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Boys fourth conference race

After gutting through some nasty weather earlier this season, the Chisago Lakes alpine ski teams had finally had enough with the stinging cold at one point and cancelled a conference meet.

That meet was made up recently, and although the temperatures still stretched to minus 15 degrees, the kids still got after the hill and their competition.

In the boys half of the race, the Wildcats edged the Centennial Cougars by three points to claim the first place prize.

Ben Dalman of Champlin Park won the race with a combined time of 51.19 seconds, but hot on his tail was a hungry pack of Wildcats.

Steven Wagner, Philip Bottjen and Mark Sandgren finished two-three-four in the race to earn a good chunk of the 'Cats' points.

Wagner had a combined time of 51.28 seconds, Bottjen followed with a 51.36 and Sandgren clocked in at 52.11.

Dan Koski of Centennial finished in fifth place to break it up from being an even bigger pack of CL finishers. Joe Cartier came in seventh place, right behind his three teammates, with a time of 52.75.

And the boys proved to not just be top heavy as they garnered some key points from other skiers. Jacob Sandgren came in 24th place with a time of 61.04, and the Haas brothers, Hunter and Hogan, had nearly identical times with Hunter finishing in 28th place with a time of 64.06 seconds and Hogan coming in 30th place with a time of 64.47 seconds.

Brandon Marvin in 37th place and Alex Engelbrekt in 42nd place rounded out the boys scoring. Every point counted for the guys as they just nipped the Cougars for first place.

Boys Results

1. Chisago Lakes 553

2. Centennial 550

3. Blaine 413

4. Andover 383

5. Coon Rapids 351

6. Champlin Park 311

7. Irondale 310

8. Anoka 303

Girls fourth conference race

In the girls portion of the event, the Wildcats that did ski performed extremely well, but Centennial's sheer numbers overcame CL's skiing prowess to send the Wildcats to a second place finish. The Cougars came out on top 582, and CL was in second, with 474 points.

Simone Raedeke continued her amazing run of first places with another win. Her combined time of 61.22 put her nearly two seconds ahead of the second place finisher.

That finisher happened to be fellow Wildcat Amanda Angel, who has been on the cusp of winning numerous times this year. Angel finished the race in a combined time of 63.17 seconds.

Katie Rayer was the next Wildcat on the leaderboard. Her time of 68.19 seconds was good enough to place her in fifth place.

Araya Gamble made it four Wildcats in the top 10 when she finished in 10th place with a time of 71.23 seconds. Gamble has been steadily creeping up the standings since a slow start to the year.

Abigail Bottjen is having impressive showings as she gets more experience, and this race was no different as she turned in a 13th place performance with a time of 73.39 seconds.

Katy Garbe struggled on the hill,finishing in 30th place in 86.01 seconds. Garbe has been in the upper echelon of the standings with Raedeke and Angel for most of the season.

Teresa Sandberg also had a spill on her first run and finished in 36th place with a combined time of 94.31. Her first run went over a minute at 61.5 seconds, but her second run was nearly half that, with a time of 32.81 seconds. If both runs would've been in that neighborhood, she would've easily cracked the top 10.

Girls Results

1. Centennial 582

2. Chisago Lakes 474

3. Coon Rapids 414

4. Andover 373

5. Irondale 313

6. Blaine 307

7. Anoka 199

8. Champlin Park 82

Boys fifth conference race

With the conference title on the line, and Chisago Lakes grasping to a thin lead over the powerful Centennial Cougars, the Wildcats did just enough to find off their fellow felines and secure their seventh straight conference championship.

"Jacob Sandgren was under the weather, and it was cold again," Head Coach Dan Raedeke said heading into the meet. "We needed to have a good night, there was a lot on the line."

With the conference title on the line, CL's top skiers didn't disappoint. Bottjen had another phenomenal showing, earning second place with a time of 60.51 seconds.

All within five seconds of Bottjen were Mark Sandgren, Cartier and the aforementioned Jacob Sandgren.

Mark Sandgren finishing in fourth place with a 62.41, Cartier earned sixth place honors with a 64.02, and a sick Jacob Sandgren came in eighth place with a time of 65.5 seconds. Those four really helped propel the 'Cats to the title.

Hunter Haas scored points with a 28th place finish with a time of 75.2 seconds, and Wagner earned 42nd place with a time of 79.22 seconds.

"The team as a whole did not have a good night, but Philip, Mark, Joe and Jacob pulled the team to another conference title," Raedeke said.

Boys Results

1. Blaine 560

2. Centennial 478

3. Andover 447

4. Chisago Lakes 423

5. Champlin Park 354

6. Irondale 327

7. Coon Rapids 324

8. Anoka 261

Girls fifth conference race

Although the Wildcats' streak of consecutive conference titles ended at nine, there was still plenty of highlights.

Simone Raedeke finished in first place again, completing the conference sweep. All five races resulted in first place finishes for the senior. "This is only the second time in 11 years of coaching that I have seen someone -- boys or girls -- win all the conference races," Dan Raedeke said. And he has coached numerous All-Conference and All-State selections.

Right behind Simone Raedeke was CL's Teresa Sandberg. She finished the race in 59.07 seconds. It was the highest finish Sandberg has achieved this season.

Gamble continued her ascent with a sixth place finish in 63.26 seconds. The finish was her highest of the year, besting her 10th place from the last meet.

Katie Rayer earned an 18th place finish in the last conference race of the year, finishing in 71.07 seconds.

Abigail Bottjen had a spill in her first run that cost her valuable time, and she ended up finishing in 39th place with a time of 94.33 seconds.

After her first run, Amanda Angel was sitting in second place behind Raedeke, but a wipeout in her second run resulted in a 52nd place finish with a time of 130.19 seconds.

Girls Results

1. Coon Rapids 539

2. Centennial 501

3. Andover 489

4. Irondale 385

5. Chisago Lakes 368

6. Blaine 284

7. Anoka 200

8. Champlin Park 123

The Wildcats took to the hills of Giants Ridge for the section meet earlier this week to see who would be heading to the state meet on Thursday, Feb. 12. With a bevy of talented skiers, CL could be looking at another top finish among Minnesota's elite ski programs.

The 2008-09 boys alpine ski team celebrates their seventh Northwest Suburban Conference title in a row.

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