The Forest Lake boys will seek their third consecutive team title and Annie Hart of St. Paul Academy and Summit School will defend her girls' pursuit title when the 2010 State Nordic Ski Racing Meet is held Thursday, February 11 at Giants Ridge in Biwabik.

 

The Rangers of Forest Lake will try to defend the team title they won in 2009.  If they win, it would be their third consecutive title and their fifth in six years.  In the girls' team competition, Minneapolis Southwest is the highest returning qualifier.  The Lakers earned runner-up honors last year.

 

In the girls' pursuit event, Hart, a senior, returns to defend her crown.  Jessie Diggins, a senior at Stillwater Area, is also looking for an additional pursuit title.  She won back-to-back championships in 2007 and 2008.

 

Senior Raleigh Goessling of Cloquet/Esko/Carlton is the highest returning qualifier in the boys' pursuit event, having earned runner-up honors in 2009.

 

The current race format, introduced in 2007, eliminates separate individual titles in the classical and freestyle events.  The meet is a pure pursuit event with only one individual title. The freestyle race will be run first, followed by the classical race based on freestyle times.

 

Team scoring is determined by adding the scores of each team's top four skiers in the pursuit event. In addition to the advancing teams, each section also qualifies eight individual pursuit skiers. All skiers, who must ski both the freestyle and classical races, are eligible for individual pursuit awards.

 

 

In the boys' team competition, three of last year's eight qualifying teams return, including the two-time defending champions from Forest Lake (Section 4). Two other two returning teams and their 2009 finishes are Hopkins (Section 6), third, and Wayzata (Section 2), fourth.

 

The other qualified teams are: Lakeville North (Section 1), Minneapolis South (Section 3), Osseo (Section 5), Ely (Section 7), and Little Falls (Section 8).

 

Forest Lake returns with five veterans from last year's team, all of whom finished in the Top 50: senior Steve Coozennoy, sixth; senior Mike Howe, 21st; sophomore Joe Jackson, 32nd; senior Mitch Wohlk, 42nd; and senior Matt Maki, 50th. Seniors Thomas Macecek and Scott Wambold, and junior Jon Hamilton round out the Rangers' squad.

 

Hopkins also has five veterans from the 2009 meet returning: junior Connor Benton, 16th; senior Jack Hinkens, 27th; junior Christian Ruud, 97th; junior Jon Furlich, 104th; and senior Greg Furlich, 114th. Seniors Ryan Hillians and Greg Cousins, and sophomore Jordan Taylor will also compete for the Royals this year.

 

Senior Raleigh Goessling of the Cloquet/Esko/Carlton Lumberjacks is the highest returning qualifier. He earned runner-up honors in 2009. In addition to Goessling, 10 other Top 20 finishers also return from last year's field: senior Steve Coozennoy of Forest Lake, sixth; senior Brian Greenwald of St. Paul Academy and Summit School, ninth; senior Ben Ohman of Orono, 10th; junior Andy Dodds of Apple Valley, 11th; senior Jon-Michael Brandt of Winona/Cotter, 13th; senior Kellen Witschen of the Mesabi East Giants, 14th; junior Connor Benton of Hopkins, 16th; senior Erik McLaughlin of Duluth East, 17th; senior Peter Schurke of Ely, 18th; and senior Nate Ward of Duluth Denfeld, 20th.

 

 

Three teams return from the 2009 girls' field, including runner-up Minneapolis Southwest (Section 6). The Lakers return with two veterans from last year: junior Emily Minge and sophomore Emma Michl, who placed 60th and 104th, respectively. The newcomers for Minneapolis Southwest are sophomores Claire Galvin, Emily Gotzsche, Mina Krenz, Lea Bart, Clare Mahoney, and juniors Taylor Healy and Ellen Alexander.

 

The Flyers of Little Falls (Section 8), who placed fifth last year, return with one veteran, junior Manon Gammon-Deering who placed 53rd in 2009. This year's team also includes junior Daniela Sobiech, sophomore Sarah Andringa, ninth-graders Matia Hendrickson, Chelsea Rutz, Kristen Gotfredson, and Chloe Houle, and eighth-graders Maria Hauer and Kaitlin Geisenhof.

 

The Wayzata Trojans (Section 2) are the final returning team. They placed sixth last year. Veterans from last year's meet are seniors Paige Schember, Maddie Lambert, Amanda Leone, Laura Stangler, junior Kathryn Keller-Miller, and sophomore Marit Sonnesyn. New to this year's squad are sophomore Mata Agre, ninth-grader Mikayla Griwac, and eighth-grader Alayna Sonnesyn.

 

The other qualified teams are: Winona/Cotter (Section 1), St. Paul Academy and Summit School (Section 3), Stillwater Area (Section 4), Robbinsdale Armstrong (Section 5), and Ely (Section 7).

 

In the individual pursuit competition, senior Annie Hart of St. Paul Academy and Summit School returns to defend her 2009 title. She will face tough competition from senior Jessie Diggins of Stillwater Area, who won back-to-back pursuit titles in 2007 and 2008. Six additional Top 20 finishers from 2009 also return: senior Marian Lund of Duluth East, who tied for 5th; senior Jen Rolfes of Edina, seventh; sophomore Summer Ellefson of Independent Home School of Park Rapids, ninth; junior Liz Peterson of Forest Lake, 11th; senior Paige Schember of Wayzata, 16th; and senior Kathryn Van Every of Ely, who tied for 19th.

 

 

The boys' 5K freestyle race starts at 10 a.m., followed by the girls' 5K freestyle race at 11 a.m. The boys' 5K classical race will begin at 1:30 p.m., and the boys' 5K classical race will follow at 2:30 p.m. A combined awards presentation will follow shortly after the conclusion of the final race.