2014-15 Minnesota High School Nordic Season Preview

November 10, 2014

Perhaps there could be no better kickoff to the Minnesota high school Nordic season than a major winter storm on opening day! The 2014-2015 season appears, on paper, to be a stormy one as well.

The biggest change this season is a new format for the State Meet qualifying, which will now advance the top two teams from each section, along with the top six skiers not on one of the advancing teams. This will make for a larger field at the State Meet, and an even more exciting team competition. Teams will no longer have to rely on winning their section just to have a shot at the State Meet team title.

Last year saw a fairly big exodus of graduating seniors, especially in the girls field. This should result in a very competitive field (and will make the job of rankings even harder!). Before we dive into the rankings, a brief look at the sections ...

There were no changes in the section alignments this season but each season brings a shake up in the team composition, some impacted more than others by graduation.

Margie Freed, SSC Conference Championships, January 29, 2014
Section 1:
Section champ Margie Freed, Eastview, is easily the favorite, but keep an eye on New Prague’s Maria Berg. Winona’s Noah Poling is the leading candidate for the section, with possibly a challenge coming on from Eagan’s young Patrick Acton. Eastview girls bring a solid junior class back and should return to state, with Lakeville North seeking second place. Winona boys should take the section, as Eagan and Lakeville South appear to be the front-runners for the second position.

Section 2:
Anna French was one of the big surprises last season, seemingly getting faster each week, and capping the high school season with fabulous fifth place finish. Her greatest competition in sections will come from her own teammates, Nicole Schneider, and not far behind, Michaela Keller-Miller. The tight competition should only strengthen an already dominate returning squad, making the Wayzata girls the section favorites. The boys rivalry looks to be intense, with four in the lead: Carter Blankenship, Wayzata; Andrew Quirk, Wayzata; Tyler Kobilarscik, Chanhassen and the young gun Anders Sonnesyn, Wayzata. The Wayzata boys look like they can take the title again this season, but Eden Prairie is reloading, and could possibly sweep the second place titles for boys and girls.

Section 3:
Section 3 may not have the toughest teams in the state, but there are clearly some strong individuals ready to make their mark. Tamer Mische-Richter, Bloomington Kennedy, has accelerated up the rankings as should have a strong hold on the section title. Likewise, Erin Moening, St. Paul Highland Park, is one of those skiers only looking up (and always smiling) - she should easily wear the section crown this season. We see the always tough Minnehaha Academy boys and Burnsville girls (in seemingly endless quality supply), as the top section candidates, with a wide-open battle for that second position, both girls and boys.

Leo Hipp, SEC Conf Championships, January 30, 2014
Section 4:
This section has been one of carnage for many seasons, as perennial powerhouses Stillwater and Forest Lake battle it out each season. The new State Meet format relives that tension, ensuring that both teams will get to decide that battle in the championship. Led by section favorite, Leo Hipp, the Forest Lake boys are the obvious choice, but expect the Stillwater boys to make them earn it. Stillwater girls bring back a squad that should be only better this season, with senior Megan Weaver trying to unseat the section favorite, Rocci Wohlk of Forest Lake. There are a number of high quality individuals from both squads, and off-season improvements could produce some real surprises here.

Section 5:
Section 5 teams have been going through some rebuilding years, and some of that may begin to gel this season. Osseo’s Sarah Bezdicek is the section leader, hoping to secure the title for her senior season. The boys title could be a closely fought affair, with Ian Mead, Andover, and Nathaniel Johnson, Park Center, keeping an eye on Xavier Mansfield, Minneapolis Patrick Henry, who could leapfrog them with another training season under his belt. The section titles are hard to predict here, but Andover and Irondale have historically put out strong teams, and may end up splitting the titles for boys and girls.

Section 6:
Bloomington Jefferson’s Zak Ketterson is the surest bet for section champ, so the question becomes who might take second. There will be fireworks as four boys, from two teams, vie for that seat: Sean Cork and Liam Schmelzle, St. Louis Park vs. Tom Norman and Jake Delaney, Robbinsdale-Armstrong. That battle should play a large role in the boys section titles, as St. Louis Park and Robbinsdale-Armstrong may take 1-2. Amanda Kautzer, Benilde-St.Margaret’s, is our lead choice for section champ, but both Hannah Rudd, Robbinsdale-Armstrong, and Claire Benton, Hopkins, will be there to glide past her should she stumble. The girls section favorites are Robbinsdale-Armstrong and Hopkins.

Section 7:
Much like section 4, Section 7 features an annual showcase of Arrowhead powerhouses. Duluth East regularly finishes at or near the top, and for the boys, they appear on paper to be the favorites. But the girls team race could be one of the best in the state, as Mesabi East, Ely and Cloquet-Ekso-Carlton (CEC) all have their stable of great young skiers. Anna Johnson, Mesabi East, is the returning section champ and seems to “bring it” come section time, but Erin Bianco, Ely, Erika Fox, CEC, Anja Maijala, CEC and even fellow teammate, Emma Greenlee, will be seeking to unseat Johnson. Keaton Long, Duluth East, is our favorite for the boys field, with Ely’s Seth Prigge, coming on fast.

Section 8:
A pair of St. Cloud Tech seniors, Isaac Wieber and Cory Rouw, will be in friendly rivalry for the boys section title. Wieber was the lead dog most of the season last year, but Rouw pulled off a Rocky Balboa-esque fourth place finish at State last year. With the departure of dominating Maria Hauer, the girls section title is up for grabs. Leading candidates are Katie Williams, St. Cloud Tech and Jenna Truedson, Bemidji. The Tech boys should prevail as section champs, but Brainerd will be close enough to make it interesting. For the first time in many seasons, the Little Falls girls may be unseated. St. Cloud Cathedral/Sartell could be the ones to take top honors, but the Little Falls crew won’t go down easy.

Rankings Commentary

Avoiding turning this into a four-part mini-series, we’ll keep the rankings notes brief. Honestly, with little to go on but results from more than six months ago, this first “preseason” ranking is about 90% intuition and guess.

Zak Ketterson, Minnesota State Meet, February 13, 2014
Returning State champion Zak Ketterson continues to wear the #1 target until someone can show they are a giant killer. Tamer Mische-Richter’s meteoric rise will put him at odds with Leo Hipp, with those two being pretty interchangeable right now. The rest of the field is quite fluid, expect changes.

Graduation last spring signaled the end of a reign of one of the best girls fields in state history. Now someone new has to assume the mantle of number one. Our first choice is Margie Freed. But honestly, Rocci Wohlk, Anna French, Sarah Bezdicek, Amanda Kautzer, Nicole Schneider, and perhaps even Erin Moening and Hannah Rudd, could be in that top spot. Until we get some solid head-to-head competition (the first JNQ?), this whole field will be very unsettled.

With the increase in teams at the State Meet, we are bumping our rankings from the top five teams out to the top ten this season. Ranking the teams is even harder than the individuals, and this pass is definitely a rough cut. The top is easy -- Forest Lake boys and Wayzata girls are in the drivers seat to repeat as state champions. After that, things get pretty muddy very fast. Maturity, growth spurts, and young whippersnappers can all play a big role in the team compositions, so expect some changes here as well as results begin to come in next month.

With roughly 100 schools and nearly 5,000 kids competing, Minnesota high school Nordic skiing is one of the best shows on the winter landscape. Enjoy the season, give it your best, and keep the skis gliding…

Preseason Rankings

Individuals

Boys

  1. Zak Ketterson, Bloomington Jefferson
  2. Tamer Mische-Richter, Bloomington Kennedy
  3. Leo Hipp, Forest Lake
  4. Keaton Long, Duluth East
  5. Seth Prigge, Ely
  6. Sean Cork, St. Louis Park
  7. Quinn Duffy, Forest Lake
  8. Isaac Wieber, St. Cloud Tech
  9. Cory Rouw, St. Cloud Tech
  10. Reed Melicher, Mesabi East

Cusp: Liam Schmelzle, St. Louis Park; Tommy Babcock, Forest Lake; Sam Hanson, Stillwater; Davis Long, Forest Lake; Patrick Acton, Eagan; Noah Poling, Winona; Quentin Ikuta, Stillwater; Noah Baker, Brainerd; Shad Kraftson, Stillwater

Girls

  1. Margie Freed, Eastview
  2. Rocci Wohlk, Forest Lake
  3. Anna French, Wayzata
  4. Sarah Bezdicek, Osseo
  5. Amanda Kautzer, Benilde-St.Margaret’s
  6. Nicole Schneider, Wayzata
  7. Erin Moening, St. Paul Highland Park
  8. Hannah Rudd, Robbinsdale-Armstrong
  9. Michaela Keller-Miller, Wayzata
  10. Megan Weaver, Stillwater

Cusp: Erin Bianco, Ely; Anna Johnson, Mesabi East; Abigail Drach, Eden Prairie; Erica Fox, C-E-C; Claire Benton, Hopkins; Hanna Torvi, Roseville; Maria Berg, New Prague; Kelly Koch, Burnsville; Cela Peterson, Stillwater; Emma Greenlee, Mesabi East

Teams

Boys

  1. Forest Lake
  2. Duluth East
  3. Stillwater
  4. St. Louis Park
  5. St. Cloud Tech
  6. Wayzata
  7. Mesabi East
  8. Brainerd
  9. Winona
  10. Eden Prairie

Cusp: Andover, Minnehaha Academy, Irondale, Robbinsdale-Armstrong, Grand Rapids

Girls

  1. Wayzata
  2. Stillwater
  3. Robbinsdale-Armstrong
  4. Mesabi East
  5. Burnsville
  6. Cloquet-Esko-Carlton
  7. Ely
  8. Eastview
  9. Hopkins
  10. Andover

Cusp: Eden Prairie, Forest Lake, Irondale, Little Falls, St. Cloud Cath/Sartell

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