Posted: 2/12/03

Nordic teams qualify 7 for state meet

Berk Brown
Sports Editor

Forest Lake may not have qualified its entire boys team for the Nordic state meet, but the Rangers got just about everybody there.

Stillwater narrowly defeated the Rangers for the boys team title to deny Forest Lake a trip to state as a team. The Ponies and Rangers each finished with a score of 756.5, which sent the section championship into a tie-breaker.

The first tie-breaker being the combined times of each teamís top four skiers in the classic and freestyle competitions. Amazingly, Forest Lake and Stillwater each came in with a time of 2:16:25. The second tie-breaker was then used to determine the champion ñ the fifth-place finishers from each school. Stillwaterís fifth-place finisher came in two places higher than Forest Lakeís, sending the Ponies to state.

Despite missing out on the trip to state as a team, Forest Lake coach Deno Johnson said he couldnít be more impressed with the performance turned in by his team at the Section 2 meet at Biwabik last week.

ìIíve never been more proud of a team,î Johnson said. ìSkiing fast at the section meet must just be in these guysí DNA. They gave it all they had and everybody understands that.î

Even though the Rangers did not reach state as a team, they will send four individuals to Fridayís meet in Biwabik.

Forest Lakeís Lorin Skoglund dominated the competition, winning the classic, freestyle and pursuit titles.

ìLorin just smashed everybody,î Johnson said.

Ben Fick was fifth in pursuit to qualify for state and he also placed fifth in classic and eighth in freestyle. Peter Bailey was fourth in classic, 11th in freestyle and eighth in pursuit. Bill England, the fourth state qualifier, was sixth in classic, 15th in freestyle and 10th in pursuit.

Ted Steiner was 13th in classic, 19th in freestyle and 17th in pursuit for the Rangers while Jordan Koch was 19th in classic, 33rd in freestyle and 28th in pursuit and James Babbitt was 29th in classic, 31st in freestyle and 29th in pursuit.

Forest Lake also finished second to Stillwater in the girls competition. The Ponies finished with a score of 768 while the Rangers had 744. Three individuals qualified for state in the girls competition for Forest Lake.

Laura Edlund won the classic and finished second in freestyle and pursuit for the Rangers while Sarah Wright placed second in classic, fourth in freestyle and third in pursuit. Ruth Anderson qualified for state in classic with a fifth-place finish. She also placed 22nd in freestyle and 10th in pursuit.

Becky Alexander was 13th in classic, 15th in freestyle and 13th in pursuit for the Rangers while Nikki Duff was 18th in classic, 24th in freestyle and 20th in pursuit.

Jenny Coozenoy was 41st in classic, 40th in freestyle and 36th in pursuit for the Rangers while Janessa Van Deen was 45th in classic, 44th in freestyle and 42nd in pursuit.

Top of Page