Minnesota High School Nordic Skiing Rankings - Round 2

December 16, 2019

The first JNQ in the books as well as some early season meets, so we take a second pass at the rankings...

Commentary

With one of the best December's on record for skiing, it's been good to see so many teams getting in some races.  The dominating factor this week is the first JNQ racing action over the weekend in Duluth.   Saturday featured mass start freestyle races which provided some great head to head comparisons.  One thing was for certain, Stillwater's Libby Tuttle appears to be in a class by herself as she pulled away from the field to win by almost 45 seconds over Lauren McCollor, Wayzata.  Missing from the action (but getting in plenty of skiing at Maplelag) was St. Paul Highland Park's Molly Moening.  There is a pretty competitive field outside of the top three, so expect a fair amount of shuffling as the season progresses.

Cooper Lennox, Mora, held his top ranking, taking the honors as the top U18 finisher on Saturday in Duluth, but Wayzata's James Schneider was right on his heels and the season's early riser, Roger Anderson, Robbinsdale-Armstrong, is making a running for the State Meet podium.  Quite a bit of room for moving around in the top 15, so expect some skiers to be making a name for themselves in the coming weeks.

Forest Lake, Wayzata and St. Cloud Cathedral-Sartell boys all showed they came ready for the season and should be pushing each other all the way to the State Meet.  On the girls side, Forest Lake and Stillwater also showed they've got the talent again this season to make a run for the title.

The racing action doesn't let up whatsoever as this coming weekend is another JNQ, this one all the way up in Houghton, Michigan, and will utilize much of the same courses as US Nationals in early January.   Expect another strong turnout of high school contenders, and with the key event a mass start classic race, we'll get a chance to see who can ski "old school".

Finally, an addendum to last weekend's comments on racing the JNQs:   One other big reason for racing the JNQ circuit?   Many Midwest skiers have earned collegiate scholarships at prestigious institutions across the nation based on their JNQ performances.   The Eastern Intercollegiate Skiing Association (EISA) alone, which includes schools such as Harvard, Middlebury, and Dartmouth, is stacked with former Midwest skiers.  Racing in the JNQs, and especially at US Nationals and Junior Nationals, will raise your profile in the hunt for a great college program.

Coaches, please keep those high school meet results rolling in!

Boys Individual

  1. Cooper Lennox, Mora, 12
  2. James Schneider, Wayzata, 12
  3. Roger Anderson, Robbinsdale-Armstrong, 11
  4. Colin Freed, Wayzata, 11
  5. William Nemeth, St. Cloud Cathedral-Sartell, 12
  6. Victor Sparks, Mpls Southwest, 11
  7. Zach Nemeth, St. Cloud Cathedral-Sartell, 12
  8. CJ Young, Maple Grove, 12
  9. Jasper Johnston, Ely, 11
  10. Magnus O'Connor, Prior Lake, 11

Cusp: Henry Snider, Mounds Park Academy, 12; Sam Stertz, Grand Rapids, 11; Adrik Kraftson, Stillwater, 10; Ethan Erickson, Forest Lake, 12; Noah Erickson, Forest Lake, 10; Isak Nightingale, Mounds Park Academy, 10; Jonathan Hudrlik, Forest Lake, 11; Stas Bednarski, Mpls Southwest, 11; Drew Sampson, Forest Lake, 11; Trevor Caflisch, Hastings, 12; Ben Boelter, St. Cloud Cathedral-Sartell, 12; Zach Spears, Eden Prairie, 12; Nick Parent, Forest Lake, 12; Caleb Dunnewin, Hopkins, 12; Matej Cervenka, Grand Rapids, 9.

Girls Individual

  1. Libby Tuttle, Stillwater, 12
  2. Molly Moening, St. Paul Highland Park, 10
  3. Lauren McCollor, Wayzata, 11
  4. Jordan Parent, Forest Lake, 9
  5. Ingrid Halverson, Wayzata, 11
  6. Gretchen Haggenmiller, Duluth East, 12
  7. Celeste Alden, St. Paul Highland Park, 11
  8. Sydney Peterson, Stillwater, 12
  9. Linnea Urban, Hastings, 11
  10. Clara Kramer, Duluth East, 12

Cusp: Anni Skillicorn, Winona-Winona Cotter, 12; Margaret Dalseth, Visitation, 11; Morgan Richter, Edina, 12; Margo Nightingale, Mounds Park Academy, 9; Amelea Hauer, Forest Lake, 11; Elsa Viren, Grand Rapids, 11; Gabby Kraemer, Eastview, 12; Sudie Hall, Mpls Southwest, 11; Caroline Peterson, Northfield, 12; Liv Myers, Stillwater, 11; Abby Ellenbecker, Coon Rapids, 12; Grete Engels, Lakeville North, 10; Izzy Quam, Mounds Park Academy, 11; Johanna Schwinghamer, Mora, 12; Megan Bettendorf, Proctor, 12.

Boys Teams

  1. Forest Lake
  2. Wayzata
  3. Ely
  4. St. Cloud Cathedral-Sartell
  5. Mpls Southwest
  6. St. Paul Highland Park
  7. Prior Lake
  8. Champlin Park
  9. Mora
  10. Mounds Park Academy

Cusp: Minnehaha Academy; Stillwater; Minnetonka; Robbinsdale-Armstrong; Grand Rapids; Duluth East; Coon Rapids; Cloquet-Esko-Carlton; Marshall School; Edina.

Girls Teams

  1. St. Paul Highland Park
  2. Stillwater
  3. Forest Lake
  4. Duluth East
  5. Edina
  6. Wayzata
  7. Mpls Southwest
  8. Eastview
  9. Maple Grove
  10. Eden Prairie

Cusp: Brainerd; Hopkins; Mounds Park Academy; Mora; Robbinsdale-Armstrong; Winona-Winona Cotter; Grand Rapids; Ely; Coon Rapids; St. Paul Central.

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