Glen Strandberg
Sports Editor

For the Forest Lake boysí Nordic Ski program itís becoming difficult to come up with another rousing encore. What did the team do after winning it all in 2005? They won it again. That means head coach Deno Johnsonís group of racers begins this season targeting the always elusive three-peat.

ìSo whatís that old saying?î Johnson asks. ìGetting there is hard, but staying there is even harder? Yeah, thatís going to be the theme of this year.î

There is no question that losing the two-time defending state champion in Ben Fick as well as his partner in cold, Ted Steiner, leaves a gaping hole in the line-up. Johnson, however, has created a successful environment at Forest Lake, which means he has new-ish faces to take them to old places.

ìWe do have a couple guys who did ski at state, so a couple guys are left, which is huge,î Johnson says. ìTravis Strike is back from that team that won state last year, and Dave Kasl is back [who is a] very good skier.î

Strike is a top 10 returner to the section meet, a top 30 returner to the state meet and the No. 4 returning skier to the Suburban East Conference meet, while Kasl is in the top 12 for returning skiers in both the SEC and the section.

With Ben Brodin and Shawn Wright coming off exceptional cross country seasons, Johnson hopes they can improve upon last winterís solid results.

And if thatís not enough, the Rangers have Leif Nordgren to lead the charge. With a name like Leif Nordgren he was practically destined to excel in Nordic. ìHe had just an awesome year,î Johnson says, ìso weíre hoping he can build on that.î

Nordgren is the No. 3 returning skier to the state meet, numero uno for the section as well as the conference, and is also a member of the USSA Junior National Midwest team.

ìThe team to keep us on our toes will be Mounds View, and I think thatís a good thing,î Johnson shares. ìTheyíre definitely gunning for us and theyíll keep our kids honest and keep them on the rails. To have that team there is going to be big.î

Besides Mounds View, Johnson assumes heíll see either Hopkins or St. Louis Park at the state meet.

So will there be an encore to the encore?

ìThis year is pretty wide open, very wide open,î Johnson says. ìOur goal is definitely to repeat at conference and section and to have everyone improve well and get back to state, but thatís as far as Iím going to take it right now. If thereís two things we donít talk about on the ski team, itís pressure and winning. The kids arenít allowed to use the word ëwin.íî

The Forest Lake boysí will just have to lead by example. The hunter has become the hunted.

In their first meet on Friday, Dec. 1, Nordgren took second place at the Peter Westra Memorial Sprints at Trollhaugen, with junior Roman Morris coming in sixth and Brodin finishing in seventh.

For the girls

ìOn the girlís side, a young but promising team emerged,î Johnson notes.

The Rangers finished in third place at last seasonís conference and section meets, and with zero seniors on that roster, Johnson hopes to see a bold and bright future for this squad.

ìWith the addition of several young, talented girls, we are expecting the team to rise to the challenge of forming a strong, cohesive team that can become a threat in the years to come.î

Expected to lead this group will be veteran Annie Dehmlow, who is a top 15 returning skier to the state meet and a top five returner to the SEC and section meets. Like Nordgren, she is also a member of the USSA Junior National Midwest team.

Pushing Dehmlow will be Elizabeth Peterson and Kate Babbitt, who will both return to the conference meet as top 12 skiers. Peterson trots out of the cross country season with the look of someone who can do big things.

ìSheís really coming on as a ski racer,î Johnson says.

And Forest Lake will need her.

ìWeíve got two monster teams in Roseville and Stillwater, because theyíre going to contend for the state title and they are in different sections so they will both go,î Johnson observes. ìBut their both in our conference and weíve got Roseville in our section so the girls are going to be in a dogfight to get those last spots,î to qualify for state.

On the other hand, Johnson points out that only four team members count when it comes to results. Even though a school like Stillwater has 120 racers, Johnson is doing just fine with 25 skiers.

ìAs you can see by the size of our program, itís quality not quantity,î he says. ìIf you get four kids on the same page...î

At the Peter Westra Sprints, Dehmlow was the winner, going away, and if not for a crash, Babbitt would have contended for one of the top overall spots.

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