Nordic Skiing: Cardinals get a preview of section meet

In a meet on Saturday at the Buena Vista Ski Area near Bemidji, The Alexandria nordic skiing team got a preview of what its section meet will feel like since the meet will be held in the same format as Saturday’s was.

The varsity team did a 5K classic to start the day and had a 5K skate race in the afternoon, with a sprint relay in between.

Alexandria’s Jaelyn Miller had a first place finish for the varsity girls (32:56), while Kasey Soderholm placed 17th (35:45) and Bobbi Nichols placed 18th (35:48).

Mackenzie Jurchenko placed 21st (35:56), while Teresa Bitzan placed 26th (36:49) and Madeline Hochhalter placed 35th (38:10).

Photo contributed by Sara Englund

In the girls sprint relay, Amanda Bergerson and Lauren Huber placed seventh. In the boys sprint relay, Erick Bergerson and Max Chinn placed seventh.

Cyler Coautte led the way for Alexandria for the boys with a 21st place finish (32:08), while Luke Walsh placed 36th (33:54), Sullivan Rooney (34:07), and Spenser Chinn placed 39th (34:12).

The JV teams competed in a 4.5K skate race, and both Alexandria teams had an eighth-place finish.

In the boys race, Logan Holtz placed eighth (14:33), while Sawyer Lawson placed 11th (14:48), Nick Strauss placed 12th (14:51), and Gabe Hoven placed 20th (15:27).

Owen Gilbertson placed 21st (15:40), Elijah Kjolhaug placed 23rd (15:47), Lars Dahl placed 26th (15:50), and Jackson Dutcher placed 31st (15:58). Isaiah Anderson placed 32nd (16:02), Carter Rush placed 41st (16:37), and Berg Swanson placed 45th (16:43). Sawyer Filipiak placed 47th (16:47), Andrew Mayer placed 52nd (17:30), and Matt Moga placed 67th (19:28).

Meredith Sundby and Tiahna Goeke led the way for the JV girls with eighth (Sundby - 16:32) and ninth-place finishes (Goeke - 16:33).

Taylor Swedberg placed (23rd), Nea Hoven placed 35th (18:09), Lacey Siira placed 44th (18:43), and Atti Hoven placed 46th (19:00).

Rounding out the finishes for the JV girls, Tatum Ketelsen placed 53rd (19:39), Kenna Kleven placed 56th (20:12), Autumn Ehlert placed 60th (21:20), and Mattie Scholten placed 61st (21:45).

1/4: Alexandria's Madeline Hochhalter skies at a meet at Buena Vista Ski Area near Bemidji on Jan. 21, 2023. She placed 35th at the meet.

2/4: Alexandria's Cyler Coautte pushes to a 21st place at a meet on Jan. 21, 2023, at Buena Vista Ski Area near Bemidji.

3/4: Alexandria's Kasey Soderholm (522) competes at a meet on Jan. 21, 2023, at Buena Vista Ski Area near Bemidji, where she placed 17th.

4/4: Alexandria's Mackenzie Jurchenko (center) holds off a Moorhead competitor at a meet at Buena Vista Ski Area near Bemidji on Jan. 21, 2023. Jurchenko placed 21st in the girls varsity race.

Alexandria competes in a meet on Thursday in Little Falls at 10 a.m.