyle Sprints Results
December 21, 2024With temperatures in the teens the second batch of Midwest JNQ racing got underway on Saturday with a round freestyle sprints at Mount Itasca. Declan Hutchinson (U23) of Saint Michael's College was the fastest of the Men's field, besting Loppet Nordic Racing's Logan Drevlow by three seconds, who in turn bested his teammate Anders Westanmo (U20) by three seconds. Loppet Nordic Racing put two more on the podium in the women's competition, with Helen Townley (U18) taking the top spot over her teammate Sydney Drevlow (U20) by two seconds, and Elsa Lindfors (U18) of Endurance United joined them a second later in third. Winning the U16 girl's final in dominant fashion was Linnea Ousdigian, while Jack Rudolph came out on top after a tight finish in the U16 boy's final. Both represented Loppet Nordic Racing. Results are linked in.
Holiday Relays Coverage
December 17, 2024A seasonal staple, Holiday Relays was held at Battle Creek on Tuesday for its second year following its reboot. With well over 100 relay teams participating across all competitions, there was plenty of excitement in the air, but perhaps none more than for the crowd from St. Paul Central who took home the title in both the boy's and girl's races by sizable margins. Second was also decisively decided in both races with the Stillwater boy's and girl's teams securing their spot on the podium while also picking up a third place position in the girl's race via their second team. Coming from behind, Irondale would lay claim to the final spot on the boy's podium in third. Results are up and linked in, plus video recaps of both the boy's and girl's varsity races.
Cable JNQ: Classic Coverage
December 17, 2024Nearly a week of racing at the American Birkebeiner trailhead wrapped up on Tuesday with 20K classic mass start races. In the men's event, APU's Luke Jager topped John Steel Hagenbuch, SVSEF, and Brian Bushey, UU, in a tight finish that saw 13 skiers finish within 36 seconds. Erica Laven, UU, continued a strong run with a victory in the womens event, just ahead of Tilde Baangman, Univ of Colorado, with Nina Seemann, BSF, taking third. Full results linked in, along with photos from the men's race by Jackie Schneider.
Cable JNQ: Freestyle Results
December 15, 2024Sunday featured freestyle interval 10K races at the trails at the American Birkebeiner start area. John Steel Hagenbuch (Senior) of Sun Valley SEF took the overall victory with Will Koch, University of Colorado (U23) second, and Remi Drolet (Senior), SMS T2, third. Tabor Greenberg from the University of Vermont led the U20 competitors, finishing 13th in the total rankings. Among the youngest racers, Logan Drevlow of Loppet Nordic Racing was the top U18 athlete, crossing the finish line in 36th place overall. On the women's side, Erica Laven (U23) from the University of Utah dominated, finishing first overall, the only skier to finish in under 25 minutes. Tilde Baangman, University of Colorado, topped the Senior category, securing second place. Nina Seemann (U23), BSF Pro Team, was third. Nina Schamberger, University of Utah, led the U20 group, placing fourth overall. In the U18 division, Elsa Lindfors of Endurance United lead the way, finishing 31st overall. Connor Reckinger and Linnea Ousdigian had the top U16 times in the 5K event. Full results linked in.
Hoigaards Relays Coverage
December 14, 2024Twin Cities racing picked up again Saturday morning with the annual Hoigaards Relays events at Elm Creek. The duo of Matt Liebsch/Jakob Ellingson topped the master field with Anders Sonnesyn/Luc Golin taking second and Jacob Dean/Joe Thuente in third. The pairing of Lillian and Emma Jamison had the best time in a sparse women's field. Caitlin Gregg and Andrew Brown teamed up to win the mixed field. The high school races featured teams ranging from two to four skiers for the 6 x 1.5K format. The Jamison gals hit the course again to take a second victory, with Cecilia and Madelynn joining Lillian and Emma. Erik Olsen/Finn Rodefeld combined for the best boys time. Full results posted, along with photos from Shannon Brault!
Cable JNQ: Classic Sprints Results
December 14, 2024The Gitchi Gami Games classic sprints featured a large field as over 500 skiers participated in a full day of racing. Erica Laven and Graham Houtsma took the open division victories with Elsa Lindfors and Tabor Greenberg winning the junior sprint finals. In the U16 division, Minnesota high school champ Linnea Ousdigian and Canada's Reid Thompson were the winners. Results linked in.
ABR Opener High School Race Coverage
December 9, 2024Dale Fanney reports: About 100 high school skiers from the WNSL and the UP raced in the ABR Opener on Saturday. Snow and race conditions were excellent on the ABR 5k course. MadNorSki skiers Sasha Gusev and Kyra Vander Zanden placed First and 4th with Peak Nordic skiers Krin Blegen 2nd and Riley Grossklaus 3rd. In the boys race, Cole Mirek from Peak Nordic won a photo finish over Neils Stringer, MadNorSki, and Ben Dahlby, CVN. Results posted along with photos from Jonathon Rulseh.
Mesabi East Invite Details Posted
December 5, 2024The huge Mesabi East Invite meet is scheduled for January 11th! Registration is now open with a deadline of Jan 6th. Full details on the event in the press release.
Holiday Relays Set for Dec 17th
December 4, 2024The high school Holiday Relays will be racing Tuesday, Dec 17th at Battle Creek West. True relay format, 4x2.5K with two classic and two freestyle legs. Up to 15 teams will be able to compete, register your high school team today!
Wisconsin Nordic Ski League Matching Fundraising Effort
November 18, 2024The Wisconsin Nordic Ski League organizes events for 5th-12th grade athletes, including a high school and middle school skiing championship with over 450 participants from 25+ teams. Help support the league as they have a matching fundraising offer for donations received by Jan 15th!
U of M's ESPI Releases Report on Survey of Midwest Nordic Coaches
November 11, 2024The 2023-24 winter season in the Upper Midwest faced significant challenges due to warm temperatures and low snowfall. The Univ of Minnesota's Equitable Sport and Physical Activity Innovations (ESPI) Lab has published their survey of over 100 Midwest Nordic ski coaches. The survey revealed widespread disruptions to training, increased costs, and logistical challenges. Despite these difficulties, coaches remained resilient and adapted, though many expressed concerns about climate change's future impact. The report also contains number of suggestions.
MNHSNSCA: Preseason High School Rankings
November 11, 2024The Minnesota High School Nordic Ski Coaches Association (MNHSNSCA) has published their preseason rankings for the Minnesota High School Nordic ski season. Returning champs Linnea Ousdigian and Logan Drevlow get the number one spot, with Washburn girls and Brainerd boys the early favorites.
MNHSNSCA Fall Meeting Minutes
October 15, 2024The annual Minnesota High School Nordic Ski Coaches Association meeting was last weekend in Mora. Some highlights from the published meeting minutes: discussion on proposed changes to State Meet qualification, proposal update on season dates; update on State Meet venues; update on head gear rules.
2023-24 Season Highlights
May 1, 2024Catch highlights plus full results and photos from the 2023-2024 high school racing season.