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Boys-

Chisago Lakes 51

Centennial 4

The ski meet was supposed to be close, pairing the top two teams in the conference, both fighting for the North Suburban crown. It was supposed to go down to the wire. Instead, the Wildcats were dominating, taking both the boys and girls meet in impressive fashion, leaving little doubt that the ‘Cats are the best in the conference and one of the best squads in the entire state.

Starting with the boys, the Wildcats were so dominate that Chisago took the top seven spots, defeating the Cougars 51-4. Shutout of the winners circle over the past two meets, senior Isaiah Kinzer made his return, posting a two run time of 40.61, almost five seconds better than the top Centennial racer.

“Isaiah had been beaten two times in a row and I think he stepped it up. He broke the 20 second mark on his second run, that’s just flying,” laughed Rodger Petryk, head Chisago Lakes/St. Croix Falls ski coach. “I was really surprised, I thought it would’ve been closer. The guys are just skiing really strong right now. I talked to them before the race and I told them to kick it up one more notch and not to make any mistakes.”

Evidently, they listened. 41-one hundreths of a second behind Kinzer was Ross Stensrud who placed second. Dan Olson, Jeff Wolfe, and Rob Wilson rounded out the top five.

Individual Results (Top 10)

1. I. Kinzer 40.61

2. Stensrud 41.02

3. Olson 43.33

4. Wolfe 44.12

5. Wilson 44.52

6. Sandgren 44.66

7. S. Kinzer 44.71

8. Centennial 45.08

9. Reichert 45.42

10. Centennial 45.88

Girls-

Chisago Lakes 46

Centennial 9

Although it was almost impossible to top, believe it or not, the girls outdid the boys, picking up a 46-9 win. Not only was the score impressive, but to win by 37 points without Brittany Nelson and Sally Bowen even caught Petryk by surprise.

“Brittany was gone and we were also missing our number four racer (Bowen) who is out for the season,” said Petryk. “I thought with them being undefeated, it would be close, but holy smokes, the girls placed in the top four and skied really, really well.”

So well that Katie Kinzer placed first, five whole seconds in front of Centennial’s number one skier. Jessie Lundgren ran second while Sarah Bottjen and Breanna Stoeckman finished third and fourth respectively. Kim Bangston, Centennial’s top skier placed fifth overall.

“Kim placed 11 in last year’s sectional, she almost went to state,” remembered Petryk. “I thought she would be right at the top, at least the top three, but our girls stepped up huge. I told them before the race that everybody had to step up with two girls gone and they did that. They are skiing really well.”

How well? Petryk believes that answer is on the way. After facing Forest Lake, the Wildcats will travel to the prestigious Welch Invitational on Friday. The Invite invites the best of the best providing a perfect measuring stick.

“We’ll know were we stand after that,” said Petryk. “That’s a tough meet with a bunch of kids from around the state. I’m excited to see what’s going to happen.”

So are we.

Individual Results (Top 10):

1. K. Kinzer 47.6

2. Lundgren 47.99

3. Bottjen 48.32

4. Stoeckman 50.67

5. Centennial 52.30

6. Garbie 52.38

7. Kriedler 52.66

8. Raedeke 53.12

9. Centennial 53.35

10. Centennial 54.55

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