Three Wildcats moving on to alpine skiing state tournament

The Chisago Lakes boys alpine ski team fell a bit short of their aspirations of going to the state tournament as a team, but they still have two boys going as individuals, and a youngster from the girls team will be joining them on their trip back up to Giants Ridge.

Sections were held last week at that same hill in Biwabik, and Jake Sandgren performed like his typical self in leading the ‘Cats. The senior skied the third fastest time on the blue course and the fifth fastest time on the red course, giving him a 1:14.03, which was good enough for third place in a section littered with big schools and talented skiers.

Only Centennial’s Taylor Lindy and Mounds View’s Nik Damberg finished ahead of Sandgren. His time put him on the cusp of the top 10 skiers in the state, and with a spectacular run this week at state, Sandgren could be pushing a top five finish if things fall right. Anders Brown was the other guy to qualify for the state tournament. The eighth grader finished in 13th place overall with a combined time of 1:17.90. He finished the blue course, which was decidedly friendlier to the Wildcat skiers on the day, with the 11th fastest time and the red course with the 19th fastest time on the day. Tanner Rivard was on pace for his first individual state tournament berth as a freshman, but a tumble on the red course left him on the outside looking in. He had finished the blue course in the 17th fastest time overall.

Hunter Haas finished in 43rd place in his last alpine ski race for the Wildcats and Miles Turk came in 46th to close out his long career on the hill. John Frischmon was 47th on the day with a time of 1:28.69. As a team, the Wildcats finished in fifth place with 307 points. Hermantown won the meet with 344 points and Silver Bay came in second with 334.

Girls

Much like she has all season, Ellie Frischmon took the Wildcats on her young back and carried them. The eighth grader finished in third place overall for the ‘Cats, earning 98 points. Her total time of 1:25.67 was final after she finished the blue course in 39.49 seconds, the third fastest on the day and the red course in 48.18 seconds, the fourth fastest of the day.

Only the talented Danelski sisters of Hermantown finished ahead of Frischmon. Megan Danelski finished in 1:21.29 in first place and Madison Danelski finished in 1:21.39 in second. Other Wildcats struggled at times with the Giants Ridge courses. Annalise Parks was the next best finisher for Chisago Lakes, coming in 32nd place. Hannah Janzig was right behind in 35th place. Lauren Peltier finished in 56th to finish CL’s 277.5 point tally in eighth place. Claire Eikens came in 60th an Kate Swanson finished her CL career with a 67th place finish.

Duluth East won the girls berth in section with 338 points. Mounds View was just behind with 333 points.