Nordic skiing: Cross country teams combine, take on powers Roseville, Northfield

The District 833 Nordic ski teams from East Ridge, Park and Woodbury combined for a one-day classic sprint relay against state skiing powers Roseville and Northfield on Jan. 25 at Como Park in St. Paul.

In the meet, the District 833 combo teams, boys and girls, each finished in third place. The boys scored 452 points and the girls had 453 points. Roseville (488 boys, 483.5 girls) won the meet, ahead of Northfield (455 boys, 458.5 girls).

Roseville, which won the meet, will be the heavy favorite to win the boys state title and the Raiders’ girls should be a strong contender at the state meet as well.

“It was our first time racing on natural snow all season, which must be some kind of a record,” Nordic head coach Joe Wacker said.

Although the teams were able to ski on natural snow, there was barely a sustainable base and there were a lot of grassy spots, Wacker said.

The race was a late-season tune-up prior to the Suburban East Conference championships, which take place Wednesday, Feb. 2.

“It was a fun day and very nice to have a laid-back race before the heavy-duty meets happen in the next two weeks,” Wacker said.

Individually, Woodbury’s Lars Espe and East Ridge’s Eric Jorgensen combined for the district’s top time on the boys’ side, taking fourth place overall (28 minutes, 30 seconds).

In the girls race, East Ridge’s Melanie Rabino and Hannah Strom had the district team’s top time (31:30) to earn seventh place overall.

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