Biwabik, home of Giant’s Ridge Ski Resort, is used to a busy winter season, but next week brings a different type of rush.
The resort will again host the Minnesota State High School League’s Alpine and Nordic Skiing state meets.
The Alpine meet is set for Tuesday, Feb. 11, with the first run at 10 a.m. Nordic meets cover two days, with sprint relays beginning at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, and classic and pursuit races on Thursday, starting at 10 a.m.
No tickets are needed for in-person spectators. Both meets can be streamed through NSPN; a subscription is required to watch.
A number of rural Northern Minnesota student-athletes will be competing. There is just one MSHSL class for both events.
For the state Alpine meet, the top two teams — consisting of four to six skiers — from each of the four sections qualified, as well as the top 10 individual finishers who did not qualify with their team.
For the state Nordic meet, the top two teams, with a maximum of seven skiers, from each of the eight sections qualified. The top four individuals, excluding those who qualified with their team, also advanced. As did the fastest Sprint Relay team that did not qualify as one of the top two schools.
Alpine
Brainerd (Co-op with Crosby-Ironton, Pequot Lakes and Pillager)
Sophomore Piper Grillo finished fifth in the Section 5 Girls Alpine Championships at Wild Mountain on Feb. 4; she advanced to state as the second individual qualifier.
Cloquet-Esko-Carlton
Teagen Tessier finished second in the Section 7 Girls Alpine Championships at Giant’s Ridge on Feb. 4; she advanced as the top individual qualifier.
Nadia Tessier finished seventh in the Section 7 Girls Alpine Championships at Giant’s Ridge on Feb. 4; she advanced as the final individual qualifier.
Cook County/Silver Bay
The Cook County Alpine Ski Team placed first at the Section 7 Boys Alpine Championships at Giant’s Ridge on Feb. 4. The team consists of Goshi Dimitrov (first overall), Graham Oberholtzer (second), Hans Mehlhaff (fifth), Finnley Taylor (seventh), Knut Remmem (21st) and Rylan Brown (93rd).
Detroit Lakes (Co-op with Frazee, Hawley, Lake Park Audubon, Moorhead and Perham)
Junior Tristan Bristlin finished third in the Section 5 Boys Alpine Championships at Wild Mountain on Feb. 4; he advanced to state as the second individual qualifier.
PHAST (Proctor-Hermantown Alpine Ski Team)
Junior Toby Schunk finished fourth in the Section 7 Boys Alpine Championships at Giant’s Ridge on Feb. 4; he advanced to state as the second individual qualifier.
Nordic
Bemidji
The Sprint Relay team of seniors Levi Renn and Kaeden Pollock took second in the event at the Section 8 Boys Nordic Championships at Maplelag Resort on Feb. 4.
Brainerd (Co-op with Pequot Lakes)
Brainerd won the Section 8 Boys Nordic Championships at Maplelag Resort on Feb. 4. The team consists of seniors Gabe Hallgren (second) and Alex Lelwica (ninth) and juniors Owen Robertson (third), Taite Knapp (fourth) and Wyatt Brown (sixth).
The Brainerd Sprint Relay team of seniors Triston Kubista and Joe Newmann also finished first. The Warriors are the defending champions in the event; Knapp and Lance Hastings won the event last year.
Junior Annelise Baird won the Section 8 Girls Nordic Championships at Maplelag Resort on Feb. 4; she advanced as the top individual qualifier.
Cook County
Junior Emma Crook finished 12th the Section 7 Girls Nordic Championships at Giant’s Ridge on Feb. 5; she advanced to state as the final individual qualifier.
Ely
The Timberwolves won the Section 7 Boys Nordic Championships at Giant’s Ridge on Feb. 5. The team consists of seniors Dylan Durkin (first) and Milo McClellan (13th), junior Otto Devine (seventh), sophomore Aksel Skustad (third) and freshman Wyatt Devine (sixth).
The Ely Sprint Relay team of sophomore Oliver Hohenstein and senior Eli Olson also finished first.
Senior Anna Dunn finished 10th in the Section 7 Girls Nordic Championships at Giant’s Ridge on Feb. 5; she advanced as the third individual qualifier.
Mesabi East (Co-op with Mountain Iron-Buhl and Rock Ridge)
Junior Adrian Rausch finished eighth in the Section 7 Boys Nordic Championships at Giant’s Ridge on Feb. 5; he advanced to state as the top individual qualifier.
Proctor/Hermantown
The Proctor/Hermantown Nordic Ski Team won the Section 7 Girls Nordic Championships at Giant’s Ridge on Feb. 5. The team consists of seniors Della Bettendorf (first), Lizzy Harnell (11th) and Paisley Kleiman (27th) and sophomores Rachel Bettendorf (fourth) and Ferrah Lalone (16th).
The Proctor/Hermantown Sprint Relay team of seniors Campbell Amundson and Nene Sclisizzo also took first.
Two Harbors
Freshman Gunny Skadberg finished ninth in the Section 7 Boys Nordic Championships at Giant’s Ridge on Feb. 5; he advanced to state as the second individual qualifier.
Complete results for Nordic section meets can be found on MSHSL’s website. Alpine results are available at live-timing.com.
That's a lot of athletes! Notice an error? Please email us at news@kaxe.org.
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