Girls' Nordic skiers fifth, boys sixth at Baxter

• Sieling

Contributed photo Julia Sieling finished 20th for the Cardinal girls’ Nordic ski team at the Northland Arboretum in Baxter New Year’s Eve.

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The Cardinal boys’ and girls’ Nordic Ski teams battled the 10-kilometer course at the Northland Arboretum in Baxter on New Year’s Eve day last Thursday afternoon.

The girls skied to a fifth-place finish, while the boys came in sixth. The skiers raced five kilometers of classic, followed immediately by a five-kilometer skate race with a running clock.

“I was happy with the performance of both the boys’ and girls’ teams,” head coach Steve Devereaux said. “This was our first race of the season with longer distance and they stepped up to it. This is the hardest race they’ll do, since it’s all 10K at once, whereas the section pursuit race will be two separate races with a break between them.”

Sarah Peper led the girls with a 10th-place finish. She crossed the finish line in a time of 36:45. Melissa Gromatka was not far behind in 14th place, while Julia Sieling and Rachel Borden rounded out the top four with 20th and 31st-place finishes, respectively.

Mike Erickson led the boys’ team with a 13th-place finish. He finished in a time of 31:34. Mitch Evink and Jimmy Lovrien rounded out the top three for Alexandria with 22nd and 24th-place finishes. Evink crossed the line in a time of 33:06. Lovrien finished in a time of 33:56.

This was the final tuneup for the Cardinals before heading to Biwabik for the Mesabi meet. The Giants Ridge Ski Resort will host the meet this Saturday.

MEET RESULTS

ALEXANDRIA GIRLS – Fifth place; Individual results – Sarah Peper – 10th place, 36:45; Melissa Gromatka – 14th place, 37:35; Julia Sieling – 20th place, 40:16; Rachel Borden – 31st place, 46:20; Katie Lovrien – DNF

ALEXANDRIA BOYS – Sixth place; Individual results – Mike Erickson – 13th place, 31:34; Mitch Evink – 22nd place, 33:06; Jimmy Lovrien – 24th place, 33:56; Matt Burow – 34th place, 36:09; Todd Johnson – 45th place, 40:17; Tyler Johnson – 47th place, 42:11

Tags: alexandria sports, sports, home, team, cardinals, nordic, ski