LILA seventh-grader also qualifies
The Forest Lake Alpine ski team has had a stellar season up to this point in the year – and they proved it on Tuesday, Feb. 6, as the Rangers qualified three individuals to the 2024 state Alpine ski tournament.
The final meet of the season was scheduled to be held in familiar territory on Tuesday, Feb. 13, back at Giants Ridge in Biwabik, Minnesota – where boys senior Mathias Peterson and sophomore Sam Andreski, along with girls senior Maja Henslin ultimately clinched their state berths in the Section 7 Alpine ski championships the week prior.
While neither team earned a state nod, head coach Trevor Pinewski is still satisfied with the success he’s seen on the individual side of things.
“Obviously, the hope was to get a team to state. We weren’t able to do that, but that’s OK. I’m extremely happy and proud of those three,” Pinewski said.
On the girls side, the squad placed third overall among 15 total teams at the meet, led by Henslin, eighth grader Brynn Tredinnick, freshman Maria Longsdorf, seventh graders Sophia Anderson and Emma Helke, and sophomore Adie Tredinnick. The team put together a solid performance, accumulating 292 total points in their runs – just 22 points behind second-place Little Falls and 21 points ahead of Chisago Lakes, who took fourth. The top three finishes for the team consisted of Henslin’s result time of 1:27.98, Brynn Treddinick at 1:31.76, and Longsdorf’s run of 1:31.88.
Henslin will reach her first-ever state tournament appearance. Individually, she would claim seventh place out of 92 total participants.
“She hadn’t made it [to state] until now, so it’s a big sigh of relief for her. We’re full of joy, we’re excited for her – overall just excited about the moment that she accomplished that she set out for at the beginning of this season – one of her goals was to make it to state this year. It’s just gratifying to see that come to fruition, and now it’s about performing well at state,” Pinewski said.
The boys team placed fifth overall amongst 18 total schools, totaling 299 points, just 13 points behind the fourth-place team and 5 points ahead of Chisago Lakes in sixth place. The squad was headlined by a talented group of seniors in Peterson and Matt Conzemius, junior Leu Meyer, sophomore Andreski, along with freshman Tristan Bodin and Anders Peterson. The boys top-three finishes included Peterson’s run of 1:17.91, Andreski’s 1:23.19 and Conzemius with a final result time of 1:29.87. Individually, the pair of seniors each placed within the top 10 to reach the state cutoff mark, as Peterson took first overall, while Andreski placed ninth out of 102 total skiers. Peterson will earn back-to-back state appearances after placing 73rd overall at state last year.
“Mathias [Peterson] had gone last year, a fantastic accomplishment,” Pinewski said. “But, it’s probably a lot less stressful for him going into it now this year knowing that he’s been there before.”
Pinewski detailed the message that was translated to the three state individuals following their outstanding outings.
“Quite honestly, it was just a congratulations, you did it,” Pinewski said. “Just know that we got practice on Monday. Just to try and keep them all focused and ready is all. We had to cancel practice on Thursday because of the weather, so we had a conversation about that. But, we’ll be back up there on Monday to try and get into that focused mindset. I told them that this is our last hurrah of the season, this is it, so let’s put our best foot forward.”
In terms of preparation, Pinewski noted that a calm approach and presence can prove helpful for the trio of Rangers.
“I think just keeping ourselves calm is probably going to be the best direction. I had been there before myself way back when, so it’s a matter of trying to convey that to the athletes, and it’ll help too with Mathias [Peterson] being a returning skier and going to state last year and having that experience,” Pinewski said. “Sometimes as a coach, you can tell your athletes something over and over, but until they hear it from each other, that can limit those nerves and help them all buy into it. I think that will benefit us as a grouping of three. I’ll tell them to keep calm, it’s just another race, don’t put yourself through too much of a stressful situation. I think that will be the focus and emphasis for me with the three kids for Tuesday.”
Julia Pfingsten, a seventh grader at Lakes International Language Academy, also qualified for an individual spot the state meet. Pfingsten suffered from a broken arm, keeping her off her skis until the Section 7 championships.
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