Nordic Skiing: Brainerd boys, girls teams finish 12th, Flyers' Zupko third in classic

Hunter Zupko of Little Falls finished third in classic for the seventh-place Flyer boys team.

Evan Storbakken placed 21st for the Warrior boys in classic. Andrew Wasniewski placed 25th with the fastest Brainerd time in freestyle.

The Warrior girls were led by Gina Wasniewski (48th) in classic and Grace Erholtz (24th) in freestyle.

"Nordic is still a single-class activity, so the smallest schools go head to head with the powerhouses of the metro and Duluth areas," said Brainerd co-head coach Chris Hanson. "Anytime we approach that top 10 position, we know we are skiing well, especially at this venue, where the (Junior Olympic) and club skiers rejoin their high school teams to compete, which is the same as for the state meet in mid-February."

Colten Yorek was 15th in the freestyle for the Little Falls boys. The Flyer girls team finished 23rd and was paced by Alice Foote (46th) in classic and Molly Lange (27th) in freestyle.

"This race is not the exact same format as the section and state races," Hanson said, "but it still gives us an opportunity to see each team and gauge strengths and weaknesses, both ours and the competition's. We were encouraged to see the boys score close to section rivals Little Falls and St. Cloud Cathedral, while the girls finished as the top team from Section 8."

Brainerd junior varsity teams both placed in the top 10. The boys were ninth out of 45 teams and the girls fifth out of 49. Three Brainerd JV skiers raced to top 10 podium finishes—Atticus Osborne (freestyle-9th), Emma Storbakken (freestyle-10th), and Sarah Nesheim (classic-7th).

Chris Hanson said the race was a memorable, but exhausting experience for everyone in conditions that were complicated by the cold.

"We talked a lot with the skiers about how the slow cold-weather conditions are a difficulty that every skier out there faced so they wouldn't be discouraged," he said. "Hills that we typically fly over turn into a workman-like grind. A positive mindset and focus on perseverance can be a big advantage.

The Warriors' next race is Tuesday in the Detroit Lakes Invite at Maplelag Resort in Callaway.

"The race time temperatures are forecast to be in the mid-20s, and the skiers may feel like rolling up their sleeves and wearing shorts after acclimating to the weather of the last couple of weeks," Chris Hanson said. "For sure, the frostbite face tape and hand and toe warmers will be put away."

More than 900 skiers representing 56 boys teams and 54 girls teams from Minnesota and Wisconsin participated in Saturday's event which is billed as the largest race in North America.

Teams compete with three skiers in each of the classic and freestyle races. The combined scores of a team's top two finishers in each race determine team placement. Cold weather delayed the race start two hours until noon and then had skiers going out in pairs every 15 seconds.

Boys results (56 teams)

Team scores: 1-Forest Lake 546, 2-Stillwater 534, 3-Mounds Park 525, 4-Grand Rapids 521, 5-Edina 492, 7-Little Falls 469, 12-Brainerd 433

Individual winner classic: Grant Beckrich (Grand Rapids) 15:15.4.

Individual winner freestyle: Peter Moore (St. Paul Academy) 14:29.4

Brainerd classic: 21-Evan Storbakken 16:54.8, 34-Maxim Osborne 17:21.0, 99-Alex Rice 20:19.1.

Brainerd freestyle: 25-Andrew Wasniewski 16:38.0, 65-Ben Renner 18:16.2, 68-Nick Whiteman 18:20.9

Little Falls classic: 3-Hunter Zupko 15:38.7, 29-Jackson Grant 17:09.9, 37-Cormac Shanoff 17:30.2.

Little Falls freestyle: Colton Yorek 15:54.8, 62-Colton Gottwalt 17:54.2, 70-Jonah Ploff 18:26.9

Girls results (54 teams)

Team scores: 1-Stillwater 508, 2-Forest Lake 501, 3-Duluth East 480, 4-Ely 470, 5-Grand Rapids 449, 12-Brainerd 381, 23-Little Falls 316

Individual winner classic: Siri Bohacek (Stillwater) 17:23.5.

Individual winner freestyle: Hannah Bettendorf (Proctor/Hermantown) 16:46.1

Brainerd classic: 48-Gina Wasniewski 21:49.6, 53-Elle Juranek 22:00.1, 91-Hannah Trtanj 24:06.5.

Brainerd freestyle: 24-Grace Erholtz 19:51.6, 30-Callie Knapp 20:08.6, 63-Sarah Hanson 21:50.2

Little Falls classic: 46-Alice Foote 21:48.6, 49-Katie Corbett 21:50.0, 113-Catherine Zak 25:53.5.

Little Falls freestyle: 27-Molly Lange 20:03.5, 98-Maddy Marquett 24:02.9, 102-Camilla Johnson 24:21.0

Next: Brainerd, Little Falls at Detroit Lakes 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.