MNSCA Spring Meeting
April 20, 2006The Minnesota Nordic Ski Coaches Association annual Spring Meeting is Saturday, April 29th at the Vasaloppet Nordic Chalet in Mora, MN. Coaches RSVP requested.
MSHSL Hall of Fame Inducts John Bauer
April 16, 2006Olympian John Bauer will be inducted into the Minnesota State High School League Hall of Fame at their banquet on Thursday, May 18th. Banquet tickets must be purchased by April 24th.
Victor C. Dunder Award Nominations
April 2, 2006Nominations for the 2005-06 Victor C. Dunder Awards are being accepted up to April 9th. The Victor C. Dunder awards help provide ski equipment for promising up-and-coming skiers.
Junior Nationals: Relays
March 11, 2006Junior Nationals wrapped up Saturday with the exciting relay events. Three midwest teams made the podium: 3rd boys OJ, 3rd girls J1, 3rd girls OJ. Other top results: 4th boys J1, 5th girls J2.
Junior Nationals: Freestyle
March 10, 2006Friday featured the individual freestyle races at Junior Nationals on the beautiful trails of Michigan Tech in Houghton. While no Midwest skiers collected victories, a number of them made the podium including Claire Luby 3rd J1, Katie Bono 3rd OJ, and Chris Harvey 3rd OJ. Other top results: Jeese Lang 4th OJ, Ben Fick 6th J1.
Junior Nationals: Classical
March 8, 2006Junior Nationals in Houghton, Michigan, picked up again on Wednesday with the classical technique races. Midwest skiers scored some excellent results, especially in the OJ races where Bill Bowler took victory with Chris Harvey 3rd, Jeese Lang 5th, and Santiago Ocariz 6th. Katie Bono was 2nd in the girls OJ race. Other top results: Ben Fick 3rd J1, Chris Bowler 4th J2, Audrey Weber 5th OJ.
Junior Nationals: Sprints
March 6, 2006It was the first day of official events at Junior Nationals in Hougton, Michigan, and sprinters took to the course. Audrey Weber had the top result of the day for the midwest, taking second place in the OJ womens sprint final. Winning the consolation finals were: Bill Bowler OJ, Katie Bono OJ, and Joe Dubay J2.
Midwest Junior Olympics Team Announced
February 28, 2006The Midwest Junior Olympics team has been announced. The team is stacked with many of the top high school skiers from Wisconsin and Minnesota. Junior Nationals begins on the "home course" of Michigan Tech with events starting on Monday and running through Saturday.
MSNSCA All-State Awards
February 22, 2006The Minnesota State Nordic Ski Coaches' Association All-State Awards have been announced.
Minnesota State Meet Coverage
February 21, 2006Second-half report: Temperatures reaching the 20s paired with a perfectly groomed track at Giants Ridge set the stage for the afternoon classical pursuit. Forest Lake's Ben Fick set out on fire, cranking a rapid tempo that left no doubt Fick was going to sweep the titles. Youngster Joe Dubay made one of the most exciting races of the day, sprinting the final climb to wrest control of second place. Much like Fick's performance, Katie Bono quickly seized control of the girls race, passing Luby within the first 2K and going on to win the classical and pursuit titles. Forest Lake boys and Grand Rapid girls repeated as team champions. Full results linked in, plus nearly 600 photos broken into four photosets.
Minnesota State Meet: Halftime Report
February 21, 2006The rescheduled Minnesota State Meet got off under much better conditions than the frigid -15F temperatures of last Friday. Tuesday mornings temperatures ranged in the mid teens, with highs expected in the 20s for the classical pursuit this afternoon. In the boys race, Wynn Roberts, Battle Lake, jumped out to an early lead before favorite Ben Fick, Forest Lake, pulled back the advantage and added his own, taking the freestyle title and a 13 second lead over Roberts into the pursuit. The girls race was a very close fought battle with St. Paul Central's Claire Luby edging out Duluth East's Ingrid Fjeldheim by a mere second to capture the freestyle title. Favorite Katie Bono, Visitation, will need to make up 15 seconds to overcome Luby have a shot at repeating as the pursuit champion.
Minnesota State Meet Preview
February 14, 2006The huge Minnesota State Meet is this Friday and we take a stab at our predictions on this years favorites. Bring the warm clothes and grab your favorite spot on the course -- its gonna be a good one! Note: Meet was rescheduled to this Tuesday, Feb 21st.
Tidd Tech Trollhaugen Grooming Clinic
February 17, 2006Tidd Tech is hosting a free grooming clinic at Trollhaugen on March 1st. The clinic will focus on some of the trickier grooming scenarios: low snow, ice and warm conditions.
Minnesota State Meet Postponed
February 16, 2006The Minnesota State High School Championships, scheduled for this Friday, February 17th, have been rescheduled for Tuesday, February 21st, due to the extremely cold weather forecasted for the Biwabik area on Friday.
Wisconsin High School Championships: Classical Pursuit
February 11, 2006The Wisconsin High School Championships at Schwan Center concluded on Saturday with the exciting classical pursuit races. Hayward picked up where they left off on Friday, dominating the competition to complete the sweep of the team titles. The Hayward boys completed the perfect meet score, again sweeping the top three positions, led by overall winner Kyle Fredrickson. The girls pursuit race carried the most excitement as Lakeland's Heather Bassett was challenged by Hayward's Maria Grossi. Bassett stayed just over a second ahead to win the pursuit title as Grossi posted the fastest classical time.
Wisconsin High School Championships: Freestyle
February 10, 2006Day one of the Wisconsin High School Championships at the Schwan Center featured the freestyle races. Hayward teams dominated the day, easily taking the team titles, with the boys team posting the perfect score by sweeping the top three places. Kyle Fredrickson put an exclamation point on the Hayward power, crushing the boys field by over a minute in the 7.5K race. It was Heather Bassett of Lakeland that broke up the Hayward girls sweep as Bassett won the girls skate title. Racing action wraps up on Saturday with the classical races.
Section 2 Coverage
February 10, 2006Section 2 raced at Giants Ridge on Wednesday. In one of the more interesting stories from sectionals, Forest Lake skier Ben Fick arrived back from racing in Europe on Tuesday night and was racing for a state meet berth 12 hours later. Fick did quite well, easily sweeping the boys titles. The girls events provided a thrilling classical pursuit as Anoka's Kristi Dahlheimer stormed from a 7th place freestyle position to overtake all skiers, including freestyle winner Rita White, to capture the classic and pursuit titles. The Forest Lake boys look ready to defend their state team title with a strong performance. Perennial favorite Roseville girls collected yet another section title. Photos from Cees Duijndam and Katie Anderson. The Minnesota State Meet is next Friday, February 17th.
Section 1 Results
February 9, 2006Excellent conditions highlighted a day of racing at Telemark for the Section 1 meet. Lakeville North controlled the section, collecting the team titles by comfortable margins. Lakeville's cross-country running state champion, Elizabeth Yetzer, dominated the girls events, sweeping the titles and posting a pursuit margin of victory of more than two minutes. Jens Brabbitt of Winona and Lakeville South's Hans Nygren provided some of the most exciting races of the sectionals as Babbitt edged out Nygren by a mere second in both races to sweep the boys titles.
Section 7 Coverage
February 9, 2006Section 7, composed primarily of schools from NE Minnesota, held their section championships at Giants Ridge on Thursday. Adam Schultz of Ely came to the top of the boys field, sweeping the titles. In the girls races, Ingrid Fjeldheim, Duluth East, won the girls freestyle race with enough margin to hold off teammate and classical winner Stephanie LaFrance to capture the pursuit title. Duluth East will send both teams to the State Meet after winning winning titles today. Photos from Ron Kutsi and Dave Johnson.
Section 4 Results
February 9, 2006Three days of sectional meets at Camp Ripley wrapped up on Thursday with the Section 4 meet. Showing good depth, it was rural Little Falls upsetting the larger metro-based Wayzata by three points to win the girls team title. And with solid talent throughout, the Elk River/Zimmermann boys captured the boys title. In the individual races, Christi Nowak of Rogers used a strong freestyle victory to hold off classical winner Elizabeth Schmitz, Wayzata, and win the pursuit title. In the boys races, Luke Busta of St. Cloud Tech displayed a powerful classical race to overtake freestyle leader Mason Bacso, Wayzata, and collect the boys classical and pursuit titles.
Section 6 Coverage
February 8, 2006Section 6 has transformed into one of the toughest sections in the state this season with the addition of St. Louis Park. The most exciting action wasn't in the individual races, but rather for the team titles. The Eden Prairie girls had another nail biter, pulling out the title by a mere 1.5 points over Hopkins. The Minneapolis Southwest boys nearly toppled the St. Louis Park dynasty, coming up just 6.5 points short of a State Meet trip. In the individual races, Katie Bono of Vistation, the returning state champion, faced some competition in the skate race, then crushed the field in the classical race to complete the sweep. Mike Mommsen, St. Louis Park, overcame freestyle winner Zach McGill, Hopkins, in the classical race to take the collect the classical and pursuit titles. Photos added from Jim Smith.
Section 8 Coverage
February 8, 2006The Section 8 meet at Camp Ripley on Wednesday featured a whale of a battle between two top skiers, Wynn Roberts and Mark Johnson. In the freestyle race, Roberts posted the top time, 14 seconds ahead of Brainerd's Justin Tyner and 22 seconds in front of Johnson of Grand Rapids. But it was Johnson who turned up the heat in the classical race, closing the gap to Roberts to captured the classical title, but losing out by one second to Roberts for the pursuit crown. In the girls race, Grand Rapids skier Anna Roessler controlled both races, sweeping the titles. The Bemidji boys took the team title and look to put early reservations on next years meet as well with their young line up. The Grand Rapids girls lived up to their #1 ranking, easily collecting the top team honors. Photos added from Anne Ellefson.
Section 3 Results
February 7, 2006Snowflake in Duluth hosted the Section 3 meet on Tuesday. Eighth grade sensation Jessie Diggins, Stillwater, cleaned up on her elders sweeping the girls individual titles. Woodbury's David Jorgensen collected the boys set. Stillwaters boys and girls teams qualified for State as they won the team titles.
Section 5 Coverage
February 7, 2006In Minnesota's own version of the "Great 8", the State High School sectional meets kicked off on Tuesday. In the section 5 meet at Camp Ripley, St. Paul Central's Claire Luby was off the chart, crushing the girls field by nearly three minutes in the freestyle race and then another two minutes in the classical event to easily take top honors. The boys race saw a close matchup between Robbinsdale Armstrong teammates Jack Ladwig and Ross Werner, with Ladwid sweeping the events. The Robbinsdale Armstrong teams sailed through the meet to take the team titles and advance to State.
Wisconsin High School Nordic Championships Preview
February 6, 2006Bill Pierce provides a preview of this week's Wisconsin High School Nordic Championships, held this Friday and Saturday, Feb 10-11, at the Schwan Center in Trego, WI.
Minnesota State High School Rankings
February 6, 2006The last set of rankings before the big section meets this week.
Minnesota Considers Two Class System
January 26, 2006The Minnesota High School's Nordic program may undergo one of its biggest changes as it considers moving to a two class system. The two class system would be based primarily on school size and seeks to provide a better State Meet as well as growing the base of nordic high school skiers.
Capitol Square Sprints: JOQ Classic Sprints Coverage
January 15, 2006After the SuperTour warmed up the course, the Junior Olympic competitors stormed the track for the JOQ event. The opening bridge section provided some extra 'panic' with the tight fields rushing for the lead spot and clean sailing. Champions crowned today: OJ - Audrey Weber, Santi Ocariz; J1 - Steph LaFrance, Adam Shultz; J2 - Addie Byrne, Joe Dubay.
Capitol Square Sprints: HS Sprint Relays Coverage
January 14, 2006The Capitol Square Sprints kicked off Saturday morning with the Wisconsin State High School Sprint Relay Championships. After an exciting semi-final round, the top four teams squared off in the girls and boys final rounds. Teams had to race three laps around the state capitol square on a course that included two steep bridge crossings. Lakeland girls and Hayward boys captured the titles in close battles. Full results and over 100 photos online now.
2006 Mesabi East Invitational Recap
January 10, 2006Maria Stewart files a full report on the exciting Mesabi East high school race, held last Saturday at Giants Ridge. The annual event draws a field of over 1000 skiers and is one of the mid-season benchmark races.
Wisconsin High School Preseason Preview
January 6, 2006Ken Schoville provides a look at the Wisconsin high school racing scene and the early favorites this season.
Spotlight: Maplelag Ski Camp
December 17, 2005Members of the Skinnyski.com Race Team returned to Maplelag for a second week of high school clinics and racing. On Saturday, freshly groomed trails and warm sunshine made for an enjoyable afternoon out on the trails working on classic and skate technique. In the evening, Per Nelson and Grant Nelson gave dueling waxing seminars.
Spotlight: Forest Lake
November 14, 2005The Minnesota High School Nordic Skiing season kicked off Monday with the opening day of practice. We traveled to Forest Lake, home of the 2005 defending boys state championship team, along with pursuit and classic title holder Ben Fick. Coach Deno Johnson, along with assistant coach Ben Saunders, have developed a highly successful program with a team of less than 30 skiers. Monday's opening workout consisted of some strength training and stretching, a short talk on team philosophy and expectations, and finished with a distance training run.
Minnesota State Cross-Country Meet Coverage
November 5, 2005Surprisingly, the 2005 Minnesota State High School Cross-Country Championships on Saturday in Northfield ran true to the final rankings. Winona's Elliot Heath put in a finishing stretch kick to pull away from TC Lumbar, Edina, for the Boys AA crown. Tim Branigan of Roseville was third, completing the trifecta. Lakeville North's Elizabeth Yetzer maintained control of the girls field throughout, easily capturing the victory, with Hanna Grinaker, Detroit Lakes, second and Brooke Wyffels, Marshall, third -- again matching the final poll standings. The team titles in AA went to the Willmar boys and Lakeville North girls. In class A, Bria Wetsch and Mike Torchia took the individual titles while team titles went to Adrian girls and St. Cloud Cathedral boys. Over 300 photos posted from the AA races.
Roy Griak Invitational Coverage
September 24, 2005The rains rolled out leaving a somewhat soft and humid course for the High School Gold races at the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday. In the boys race, Mike Torchia and T C Lumbar pulled away from Rob Finnerty to sprint it out for the title with Torchia just edging out Lumbar. Elizabeth Yetzer opened a lead on Bria Wetsch to take the girls title.
100K Rollerski Camp Journals
August 2, 2005Jenni Mead along with campers Elise Gale and Danielle Berndt filed journals on the near perfect experience of their 100K rollerski camp across southern Minnesota last week.
Nordicwerks Program Highlight
July 24, 2005Nordicwerks SkiKlubb is in its fourth year of training. Members include athletes from Forest Lake, Stillwater and Mora. The Nordicwerks SkiKlubb had a busy weekend. It began on Friday the 22nd with a 2 hour and 45 minute workout consisting of a classical time trial, distance skiing and strength. On Saturday the kids turned out in force for the Lumberjack Days 10 mile and 5k races.
MSC West Side Program Highlight
July 21, 2005The Minneapolis Ski Club (MSC) under the direction of Kevin Brochman runs a number of junior programs across the metro area in the summer. We dropped in on the Thursday morning 'South' group workout based out of French Regional Park and led by Kevin Johnson. The morning workout consisted of a short warm up run, some strength drills and then an hour of classical technique on rollerskis.
Minnesota Valley Summer Program Highlight
July 11, 2005With hot and humid weather, an overabundance of rabbits, and even some Ultimate Frisbee on rollerskis, the MN Valley Summer Program worked out at Hyland Lake Park Monday morning. The large program worked on classical technique, with coaches breaking the skiers into 6-7 working groups. We chased down about half the groups but unfortunately missed the one doing the "beach sprints". Sidenote: Reid Lutter confirmed the Ringer Roll rollerski race will be on August 5th this year.
Cowboy Nordic Duathlon Coverage
July 9, 2005Long Lake was the venue early Saturday morning for the Cowboy Nordic Duathlon, a short-notice event composed of a 4K run and 8K classic rollerski. The weather was already balmy at 8 am as the select group of skiers and runners hit the course. Mike McMahon and Kate Ceronsky posted the top mens and womens times.
Sisu Juniors Summer Program Highlight
June 30, 2005We dropped in Thursday morning at the Battle Creek Ravine area to check out Finn Sisu's summer juniors program. Four coaches, including Finn Sisu's owner Ahvo Taipale, divided the large group into separate training segments as they worked on classical rollerski technique.
Regional Elite Dev Camp Report
June 29, 2005Pete Vordenburg filed an extensive report on the Regional Elite Development Camps held last week up in Hayward.