BIWABIK — The Brainerd girls and boys Nordic ski teams will both race in the state tournament Feb. 11-12 at Giants Ridge in Biwabik, after taking second in Section 8.
The Brainerd boys finished fifth at state in 2025. The team is led by seniors Owen Robertson, Wyatt Brown and Taite Knapp, with the rest of their teammates from last season having graduated.
Robertson finished second at sections Tuesday, Feb. 3, at Maplelag in Detroit Lakes, followed by sophomore Lee Knapp (seventh), Taite Knapp (10th), sophomore Carson Malloy (12th) and freshman Taiden Meier (14th). Brown and his sprint relay partner, sophomore Patrick Ryan, took second.
The Brainerd girls beat Alexandria by one point to advance to the state meet. The Warriors are led by senior Annelise Baird, who won sections this year and the seventh place medal at state last year.
Sophomore Brianna Blasing placed 10th Tuesday, followed by juniors Maev Stoarbakken (12th), Taylor Allen (14th) and Amelia Rademacher (23rd). Sprint duo senior Sophia Porter and freshman Miriam Mohrenweiser finished fourth.
The Brainerd team is a co-op with Pequot Lakes.
Bemidji advanced both its sprint relay teams out of Section 8. Junior Wendy Mellema and sophomore Rylee Story finished first, and senior Peter Mathews and junior Leo McKeon took third.
They’ll be joined by senior Isabell Renn, who finished eighth, qualifying individually.
The Ely boys team will also return to state after taking second last year. They finished two points behind Duluth East in Section 7 on Wednesday at Giants Ridge.
Junior Oliver Hohenstein won Section 7, and junior Aksel Skustad took second. They were followed by sophomore Wyatt Devine (fourth), junior Brooks Benny (15th) and freshman Grady Anderson (28th). Sprint duo junior George Sponho and senior Otto Devine took fourth.
The Ely girls came close to joining the boys at Giants Ridge next week, but Cook County won the tiebreaker for second place.
Cook County senior Emma Crook finished sixth, eighth grader Ezme Mundell ninth and junior Quincy Hurth 11th. Senior MJ Wharton and eighth grader Lindy Dix finished sixth in the sprint relay.
Ely junior Molly Brophy qualified individually after placing eighth. She’ll be joined by freshmen sprint duo Addison Kannas and Ivy Ohlhauser, who came second.
Three more Northland skiers out of Section 7 will race next week after qualifying individually: Proctor-Hermantown junior Rachel Bettendorf was fourth, Grand Rapids sophomore Bennet Williams was seventh and North Shore Storm sophomore Carson Gilbertson was ninth.
The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton sprint duo of junior Isaiah Langer and senior Ellis Allen will also advance after placing second.
The top two teams from each of the eight sections advance to state, along with the top four individuals and the fastest sprint relay that are not on the top teams.
The full section results are available from the Minnesota State High School League for Section 8 and from MTEC for Section 7.
The state meet is Feb. 11-12 at Giants Ridge. Sprint qualifiers start at 11 a.m. Wednesday, with freestyle interval and classic pursuit races on Thursday.
More details, including livestream information and a full schedule, are in the MSHSL spectator guide.
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