Skinnyski.com High School Rankings - Week 8

January 28, 2013

Commentary

As the end of the high school season rapidly approaches, in combination with the culmination of the Junior National Qualifier series, finding "good data" to work with becomes harder and harder.  This past week, most teams were either off, or the top skiers were resting in preparation for the JNQs.  As such, the only real data to contribute to the rankings this week again comes from the JNQ races -- the Tour de Twin Cities events Saturday and Sunday at Theodore Wirth.

Saturday's racing was a solid classical race, a bit chilly but no magic wax needed, and with interval starts, everyone had to race their own pace.  Kris Bourne continues to excel in the classical races, scoring another second place finish as Vivian Hett threw down a good one (perhaps bolstered by a good seed).  Alayna Sonnesyn had one of her best classical races of the season and Mattie Watts continues to be the model of consistency (finishing on the podium in every non-sprint JNQ).  And jumping into the fray, Rocci Wohlk proved she belongs in the mix as she posted the third best time amongst the juniors.  

For the boys Saturday, there were a number of surprises.   After posting less than stellar classical results the weekend before, both Luke Brown and Ian Torchia came storming back to take podium spots for the J1 men!  Meanwhile, top ranked Harris Dirnberger had an off-day, finishing well back in the field.  Scott Harrison pulled down an impressive second place finish, all the more so when you realize he skied his conference championship races the day before (losing to Tyler Gilbert).

Sunday featured the series pursuit start skate race, with juniors starting based on the cumulative time of all the previous Tour de Twin Cities races.  This really emphasized the parity we are seeing this season:  the top four junior girls, all Minnesota high school skiers, were separated by less than 30 seconds!  Unfortunately, as is usually the case with the end of the JNQ series, a number of skiers who had punched their ticket to Nationals decided to sit out the event.  Amy Biancho and Sonnesyn provided a good show though, proving their stamina and confirming their solid skate performances.  Wohlk continues to keep the foot on the gas as she poured it on to win the J2 pursuit by two and half minutes!

The most interesting match up of the weekend was in the junior men pursuit.  With Scott Harrison taking the day off, the ranked skiers facing off included Luke Brown, Tom Bye and Harris Dirnberger (along with previously mentioned Ian Torchia).  This group was separated by 12 seconds to start, and quickly formed into a pack.  Bye was eventually dropped, and it was Dirnberger edging out Luke Brown in a sprint finish (and a possible foreshadowing to the State Meet). 

However, while all the talk has focused on the JNQs, it would be easy to miss another stellar performance over the weekend.  As the juniors were racing on the man-made snow at Theodore Wirth, Lucas Mason was doing an overdistance race, finishing second to former US Biathlon Team member, Wynn Roberts, and defeating a field of top citizen racers in a 25K freestyle race on natural snow at William O'Brien State Park.  Couple this with Mason's dominating performance in  the previous weekend's JNQ skate race, and it indicates he is improving rapidly and we've skyrocketed him into the new number one position.

Conference championships for most skiers this week, sections the week after!

Girls Teams

  1. Duluth East
  2. Wayzata
  3. Roseville
  4. Eden Prairie
  5. Stillwater

On the cusp: Burnsville, Irondale, Mpls Southwest, Andover, Little Falls, Hopkins, Ely, Osseo

Boys Teams

  1. Eden Prairie
  2. Irondale
  3. St. Cloud Tech
  4. Elk River
  5. Ely

On the cusp: Eagan, Forest Lake, Roseville, Duluth East, Hopkins, Stillwater

Girls Individuals

  1. Mattie Watts, Irondale
  2. Anna Kubek, Duluth East
  3. Alayna Sonnesyn, Wayzata
  4. Kris Bourne, MPA
  5. Niki Reker, Roseville
  6. Amy Bianco, Ely
  7. Rocci Wolhk, Forest Lake
  8. Vivian Hett, Burnsville
  9. Allison Ternes, White Bear Lake
  10. Anna French, Wayzata

On the cusp: Kaley Shagen, Osseo; Sonja Hedblom, Eagan; Eryn Stewart, Eden Prairie; Nicole Schneider, Wayzata; Sophie Schuder, Duluth East; Maddie McKeefry, Andover; Sarah Benton, Hopkins; Solveig Viren, Grand Rapids

Boys Individuals

  1. Lucas Mason, Roseville
  2. Scott Harrison, Mound-Westonka
  3. Harris Dirnberger, Hopkins
  4. Luke Brown, Minnehaha Academy
  5. Tom Bye, Eden Prairie
  6. Jakob Ellingson, Hopkins
  7. Tyler Gilbert, Irondale
  8. Zak Ketterson, Bloomington Jefferson
  9. Nick Acton, Eagan
  10. Steve Hokanson, Mounds View

On the cusp: Sean Cork, St. Louis Park; Jon Delaney; Armstrong; Sean Bjork, Stillwater; Andrew Egger, Benilde-St.Margaret; Jake Ajax, SLP/St.Anthony; Nick Proell, St. Cloud Tech; Jesse Olson, Ely; Jake Jankowski, Forest Lake

Coaches, keep those results rolling in.

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