BURNSVILLE — Rochester Alpine Ski coach Nick Sargent spent the past week telling his top skiers that to qualify for the state meet, they’d need to cut it loose in Tuesday’s Section 6 meet at Buck Hill.
As the Rochester coach, Sargent directs the boys and girls skiers from Century, John Marshall and Mayo.
Century’s Soren Krych took Sargent up on his request to be aggressive in the 18-team section meet and he reaped a large reward. The Panthers sophomore qualified for the state meet, which will take place Feb. 14 at Giants Ridge in Biwabik.
Krych finished 11th overall with a two-runs combined time of 49.88 seconds. He was the only Rochester skier — boy or girl — to advance.
“Soren skied to his potential,” Sargent said. “Any race where qualifying (for state) depends on one race, it is a nerve-racking situation. You have to handle that pressure. With Soren being on the younger side, his handling the pressure showed a lot of maturity.”
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Krych has come a long way since a year ago when he rarely finished a race, so often with a slip along the way. But he was the opposite on Tuesday, beautifully rising to the occasion.
Krych was one of a pack of Big Nine Conference skiers to excel in the Section 6 race, which is loaded with Twin Cities schools. Finishing first in the boys race was Mankato West’s Leo Demars with a 48.08 time. Winning the girls race was Mankato West’s Breck Carlson in 50.55.
“Our small conference went up there and did very well,” Sargent said. “We really held our own.”
Among the boys finishers, John Marshall’s Jack Schjolberg was 24th in 52.25. Mayo’s John Mueller was 34th (53.84) and Nicolas Villavicencio 41st (55.62).
The top Rochester girls finisher was John Marshall’s Bailey Miller, landing 18th (53.83). Teammate Ella Pattinson was 21st (54.04). Also, JM’s Veronika Voss was 38th (58.44) and Hope Skelton was 50th (61.74).
Mayo’s Caroline Stephens was 48th (61.09) and Century’s Allison Anneke was 58th (63.77).
Edina was the boys team champion with 354 points, followed by Lakeville North with 314. The girls title went to Eagan with 302. Prior Lake was second with 291.
BOYS
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Team scores
Edina 354, Lakeville North 314, Lakeville South 312, Chaska 287, Eden Prairie 272, Apple Valley 269, Prior Lake 258, Mankato East 251, Mankato West 245, Northfield 223, Crystal Valley Area 206, Eastview 205.5, Bloomington 194, Mayo 183, Eagan 164, Burnsville/Shakopee 118, Century 111, John Marshall 76,
Top five finishers
1. Leo Demars (Mankato West) 48.08, 2. Tate Wilker (Eden Prairie) 48.91, 3. Riley Okubo (Lakeville North) 49.11, 4. Lou Brucciani (Lakeville North) 49.13, 5. James Nida (Lakeville South) 49.17.
Century
11. Soren Krych 49.88, 86. Beckett DeGrote 71.46, 90. Ethan Pool 75.6, 94. Flynn Romme 81.03.
Mayo
34. John Mueller 53.84, 41. Nicolas Villavicencio 55.62, 53. Max Parney 58.04, 81. Caleb Winkel 65.86, 92. Johannes Madsen 77.02.
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John Marshall
24. Jack Schjolberg 52.25, 96. Erik Fenton 90.48.
GIRLS
Team scores
Eagan 302, Prior Lake 291, Lakeville South 271, Northfield 253, Edina 248.5, Eden Prairie 225, John Marshall 224.5, Mankato West 222, Apple Valley 214, Eastview 175, Mankato East 173, Lakeville North 163, Bloomington 156, Chaska 128, Mayo 113, Burnsville/Shakopee 107, Crystal Valley Area 64, Century 30,
Top five individuals
1. Breck Carlson (Mankato West) 50.55, 2. Courtney Bumpers (Eagan) 51.06, 3. Annabel McCann (Prior Lake) 51.14, Clara Wilson (Northfield) 51.77, 5. Faith Dodge (Eden Prairie) 52.04.
John Marshall
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18. Bailey Miller 53.83, 21. Ella Pattinson 54.04. 38. Veronika Voss 58.44, 50. Hope Skelton 61.74, 55. Olivia Johannessen 62.44, 76. Ali Storlie 72.56.
Mayo
48. Caroline Stephens 61.09, 54. Anya Kisiel 62.32, 66. Sydney Albrecht 69.1, 61. Maria Villavicencio 69.82.
Century
58. Allison Anneke 63.77.
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