MAPLEWOOD — Challenged by little snow and poor conditions all season, the Stillwater girls and boys Nordic skiing teams were rewarded for their perseverance on Wednesday, Feb. 7 at Battle Creek Regional Park.
The Ponies swept the Section 4 championships to earn repeat trips to the state meet, which is scheduled for Feb. 14-15 at Giants Ridge in Biwabik.
In the girls competition, Stillwater placed three skiers among the top six in the pursuit and also placed first in the sprint relay to outscore Forest Lake 389-376 for the title. Mounds View followed in third place with 366 points.
The top two teams advance to state, along with the four top finishers in the pursuit and fastest sprint duo not on a qualifying team.
This is second title in a row and the 42nd section championship for the Stillwater girls dating back to 1976.
The Stillwater boys pulled away for a 382-363 victory over runner-up Mounds View to defend their section title while Forest Lake followed in third place with 352 points. This will be the ninth trip to state in the past 10 seasons for the Ponies.
And while there is little snow to be found anywhere this season, Battle Creek had enough to support the competing teams even as temperatures hovered around 50 degrees.
“They have all been very resilient as we navigated this season together,” Ponies co-head coach Torry Kraftson said. “It was another tricky waxing day. We are thankful for the hard word of the technical coaches applying glide and kick for tough conditions. We applied — and cleaned — a record number of klister skis in the testing process.”
The Stillwater girls ranked three points behind Forest Lake after the classic leg of the pursuit. The Ponies received a boost from Ada Burns and Eloise Powell (18:28.4) winning the sprint by more than four seconds over Mila Nordberg and Azelle Besemann (18:32.9) of Irondale.
The Ponies moved up in the freestyle pursuit, led by Bailey Holmes (37:10) and Stella Powell (37:22) placing fourth and fifth in the pursuit. Annika Fuhrmann (38:23) wasn’t far behind for the Ponies in sixth place.
“Both the boys and girls gained positions,” Kraftson said. “This demonstrated strong fitness, grit, and determination in the sloppy deteriorating conditions.”
Greta Widenbrant (41:55) and Cate Koelzer (42:16) followed in 14th and 16th for the Stillwater girls.
“All the girls were an important part of the success today,” Kraftson said. “Ada and Eloise were tremendous in the sprint relay. Bailey skied into third in the classic interval start and held her position in the skate pursuit. Stella skied classic in fifth and passed a Forest Lake skier in the skate pursuit while moving up into fourth. Annika skied classic in seventh and overtook two Forest Lake skiers as she skied into sixth, but an Irondale skier moved from eighth to fifth. Greta and Cate skied strong races as our fourth and fifth pursuit skiers.”
Mounds View’s Linnea Ousdigian was the individual medalist with a time of 34:25, finishing more than two minutes ahead of runner-up Norah Hushagen 36:33) of Forest Lake.
The Stillwater boys were paced in the pursuit by Carson Peterson (31:10) and George Nelson (31:22) in fourth and sixth place.
Mounds Park Academy finished fourth in the team standings, but swept the top two places in the individual pursuit with Eddie Snider (29:53) and Soren Winikoff (30:31).
Ethan Foote completed the scoring for the Ponies in 10th place with a time of 32:36.
The Ponies also received strong freestyle legs from Moses Schollett (36:10) and Kyle McBride (37:21), who placed 19th and 25th.
“Moses moved from 25th into 19th during the afternoon skate race,” Ponies co-head coach Ryan Jensen said. “Kyle maintained his placement, Ethan moved from 12th to 10th and Carson moved from eighth to fourth. The amount of skiing our athletes put in this season with limited snow and the endurance of our athletes stood out during the second lap when the hills turned to slop. I think the point increase during the second race of the day also speaks to the intelligence of our skiers on and off the course. You can’t have a good second race without rest, recovery, proper nutrition, and a strong aerobic base.”
The Ponies also maximized their points with a first-place finish in the sprint from Talbot Ward and Charlie Sanderson (16:12.7), who crossed the line about four seconds in front of Irondale’s Gabe Hart and Luke O’Rourke (16:16.1).
“Our relay team had a particularly strong race yesterday,” Jensen said. “Talbot kept us in an extremely strong position and Charlie chased down the leader in the last 200 meters for the W.”
“The sprint relays were both exciting to watch,” Kraftson said.
Cooler temperatures will provide a well-earned reward for both teams competing at state next week. Racing and training have both been impacted significantly all season.
“Having man-made at Battle Creek has definitely been a huge asset in managing this low-snow year,” Kraftson said. “However, Battle Creek has been a crowded venue and at least two or three days a week we have had to find ways to practice elsewhere. We did dryland strength work-outs way further into the season than usual and we did some running/bounding workouts even into January. Sometimes the varsity trained at night under the lights at Battle Creek after other teams’ races were over.”
Girls team standings
1. Stillwater 389; 2. Forest Lake 376; 3. Mounds View 366; 4, tie, Roseville 342 and Spring Lake Park/St. Anthony/Centennial 342; 6. Irondale 334; 7. White Bear Lake 300; 8. Mahtomedi 270; 9. St. Paul Como Park 245; 10. Mounds Park Academy 243; 11. Tartan 125; 12. Minneapolis Edison 37; 13. North St. Paul 29.
Pursuit results
State qualifiers
(classic-freestyle—pursuit)
1. Linnea Ousdigian (MV) 17:27-16:58—34:25; 2. Norah Hushagen (FL) 18:18-18:15—36:33; 3. Bailey Holmes (St) 18:32-18:38—37:10; 4. Stella Powell (St) 18:56-18:26—37:22; 5. Siri Stolen (Ir) 19:24-18:51—38:15; 6. Annika Fuhrmann (St) 19:21-19:02—38:23; 7. Chloe Erickson (FL) 19:06-19:24—38:30; 8. Madeleine Bonnett (FL) 18:47-20:13—39:00; 9. Milla Erickson (SLP/SA/Cen) 19:47-19:50—39:37; 10. Margot Derosier (MV) 20:14-19:35—39:49; 14. Greta Wildenbrant (St) 21:02-20:53—41:55; 15. Molly McCarthy (FL) 21:06-21:04—42:10; 16. Cate Koelzer (St) 21:17-20:59—42:16; 23. Rachel Isaacs (FL) 22:10-23:04—45:14.
Tandem sprint
1. Ada Burns-Eloise Powell (St) 18:28.4; 2. Mila Nordberg-Azelle Besemann (Ir) 18:32.9; 4. Elsa Swenson-Clara Zak (FL) 19:11.2.
Boys team standings
1. Stillwater 382; 2. Mounds View 363; 3. Forest Lake 352; 4. Mounds Park Academy 348; 5, tie, Mahtomedi 330 and Spring Lake Park/St. Anthony/Centennial 330; 7. Irondale 329; 8. Roseville 310; 9. White Bear Lake 292; 10. St. Paul Como Park 268; 11. Minneapolis Edison 134; 12. Tartan 119.
State qualifiers
(classic-freestyle—pursuit)
1. Eddie Snider (MPA) 15:09-14:44—29:53; 2. Soren Winikoff (MPA) 15:39-14:52—30:31; 3. Owen Kalmes (MV) 15:40-15:02—30:42; 4. Carson Peterson (St) 16:17-14:53—31:10; 5. Sergei Viskovatykh (ME) 16:05-15:06—31:11; 6. George Nelson (St) 15:47-15:35—31:22; 7. Jonas Hebert (FL) 15:43-15:44—31:27; 10. Ethan Foote (St) 17:02-15:34—32:36; 12. Levi Hammerbeck (MV) 17:03-16:22—33:25; 18. Miles Smith (MV) 17:58-17:54—35:52; 19. Moses Schollett (St) 18:47-17:23—36:10; 25. Kyle McBride (St) 18:33-18:48—37:21; 29. Jackson Ashbach (MV) 19:32-18:48—38:20; 35. Will Kelley (MV) 18:57-20:14—39:11. Tandem sprint
1. Talbot Ward-Charlie Sanderson (St) 16:12.7; 2. Gabe Hart-Luke O’Rourke (Ir) 16:16.1; 3. August Arnold-Ian Gamson (MV) 16:22.6.
Ponies sweep SEC titles
At Maplewood, the Ponies captured the boys and girls titles in the Suburban East Conference Championships on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 at Battle Creek.
The Stillwater boys held off Mounds View 461-436 to win their third straight conference championship. The Stillwater girls, meanwhile outlasted Mounds View 460-438 to defend their SEC crown while Forest Lake was just one point back in third place at 437.
Eight Ponies earned all-conference honors for the Stillwater boys, including individual medalist Carson Peterson, runner-up George Nelson, Ethan Foote (4th), Wyatt Wolfe (12th) and Moses Schollott (15th). Will Foote received honorable mention all-conference recognition.
Stillwater’s sprint relay teams of Talbot Ward-Kyle McBride and Henry March-Charles Sanderson also earned All-SEC honors after placing second and fourth.
All-conference honors are reserved for the top 16 finishers in the pursuit and the top four teams in the sprint relay. The next eight pursuit finishers and the fifth- and sixth-place sprint teams are honorable mention.
Ada Burns and Eloise Powell won the sprint and were joined in earning all-conference honors by teammates and fourth-place finishers Sophia Saldin and Cate Koelzer.
The Stillwater girls also boasted six All-SEC honorees in the pursuit, including Stella Powell (3rd), Bailey Holmes (4th), Annika Fuhrmann (6th), Greta Shockey (10th), Greta Widenbrant (14th) and Heidi Stoffregen (16th).
Boys team standings
1. Stillwater 461; 2. Mounds View 436; 3. Forest Lake 420; 4. Irondale 419; 5. Park/Woodbury/East Ridge 387; 6. Roseville 380; 7. White Bear Lake 347.
Top 3, Stillwater results
(freestyle-classic—pursuit)
1. Carson Peterson (St) 16:20.16:55—33.15; 2. George Nelson (St) 16:44-17:05—33:49; 3. Owen Kalmes (MV) 16:52-16:59—33:51; 4. Ethan Foote (St) 16:30-17:43—34:13; 12. Wyatt Wolfe (St) 19:25-19:03—38:28; 15. Moses Schollott (St) 19:33-19:45—39:18; 20. Will Foote (St) 20:36-20:22—40:58.
Tandem sprint
2x2x1.3-kilometer
1. Erik Olson-Gabe Hart (Ir) 20:31.1; 2. Talbot Ward-Kyle McBride (St) 20:35.1; 3. August Arnold-Jackson Ashbach (MV) 20:38.1; 4. Henry March-Charles Sanderson (St) 21:32.4.
Girls team standings
1. Stillwater 460; 2. Mounds View 438; 3. Forest Lake 437; 4. Roseville 409; 5. Irondale 394; 6. White Bear Lake 339; 7. Park/Woodbury/East Ridge 331.
Stillwater results
1. Linnea Ousdigian (MV) 17:23-20:13—37:36; 2. Norah Hushagen (FL) 18:11-20:58—39:09; 3. Stella Powell (St) 18:33-21:30—40:03; 4. Bailey Holmes (St) 19:56-21:00—40:56; 6. Annika Fuhrmann (St) 19:35-21:50—41:25; 10. Greta Shockey (St) 21:02-22:53—43:55; 14. Greta Widenbrant (St) 21:46-23:07—44:53; 16. Heidi Stoffregen (St) 21:43-23:07—44:53.
Tandem sprint
1. Ada Burns-Eloise Powell (St) 22:28.6; 2. Mia Nordberg-Azelle Besemann (Ir) 23:11.7; 3. Maya Surve-Maddie Dornfeld (MV) 23:30.9; 4. Sophia Saldin-Cate Koelzer (St) 23:34.7.
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