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Martin Luther King Day Invitational

The Chisago Lakes boys and girls ski teams commemorated the Martin Luther King Day with a couple of high finishes in a stacked invite at Giants Ridge, where Virginia was the host.

With teams like Hibbing, Virginia and Alexandria, as well as conference rivals Blaine, Centennial and Coon Rapids making the meet one of the top holiday invites, the Wildcats knew they had their work cut out for them.

With a full team that ran a fairly flawless race, the boys team sprinted by the rest of the teams in the field to a big first place finish. "This is the best I have seen the boys ski as a team," Head Coach Dan Raedeke pointed out. "We swept the top five spots."

Philip Bottjen led the boys with a combined time of 1:16.90. It was a nice recovery for the senior captain, as this run was his first back after a stumble in his last meet.

Bottjen was followed by Joe Cartier, who has also been racing phenomenal after an early-season stumble. Cartier finished in 1:17.77.

Steven Wagner earned third place for the Wildcats in 1:18.49, and two more 'Cats finished just a hair behind him. Corbin Peterson finished in 1:18.55, and Mark Sandgren finished in fifth place with a 1:18.99.

Jacob Sandgren also finished in the top 10 for Chisago Lakes, earning ninth place with a 1:21.05.

The sweep earned the Wildcats a top spot in the boys meet. Their 354 points were head and shoulders above second place Virginia, who finished with 312.

Boys Team Results

1. Chisago Lakes 354

2.Virginia 312

3. Hibbing 288

4. Alexandria 286

5. Blaine 261

6. Centennial 257

7. Coon Rapids 254

8. Anoka 248

9. Andover 247

The girls also had some success in the meet, but they had a slight drop off from a few of their top skiers.

Simone Raedeke took her familiar spot atop the standings, as she won again, this time with a combined time of 1:21.95.

Katelyn Garbe finished strong in third place with a time of 1:25.33. The last three 'Cats finished in a big bunch. Katy Rayer finished in 13th in 1:34.40, Araya Gamble was close behind in 14th in 1:35.16 and Abigail Bottjen rounded out the girls' scores with a 16th place finish in 1:36.66

Girls Team Results

1. Hibbing 272

2. Chisago Lakes 269

3. Virginia 257

4. Centennial 252

5. Andover 211

6. Coon Rapids 203

7. Alexandria 145

8. Blaine 140

9. Anoka 125

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