Above: A very happy Cook County Nordic Ski Coach, Mark Summers, congratulates Section 7 Championship finishers, Kieran Scannell and Shelby Ahrendt. The varsity cross-country skiers advance to the State Meet.
Eight Cook County Nordic skiers headed west to Giants Ridge in Biwabik, Minnesota last Wednesday, February 9, to get ready for the Section 7 Championship meet. The skiers and their coaches, Kelly and Mark Summers and wax tech Dave Seaton, stayed in the sports dorm at Giants to be ready and rested on Thursday morning.
The Section meet is the qualifying race for the State meet, held one week later, on February 17, 2011. Qualifying for State in cross-country skiing can be complicated. Skiers won’t know whether they have qualified for State unless they come in the top 8 in the pursuit race or if they are among the remaining 8 skiers at the top after the winning team has been counted.
Thursday morning started out bitterly cold. Minnesota State High School League rules require that the temperature be at least -4°F (with no wind) at the coldest spot on the ski course. The varsity boys’ race was scheduled for 10 a.m., but temperatures were still in the negative teens at that point. At noon, temps finally approached the magic -4°F number, and the race was on.
Above right: Audrey Summers, pictured here at the last home meet at Pincushion Trails, finished 23rd, a great position for a ninth-grader in Section 7. Right: Ben Seaton had two consistent races, finishing 32nd overall in the competitive Section 7 field.
Section 7 is one of the toughest sections in the State for cross-country skiing. Last year, Ely won both the boys’ and girls’ team races, and the Ely boys went on to win the State meet.
This year, Duluth East took both boys and girls Section 7 team titles and is expected to be very competitive at State. Ryan Davis from East, Jake Dahlberg from Ely, and Erik Rupert from Proctor all figure to be near the top at the State meet. On the girls’ side, Ely’s Amy Bianco and East’s Annie Harvieux are ranked 1 and 2 statewide. So, if you make it through the Section 7 championships, you know you’ve accomplished something significant.
Kieran Scannell was first out for the Cook County boys. Kieran missed much of the first half of the season due to illness, but he has been skiing himself back into contention over the last month, finishing 5th at Pincushion the week earlier. But this promised to be a tougher race, because all of the top boys race at Sections. Kieran finished 7th in the lead skate race, a great start. He then moved up a spot in the classic race, finishing 6th overall in the pursuit, which was a great success given the depth of talent in the boys’ field. As Coach Mark Summers, said, “Kieran never backed off. He really went out and attacked the course in both races, and it paid off.”
Shelby Ahrendt started a little slow, taking 22nd in the skate race. But instead of backing off, she went out and fought for a position in the classic race, scorching the field for a 9th place finish—and an overall position of 15th. Her tremendous effort in the classic race got her a place at State—by 2/10ths of a second! As Coach Mark said, “Keep your chin up and keep fighting and good things will happen.”
Audrey Summers also had a great day, starting off with a strong 29th in the skate race, only to follow up—much like Shelby—by attacking the field in the classic race and finishing 23rd overall, in a great position for a ninth-grader in Section 7.
Ben Seaton had two consistent races, finishing 32nd overall. And he showed tremendous team spirit, too, asking, with his first gulp of air after finishing, “Did Kieran make it?”
Not far behind Ben was Hank Bemlot in 37th, with a great positive attitude after losing 12 seconds to a mistake by the timers. Levi Axtell continued to amaze everyone by taking 43rd in what is essentially his first year of skiing. It turns out strength goes a long way in cross-country. Joey Chmelik finished well, too, in 52nd position, after starting the season on the Jr. High team. Being competitive at the varsity level in Section 7 is a great accomplishment, due in no small part to his hard work at Pincushion Mountain on the weekends. Finally, the stalwart Daniel “Bruce” Ditmanson wrapped up his high school career with a strong finish in 59th position, continuing to improve in this lifetime sport as he transitions from high school.
Great job by everyone! You Viking skiers make us all proud. Now it’s on to the State meet for tenth graders Shelby Ahrendt and Kieran Scannell. Wish them both the best of luck!
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