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Glen Strandberg
Sports Editor
What Forest Lake head coach Deno Johnson and his assistant John Fick have created with the boys Nordic ski team is starting to become unfair.
Last Friday, Feb. 15, the Rangers won their third state championship in four years, and have a girls squad that is ready to make next winter a challenging one for Minnesota’s premier programs. From Forest Lake alone, four boys made all-state, as did the two girls who represented the Rangers.
Approaching his fifth consecutive state competition, Johnson was well aware of the difficult test his boys would face from Wayzata and Minneapolis Southwest. Strange thing happened on the way to win number three, though, as Wayzata struggled in the morning’s freestyle competition.
Not that the Trojans were alone.
The race was delayed 90 minutes, until the temperature warmed up to a tropical -4 degrees. Forest Lake’s skiers didn’t feel they performed very well, but the cold hassled everyone. When the freestyle portion was complete, the arctic air had smacked other squads even harder, and Johnson knew Wayzata was no longer a concern.
The Rangers went into the afternoon’s classical race with a comfortable lead, and ended up with a nice cushion, finishing with 384 points. Minneapolis Southwest was second with 356, while Wayzata took third with 346 points.
Forest Lake’s victory is all the more impressive after studying the individual results. Ben Brodin took third overall, which continues the streak of seven straight years (11 total) of having a Ranger finish on the medal podium. But one key was Ryan Wright picking up fourth place. The best Wayzata’s top two skiers could do was fifth and 11th, and Southwest’s first pair wound up in ninth and 14th.
“Ben and Ryan gave us a killer one-two punch. Third and fourth place galvanized the boys team and proved to set the table for a fabulous victory,” Johnson said. “Ben’s race will be remembered as a magnificent capstone to an outstanding ski career. He’s achieved so much in three short years.”
After Forest Lake’s Travis Strike pulled in to 15th place, and Steve Coozennoy was 25th, the drubbing was on. The Trojans and Lakers were still looking for their top four skiers as the Rangers did that familiar trick where they cram the upper half of the standings.
“Steve just keeps getting faster and faster. Getting all-state as a sophomore is extremely impressive because in order to succeed at the highest levels you need an incredible endurance base. He possesses that little extra. I expect big things from him next winter,” Johnson said.
Shawn Wright came in 32nd, Mike Howe was 53rd and Mitch Wohlk rounded it off at 56th.
“Captain Shawn Wright gave his all to the boys team’s cause and he was pretty stoked to get his hands on the trophy as a state champion,” Johnson exclaimed. “It was obvious to me early on that the boys were not to be rattled by anything. They were calm, serene and ultra-focused on getting it done, and they did it with style and panache. They killed the suspense pretty quickly and that was fine with the coaching staff.”
Wayzata’s third skier was two spots behind Wohlk, who is relatively new to the sport and only a sophomore.
“Twenty-eight points eclipsed our previous best-winning margin of 27 points in 2006,” Johnson pointed out. “This year’s team just couldn’t stop setting even higher standards for itself in the future.”
That’s how unfair this is becoming.
In the girls race, Annie Dehmlow and Elizabeth Peterson made a return appearance to the state meet, after taking 27th and 47th, respectively, in 2007.
(Photo by Kathy Wright)
IN GOOD HANDS: Forest Lake Nordic skiers didn’t qualify as a team for the girls competition, but Elizabeth Peterson, near right, and Annie Dehmlow raced as individuals and made all-state.
Dehmlow barely missed out on all-state last season, but last week both she and Peterson would grab that honor.
“Annie finished her senior year with an impressive classic race. A super finish to a super high school career,” Johnson said. “Elizabeth did well to serve notice she’ll be one to watch for years to come.”
Peterson sailed all the way up to 20th place, and not far behind her was Dehmlow in 23rd.
In all, of the nine skiers Forest Lake sent to the state meet, six raced away with all-state status.
Thinking back to last winter, the boys Nordic ski team earned second place, after being Minnesota’s champs for two straight years. Johnson wasn’t terribly disappointed and simply viewed it as a way to begin a new win streak.
So that’s one...
Boys
Freestyle Classical Combined
3. Ben Brodin 16:00.0 15:09.0 31:09.0
4. Ryan Wright 16:18.0 15:00.1 31:18.1
15. Travis Strike 17:18.0 15:20.9 32:38.9
25. Steve Coozennoy 16:58.0 16:13.2 33:11.2
32. Shawn Wright 17:33.0 16:06.7 33:39.7
53. Mike Howe 18:31.0 16:16.6 34:47.6
56. Mitch Wohlk 18:07.0 16:41.7 34:48.7
Girls
20. Elizabeth Peterson 20:12 18:57.6 39:08.9
23. Annie Dehmlow 20:35 18:46.7 39:21.6
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