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Don’t expect Dan Olson to surprise anyone the rest of the season. Don’t expect him to sneak up from behind on anyone, after all, it’s hard to sneak up on someone when you’re always in front of the pack.  Don’t expect him to slow down either.

This past week, Olson won both meets he skied in, including the prestigious Wild Mountain Invite where the senior took first place out of 142 racers.  As a team, the Chisago Lakes/St. Croix Falls boys ski team won both meets as well.

Their most surprising and impressive win came at the Wild Mountain Invite where the 'Cats placed first out of 24 teams.  The Wildcats beat out powers like Blake, Edina, and last year's state champion Benilde-St. Margaret’s along the road, providing an early example of just how good Chisago seems to be this season.

“Benilde is a private school, Edina- there is so much more money there for programs like that to work with,” said Rodger Petryk. Chisago Lakes head ski coach.  “I didn't think we were going to ski quite as well as we did, and I definitely didn't think they would be skiing as good as they are compared to the other top teams in the state.”

Olson set the tone, placing first overall with a combined run of 60.04. His first place run beat out David Sayre of Eden Prairie, beating him by almost a full second.

“He is skiing so well right now. Last year, he had such a good season that people were wondering if maybe he peaked,” replied Petryk. “He has come back even stronger this season, he is skiing just phenomenal.”

Right behind him was Seth Kinzer who came in eighth overall and Jeff Wolfe who finished ninth.  Even though the Wildcat boys won last year’s Wild Mountain Invite, they never accomplished the feat they did last Friday- having three skiers place in the top 10 overall.

And if that wasn’t impressive enough, looking to get more kids some time on the course, Petryk decided to field two teams. The first- the Chisago Lake area schools team won the meet, while the second squad, consisting of the ‘Cats number 7-12 skiers, placed 13 overall. Now that’s depth.

“Our first six skiers were on one team, and our second tier, out next group of skiers were on the other,” remarked Petryk. “That’s really something when you consider that they finished 13 overall. That means they beat 11 other teams who were skiing with their top kids. That says a lot about our depth.”

Wild Mountain Invite

Boys team results- Top 5-

1. Chisago Lakes Area 520

2. Blake 508

3. Minnetonka 451

4. Edina 447

5. Benilde- St. Margaret’s 446

13. Chisago Lakes/SCF 323

Individual results (CL only):

1. Dan Olson 60.04

8. Seth Kinzer 62.81

9. Jeff Wolfe 63.53

18. Robert Wilson 65.78

22. Dan Sandgren 66.30

41. Gus Garbe 68.62

43. Andrew Wagner 68.77

74. Gerrit Beyer 72.56

75. Dan Boyer 72.84

83. Max Waddell 74.82

107. Dominick Raedeke 82.03

114. Mitch Peterson 86.23

Girls follow boys lead by winning as well

After losing Brittany Nelson through graduation, added with the decisions by Sally Bowen and Jessica Lundgren not to come out for the team this season, the Chisago Lakes/St. Croix Falls girls ski team was supposed to be average, maybe a little above average at best. At least that’s what some of the “experts” were saying. Based on the ‘Cats performance last Friday at the Wild Mountain Invite, those predictions couldn’t have been farther from the truth.

The lady ‘Cats not only won the meet, but they beat second place Stillwater by 52 points! Individually, freshman Kate Kinzer blew down the course on a mission, finishing first overall out of 132 racers. Her teammate Sarah Bottjen finished third. You’ll have to forgive Rodger Petryk if he had to get some oxygen after the meet was done. The results were surprising to say the very least.

“I did not anticipate a first place finish, especially when you’re going against the likes of Edina, Bloomington Jefferson, and Stillwater,” smiled Petryk. “They all have a lot of girls out, they are all USSA racers, so they have a lot more gate time than Kate or Sarah. Only the elite racers are USSA racers, so the competition was pretty fierce. I was just shocked with what they did.”

Kinzer’s first run was her best, flying down the course in just over 30 seconds. Throw in a time of 31.53 in her second run, and Kinzer’s combined time of 62.45 turned out to be more than two seconds ahead of Kate Manke of Bloomington Jefferson who finished second.

“She skied really well. She’s a lot stronger physically than she was last year,” replied Petryk. “This win has to give her a tremendous amount of confidence.”

The same can be said about the entire team. In all, six skiers finished in the top 31 overall. In addition, like in the boys race, Petryk decided to race a second team consisting of the Wildcats number 7-12 skiers. Out of 22 teams, they finished 14th.

Paired with the boys win, Chisago Lakes also won the overall title for the second straight year.

Wild Mountain Invite

Girls team results- Top 5-

1. Chisago Lakes Area 500

2. Stillwater 448

3. Mounds View 415

Mankato West 415

5. Edina 405

14. Chisago Lakes/SCF 329

Individual results (CL only):

1. Kate Kinzer 62.45

3. Sarah Bottjen 65.27

11. Brianna Stoeckman 70.06

13. Simone Raedeke 70.86

30. Melinda Beyer 76.76

31. Katelyn Garbe 76.89

48. Katy Boyer 80.44

56. Andrea Nickelson 82.47

65. Kate Wright 85.23

108. Mariah Stoeckman 156.85

124. Casandra Quirann 1063.60

125. Charlotte Sandgren 1124.80

Wildcats open season with sweep over Champlin Park

Three days earlier, The Wildcats opened the season against Champlin Park, skiing away with a sweep last Tuesday.

On the boys side, Dan Olson skied past Jeff Wolfe to take first place overall. In addition, Seth Kinzer placed fourth as Chisago placed six skiers in the top 10 overall, leading to a 35-20 win.

“The kids did really well for the first meet,” mentioned Petryk. “We haven’t had a lot of time in the gates. I thought there would be a bigger gap between out top three skiers and the next group, so they surprised me a little bit.”

Petryk was also pleasantly surprised with the girls win as well. There, Sarah Bottjen picked up first followed closely by Kinzer. Eight of the top 10 spots were filled by Chisago skiers, helping them to an easy 48-7 win.

“Sarah did some summer training and she really has a positive attitude when it comes to wanting to win,” said Petryk. “Losing Sally and Jessie, everyone has really stepped up. We have some pretty good balance right now.”

Boys Team results:

Chisago Lakes 35

Champlin Park 20

Individual results (Top 10)-

1. Dan Olson 46.58

2. Jeff Wolfe 47.36

4. Seth Kinzer 48.99

6. Dan Sandgren 49.66

8. Dominick Raedeke 50.41

10. Andrew Wagner 51.39

Girls Team results:

Chisago Lakes 48

Champlin Park 7

Individual results (Top 10)-

1. Sarah Bottjen 51.31

2. Kate Kinzer 51.64

3. Brianna Stoeckman 52.98

4. Simone Raedeke 54.51

6. Katelyn Garbe 57.38

7. Charlotte Sandgren 58.23

8. Katy Boyer 59.39

9. Melinda Beyer 1:00.90

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