Out of 24 teams competing the Cook County girls’ team took third place in the team competition held Feb. 6 at Giants Ridge. The top two teams qualified for state.
Coach Charles Lamb said the weather was cold, -30 degrees F in the morning, with a high of -3 under sunny skies and light wind. He described the slalom course as “rock hard, bulletproof ice.”
Flying through the gates, Reilly Wahlers had an incredible first run and had a .39-second lead over Ashley Wineberg of Hermantown. Although Wahlers had a clean second run, it wasn’t enough to hold off Wineberg who won by one-tenth of a second over Wahlers.
Sela Backstrom put two great runs together and landed 12th place overall.
Halle Lamb had a bobble in her first run and had a great recovery (18th) to finish the day in 22nd place.
Elsa Lunde suffered a miscue in her first run but skied great in her second.
Freshman Hazel Oberholtzer skied her best and completed both runs.
The girls’ team finished the day in third place for the second year in a row.
“I am especially proud of Reilly Wahlers and Sela Backstrom for really stepping up when it counted the most,” coach Lamb said. “Reilly’s second-place performance is remarkable and is the best finish for a Cook County girl at sections that anyone can remember,” he added.
A total of 16 girls advanced to State as individuals.
Stillwater girls were the Section champs followed by Chisago Lakes; both teams advanced to State.
Commenting on the racecourse, Coach Lamb said, “The boys’ and girls’ courses, especially the girls’ course on the steep pitch of Helsinki were the toughest Jr. FIS sets I’ve seen yet at a section ski meet.
“Thankfully we had trained on similar courses at Lutsen on a steep pitch. I thought for sure more metro skiers would blow out, but that proved to be not the case – Stillwater, Chisago Lakes and White Bear Lake racers really skied well this year.”
Viking boys
Sophomore Will Surbaugh skied fast in his first attempt (15th) and skied his best in his second run and finished the day in 24th place.
Sophomore Masen McKeever also threw down two fast runs and finished right behind Will (25th) in the competitive field.
Kevin Viren and Elijah Blank both got important Section meet experience, said coach Lamb. “They skied solid and stood on both of their runs.”
Lamb said seventh-grade skier Ben Obinger “pushed too hard in his first attempt and blew out and hiked and finished the day at the back of the pack.”
The Cook County boys’ team finished the day in 11th place. Fourteen boys advanced to State as individuals.
Stillwater boys won the Section meet followed by White Bear Lake. Both teams advanced to the State meet, which was held Feb. 14 at Giants Ridge.
Kaarl Damberg from Mounds View was the boys’ individual section champion.
“Our boys’ team is young, and our girls’ team lacks depth, this year making the cut for our Section teams was easy, we needed every kid we had to field five boys and six girls. Our competitors’ teams are huge, they are six deep, plus fast juniors and seniors that don’t cut,” Lamb said.
“I am proud of our whole team for trying their best at Sections. I don’t expect them to be the best, but I do expect them to try their best.”
The State meet will have already occurred by press time.
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