Please download this document to read about the section award winners so that you can be an informed voter at the State Meet Meeting on Wednesday, February 15, 2012

MSHSNSCA Section Award Winners 2012

Giants Ridge, February 9, 2012 Section 7 Nordic Ski Race

Sunny skies and temperatures in the 20’s, combined with excellent snow conditions, made for perfect conditions for today’s Section 7 Nordic Ski Race at Giants Ridge in Biwabik, MN.  The section seven race was conducted in two parts, a morning individual start 5 kilometer skate technique race, followed in the afternoon by 5 kilometer pursuit start classic race.  The start order for the afternoon pursuit race is based off the results from the morning skate race.  In a pursuit race the morning’s winner starts first followed by all the other competitors in the event.  The skiers start their race based on the number of seconds back from the leader.  The winner of the event is the first person across the finish line.  A skilled pursuit skier has to be proficient in both techniques and be fit enough to race at max effort, two times in one day, on a world cup tested course.

The winning team of seven qualify for the MSHSL state meet along with the top 8 finishers not on the winning team.  Section 7 is dominated by perennial state competitors, Duluth East and the hardworking Ely Nordic team.  The order of the day would be East and Ely battling it out for first or second and the other nine schools competing for the precious few state meet qualifying spots left by their skirmish.

The Marshall School Boys team finished 4th over all today, just 2 points back from Mesabi East/ Virgina.  Leading the Hilltoppers was junior Joe Fairbanks who with an excellent classic race moved up one spot to finish 9th over all.  Senior Sam Johnson finished 8th in the morning’s skate race (his strength) and lost 3 spots to finish 11th over all.  With their top 15th place finishes both Sam and Joe earned a trip to the State Meet.  Rounding out the team scoring was my favorite boy in the world, Cody Johnson.  Just recovering from a cold Cody dropped 3 places in the classic race to finish 18th over all.  Sophomore Alex Johnson moved up two spots from the morning event to finish 33rd.

On the girl’s side the Hilltoppers were led by freshman Megan Coughlan.  She finished 18th in the morning skate race. Based on expected team results, Megan knew that she had to move up three spots to qualify for the state meet.  Ripping out of the stadium, she charged out on the course, a lady on a mission.  By the 3 kilometer mark she had moved up four spots to ski in 14th place, a state qualifying spot in her hand.  Unfortunately an fast, icy corner tripped Megan up and she fell.  In the time that it took her to get back up and on track she had slipped back four spots.  Megan gave it all she had but in the short amount of course she had left, she was only able to regain two spots to finish 16th over all.  Big gains from the morning race proved to be the theme for the rest of the point gathering Lady Hilltoppers.  Senior Katherine Jarocki started the afternoon race in 38th place and moved up to finish 29th in her final high school race.  Freshman Ann Kleinschmidt passed fourteen skiers in the pursuit race to finish 33rd and sophomore Clara Espe moved from 52nd place to 47th place, to help the girls finish 6th out of 10 teams.

In both the Boys and Girls races Duluth East captured the team and individual title.  Full results can be found here.

The MSHSL State Nordic Ski Meet will be held next Thursday, February 16, 2012 at Giants Ridge Nordic Ski Center.

Monday February 13, 2012

Spirit Mountain

Format: Freestyle (Your skiers are welcome to classic ski but due to the fact that we are on the downhill there will NOT be tracks set.)

Eligible skiers: Any skier who did not qualify for the State Meet

Location: We will be starting and finishing by the alpine chalet.  Junior Varsity will do 5 laps.  Junior High will do 3 laps.  Please bring someone along to help your skiers keep track of their laps.

The alpine chalet will be open for a gathering spot and bathrooms.

Bib Pick-up 10 am (Below the Moosehead Saloon)

Coaches’ Meeting 10:15 am (At the bib pick-up location.)

Race Start time 11am

Order of Start:

11:00am     JV Boys

JV Girls

* JH Boys

* JH Girls

* The JH races may be split into smaller age categories depending on the number of entrants in each grade level.

Awards Ceremony: In the chalet as soon as results are available for all races.

Awards: Top 10 boys and girls.

Coaches Information

Race entries must be received by 5:00 p.m. Fri., Feb. 10^th.  Send to Steve Deschene by email: timing@boreal.org or enter on web site www.boreal.org/~durfee

Entry Fee: $5/skier.

Make checks payable to: Duluth Denfeld Nordic Ski

Questions:

(218) 340-6505 or dawnmiller07@me.com

SECTION 7 – NORDIC SKI MEET

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9^TH, 2012

GIANTS RIDGE GOLF & SKI RESORT

1-800-688-7669 – Deb Maki’s ext 8072 (new #)

The race will be broadcast live on WELY

Order of Events:

7:00 am       Bus Leaves Marshall

8:45 am        Volunteer meeting in timing bldg.

9:00 am       Coaches meeting in timing bldg.

10:00 am     Boys SKATE Race

11:00 am     Girls SKATE Race

1:30 pm        Boys CLASSIC Pursuit Race

2:30 pm       Girls CLASSIC Pursuit Race

3:45 pm        All Coaches meet to approve results

4:00 pm       Awards Ceremony

Results will be posted at http://www.boreal.org/~durfee/ or http://www.skinnyski.com

Coaches Information

Please read carefully all information enclosed.  All coaches are encouraged to visit the MSHSL’s web site for any section/state info.

Please fully complete in duplicate the 48 hour section entry card.   Send one copy to Deb Maki, P O Box 505, Biwabik, MN  55708.

All entries should clearly state name, grade, school and gender.

Send your entries to:

Steve Deschene, 170 Linnell Road, Grand Marais, MN   55604

E-mail (preferred method):  timing@boreal.org

or on-line at http://www.boreal.org/~durfee/

Entries are due before 6:00 pm, Tuesday, Feb. 7^th, 2012.

You may make changes until 8:30 am on race day.  At 9:30 am race day, a start list will be given to all coaches.

There will be a race jury.   Giants Ridge requires trail passes if you are skiing the day before – $10.00 @ Group Services – Training Center.   Non-participants skiing on race day are also required to have trail passes – $10.00 @Group Services.

All participating schools are asked to bring 1 warmly dressed ADULT Volunteer to help with running the race (bib removal, etc).  They should meet with Deb Maki @ 8:45 am in the timing bldg.    We will also need a few sharp, quick students to help Steve in timing booth.  Sometimes, student managers help with this.    Let me know if you have someone for the Timing booth.

Payment -   All checks should be made to:  Region 7A – payment must be made at 9:00 am – before bib pick up at coaches meeting

Price – $75.00 per boys team, $75.00 per girls team or $15.00 per indiv. skier

Meet Manager:  Deb Maki, 1-800-688-7669, ext 8072 or e-mail pepsichallenge@giantsridge.com

CCHS Invite 2012 February 3, 2012

Races:
10:30 am start running clock. Racers double start at

30 second intervals.

Bib #’s Event

1-100 Boy’s V arsity Freestyle 5K (10:30) 100-200 Girl’s Varsity Freestyle 5K (11:00) 200-250 Boy’s Jr. High Classic 2.5K (12:00) 250-300 Girl’s Jr. High Classic 2.5K (12:15)

2:00 pm restart running clock
Bib #’s Event
1-100 Boy’s V arsity 5K Classic Pursuit Starts

(3Lanes) 2:00
401-404 Boy’s Varsity 5KClassic Only(15 sec

interval starts)
101-200 Girl’s V arsity 5K Classic Pursuit Starts

(3 Lanes) @2:30
411-422 Girl’s V arsity 5KClassic Only(15 sec

interval starts) ]]> http://marshallnordic.org/2012/01/29/2012-cook-county-invitational-pursuit-race/feed/ 0 http://marshallnordic.org/2012/01/19/duluth-east-invitational-pursuit-race-4/ http://marshallnordic.org/2012/01/19/duluth-east-invitational-pursuit-race-4/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:18:26 +0000 Dave Johnson http://marshallnordic.org/?p=609 Duluth East

Invitational Pursuit Race

Photos and Videos from the Event Posted

Results Posted Here

Thursday, January 26, 2012.

Mt. Itasca Nordic Center

200 Mt. Itasca Drive, Coleraine, MN 55722

Bib pickup: 10:00 a.m.

Coaches meeting: 10:30 a.m.

ORDER OF START

11:00 am start running clock. Racers start two every 30 seconds

Boy’s Varsity Freestyle 5K

Girl’s Varsity Freestyle 5K

Boy’s Jr. Varsity Freestyle 5K

Girl’s Jr. Varsity Freestyle 5K

Break

Boy’s Jr. High Freestyle 3K

Girl’s Jr. High Freestyle 3K

At about 2:30 pm restart running clock

Boy’s Varsity 5K Classic Pursuit Starts

(About 20 minute gap between last Boy/first Girl)

Girl’s Varsity 5K Classic Pursuit Starts

NOTE: The classic pursuit race will be limited to the top 100 skiers from each of the boys and girls Varsity freestyle race.  Only pursuit skiers will count towards Varsity team scores.

Cost: $5 per skier.  Make checks payable to Duluth East Nordic Ski Team.

Send to: Duluth East Nordic Ski Team, Duluth East High School, 301 North 40^th Avenue East, Duluth, MN  55804 or bring to the race.

AWARDS:

Individual awards to the top 10 in the Varsity pursuit, Junior Varsity freestyle and Jr. High freestyle events.

Award presentations will be immediately following race.

Concessions will be available

Entries must be received by 8 p.m. Monday, January 23, 2012.
Send to:  Steve Deschene timing@boreal.org ,

or on website http://www.boreal.org/~durfee/entry_form.htm.

Phone Dave or Bonnie @ 218.724.2775 if you have questions (no phone entries please!)

8th Annual Marshall Sprints  New Location!

Results Here

Photo Set Here

Due to lack of snow in Duluth, The 8th Annual Marshall Sprints will be held at  Hidden Valley Ski trail in Ely, MN on Saturday, January 21, 2012. The Marshall Sprints features an unique format to guarantee all varsity skiers at least two races for a total just over 4 kilometers of racing.  The course is safe, fast and exciting.  Link to Sprint Course Map It will be a true test of your skier’s talent. We will have a separate Jr. High 3.3 kilometer mass start freestyle race.

Date: Saturday, January 21, 2012

Time: 9:00 bib pick up and course inspection

11:00 Sprint Qualifier

Followed by:

Boys Mass Start Jr. High 3.3k (Awards to top 10, Coaches time their own skiers)

Girls Mass Start Jr. High 3.3k (Awards to top 10, Coaches time their own skiers)

3.3k Girls Consolation Race (Awards to top 10)

3.3k Boys Consolation Race (Awards to top 10)

Single elimination sprint heats top 16 boys and 16 girls (Awards to top 8 of each gender)

Format:
All skiers (except Jr. High) will ski a 1 kilometer qualifying sprint race on the sprint course. The top 16 girls and top 16 boys will qualify for the single elimination sprint heats. All other skiers qualify for the 3.3 kilometer Consolation Race.   Fastest overall times will determine final 3.3 kilometer short course race placement.

Entry Fee: $6 per skier. Checks made out to Ely Nordic Wolves Checks can be mailed to:  Gail Gustafson, 2350 Birchwood Lane Ely, MN  55731, or pay at bib pick up.

Entries Due: All entries need to be received by 5:00 pm Wednesday, January 18, 2012

7th Annual Marshall Sprints Poster

6th Annual Marshall Sprints Poster

Download the 5th Annual Poster

Teams Invited: All teams in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan

To register log onto

http://www.boreal.org/~durfee/index.htm

Facilities:

Large, warm chalet, bathrooms, and concession stand. Large warm-up loop.. High Quality Timing by Steve Deschene. Excellent spectator viewing.

Awards:

Awards to the top 10 boys and girls 3.3 kilometer race and Jr. High 3.3k race. Awards to the top 8 skiers in the single elimination sprint heats. Top 3 boys and top 3 girls in Sprints will receive a Billboard Bag Ski Bag.

Winner Catherine J.

What did I learn at the Ely Invitational meet that will help me be better prepared for the next meet?

As I stepped off of the bus last night, I was a very happy person. I had just raced the best ski race of my life, and I had plenty of reasons to explain that.

During the spring and summer of 2011, I had dedicated myself to training. I made a promise to myself that I would get myself into racing-shape. I always keep my promises. I went running after school every day following the end of ski season, as soon as I got home from school. I looked up training plans online to help me get an idea for what it was I wanted to achieve. The short-term goal I had in mind for myself was the Garry Bjourkland half-marathon, so my first training plan was an intermediate half marathon training plan. I made a habit of writing down every workout that I did. My training log starts on March 1, 2011, and is continuous until today. I quickly discovered that in creating new habits, like running or working out every day, that is was much more enjoyable to work out and run. In June 2011, I ran the half marathon, finishing in 2 hours and 6 minutes. I cut 48 minutes from my time from 2010, and what’s more, I never stopped running the entire race. I didn’t stop or take any breaks at all. I was so proud of myself, because I knew that I had worked for it. I didn’t “get” into shape; I earned into shape.

This year, I have already noticed many differences in my performance. I had the cross-country running season of a lifetime this year, rising to become the fourth-place Marshall varsity runner and scoring multiple personal records on courses that in previous years had exhausted me. In skiing so far, though we’ve only had one meet and the snowfall is dismal, I’ve felt stronger and faster than I ever have before.

Yet still, in the back of my mind, I doubted. This doubt was not new to me; it’s something I’ve struggled with for many years, mostly because of my not-so-outstanding races in both cross country running and nordic skiing. When I slid up to the line on Tuesday, I briefly wondered how much of a difference, if at all, my training would make. The countdown began, and as I got ready, I dared myself to beat the girl I would be starting with.

The race began and I double-poled for my life! I was even with the other girl for fifty meters, and then, I shot ahead. My strength won, and the conditioning, the months of waking up at 5 a.m. (in the summer!) to run, the hundreds of push-ups and pull-ups, and countless sit-ups and crunches, helped me finish in front of her by a good two and a half minutes. It wasn’t just the thrill of beating someone else in a race, though, that was so rewarding; it was the reasons for that personal victory that mattered to me. It was the fact that I had done 100% of the work to make that happen.

When I finished that race, I was exhausted. My throat was raw from breathing so hard and my legs and arms shook. But I was happy. I had destroyed my past-self, and now I was a racer. Before this fall, I only ever felt like one of those kids who goes out for a sport because they’re forced, or because they’re not athletic enough to play football or soccer.

But now, this time around, I feel like a competitor. I am an opponent this time. I am confident, not only in my racing but in myself. That’s the most important part, to me. I know now that I’ve done the work, that I have put myself in a very good place, physically speaking, so that cross country running and skiing would go well, and I don’t doubt anymore.

So as I wrap up my essay on the things I learned at the Ely meet, I’ve come to understand that, for me at least, it isn’t so much about what I learned, as it is about what I’ve realized. I realized that I am strong, that I can push so much harder that I ever could have dreamed of doing before. I realized that I could reach beyond what I thought were my boundaries now. I now know that the visions of success that I had always dreamed about for years, of standing on a podium, of getting medals, of being in newspapers, were just a façade, that the true vision of a champion was someone who was bent over at the point of utter exhaustion when no one else was watching. I got myself into shape when no one was looking. I didn’t have a personal coach or trainer, I didn’t ask for help or publicize my journey; I simply did. I finished morning runs at 6:45, when the world was just waking up. But I had already taken another step to greatness. Maybe that greatness will never earn me a front-page place in the newspaper, maybe I’ll never get a medal, maybe I’ll never place first in a race, but guess what? The rewards I have already been reaping are a thousand time better than any medal, than any brief snapshot in fame, any place in a race. It’s my personal achievements that I celebrate, and with the confidence and drive I have, that desire and ability that I no longer doubt, I will race again, and in myself, I will win again.

And our runner up…Gates L

My First Ski Race

“3, 2, 1 Go!” Was what I heard
as I watched fabulous skiers before me,
waiting for their turn on the normal winter day

It wasn’t normal for me
racing,
competing,
on snow.

I am used to the hard warmth of the court
as I run back and forth
hitting a little yellow ball.
But not cold soft snow

I am used to tying up tennis shoes,
not buckling up my boots.
I am used to swinging my serve,
not sliding my skis.

But here it comes
the 3, 2, 1, Go
This time is for me.
I am ready.

Two Harbors Invitational
@ Mt. Itasca
Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Results can be found here

Photos can be found here

Note Change in Venue!!

Format: Classic Skiing 2 skiers starting every 30 seconds

Varsity Boys/Girls – ~5K classic, 2 laps

JV Boys/Girls – ~5K classic, 2 laps

JH Boys/Girls – ~3K classic, 2 laps

Schedule:

Bus leaves Marshall School at 7:30 AM and Returns at 6:00 pm

10:00 a.m.    Bibs available for pick-up (in timing building)

10:30 a.m.    Coaches Meeting (in timing building)

11:00 a.m.    Boys Varsity

The rest of the start times are approximate and will depend on the total number of skiers in the race.

~11:45 a.m.  Girls Varsity

~12:30 p.m. Boys JV

~1:15 p.m.   Girls JV

~2:00 p.m.   Boys JH

~2:45 p.m.   Girls JH
Awards: Will be given to the top ten skiers in each race at the end of the day when all of the results are in.

There will be concessions!

Coaches Information

Entries Due: 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 30^th

Send your entries to Steve Deschene: http://www.boreal.org/~durfee/

Cost:   $5 per skier (no cap).  Make checks out to Two Harbors High School.

Please pay the day of the race or if needed, send to:

Sara Byrns, Nordic Ski Coach

Two Harbors High School

1640 Hwy 2

Two Harbors, MN 55616

Questions:

Contact        Rachel Howard    cell: 218-464-3210     or     email: rhoward@isd381.k12.mn.us

Or            Sara Byrns:         home: 525-1404      or        email sbyrns@isd381.k12.mn.us