Alex skiers shine at CLC meet

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The Alexandria Nordic ski teams traveled to Brainerd last Thursday and came home with four all-conference skiers at the Central Lakes Conference championships.

Sarah Peper continued her strong senior season with one of her strongest races of the season. Peper finished second individually in the classic race with a time of 17:39. She has solidified herself as one of the top skiers in the CLC throughout the course of this season.

“She’s not a chase skier at all,” head coach Steve Devereaux said. “She gets out in front early and pushes as hard as she can until it’s over.”

Peper was not the only Cardinal girls’ skier to have a solid day. Julia Sieling and Melissa Gromatka each finished with all-conference honors in the skate competition. Sieling finished fifth with her time of 16:40, while Gromatka was right behind her with a seventh-place finish in 17:28.

“[Julia] has worked really hard to be in the top four varsity girls,” Devereaux said. “Her effort has made a big impact on the varsity girls’ team. [Melissa] got tangled up when some other skiers in her heat fell down early and had to regain her focus. She succeeded in that and steadily gained back the lost time.”

Megan Bristow also counted toward the Cardinals’ team score with her finish in the classic race. Bristow came in 13th in a time of 20:49. The top two skiers in each technique counted toward each team’s score as Alexandria finished third overall with a score of 376.5.

Austin McCoy paced the Alexandria boys. Like Peper, he has put together a strong senior season that has him racing at the top of the CLC. He finished fifth to earn all-conference honors in the skate race with a time of 13:31.

“He’s got a great motor and an incredible ability to push himself,” Devereaux said. “The competition was tight with only 18 seconds separating third through seventh place.”

Mike Erickson and Mitch Evink both earned honorable mention all-conference honors. Evink finished ninth in the classic with a time of 16:25. Erickson was 10th in the skate in 14:10. Cody Call finished 13th in the classic with his time of 16:52 to help Alexandria to a fourth-place team finish.

“You really need to have two to three skiers finishing with all-conference honors to get in the top three,” Devereaux said. “And we couldn’t quite get it this year. As with the girls’ team, though, we are just graduating one senior from our top four, so we should be able to put together a strong team again next year.”

The CLC championship was the final race before the Cardinals battle at the Section 8 Meet. Alexandria will travel to Camp Ripley today, Wednesday, with the hopes of punching a couple tickets to the state meet back up at Biwabik.

CLC CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

GIRLS’ TEAM RESULTS – 1. Little Falls – 392; 2. Brainerd – 387.5; 3. Alexandria – 376.5; 4. St. Cloud Apollo – 357; 5. St. Cloud Cathedral – 354; 6. Willmar – 348; 7. St. Cloud Tech – 340; 9. Otter Tail – 83

BOYS’ TEAM RESULTS – 1. St. Cloud Tech – 396; 2. Little Falls – 386; 3. Brainerd – 380; 4. Alexandria – 366.5; 5. St. Cloud Apollo – 357; 6. Willmar – 343; 7. Otter Tail – 323

ALEXANDRIA GIRLS’ INDIVIDUAL RESULTS – Classic – Sarah Peper – all conference, second place, 17:39; Megan Bristow – 13th place, 20:49; Lauren Hagstrom – 18th place, 23:21; Skate – Julia Sieling – fifth place, all conference, 16:40; Melissa Gromatka – seventh place, all conference, 17:28; Katie Lovrien – 20th place, 19:54

ALEXANDRIA BOYS’ INDIVIDUAL RESULTS – Classic – Mitch Evink – ninth place, honorable mention all conference, 16:25; Cody Call – 13th place, 16:52; Jimmy Lovrien – 15th place, 17:11; Todd Johnson – 20th place, 18:05; Skate – Austin McCoy – fifth place, all conference, 13:31; Mike Erickson – 10th place, honorable mention all conference, 14:10; Matt Burow – 13th place, 14:46; Tyler Johnson – 22nd place, 17:08

All-CLC Nordic skiers

The Alexandria girls had skiers earn all-conference honors in Sarah Peper, Julia Sieling and Melissa Gromatka. Peper finished second overall in the classic race.

Austin McCoy was the lone Cardinal boys’ skier to earn All-CLC honors. He finished fifth in the skate race with a time of 13:31.

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