Flyer girls win
Warrior girls third, boys fifth
Hannah McAllister had one of her best Nordic ski meets, but it wasn't enough to top the Little Falls Flyers girls' team in Saturday's 6K meet at Northland Arboretum in Brainerd.
Back
The Section 8-1A favorite Flyers won the event with 26 points followed by Grand Rapids with 41 and the Brainerd Warriors in with 56 points.
The Brainerd boys' team placed fifth behind winner Grand Rapids and Little Falls, which placed fourth.
McAllister finished fourth with a time of 19:18.
"I started Hannah right next to some of the top girls and she stepped up and stayed with them," said Warriors coach Nicole Kellerman. "That was the toughest I've seen her ski. She's making great strides."
Brainerd's Hannah McAllister led the Warriors girls' team by finishing fourth in 19:18 in Saturday's meet at the Northland Arboretum. Brainerd Dispatch/Clint Wood » Purchase reprints of this photo.
Melissa Kempenich led the Flyers with a second-place time of 18:46. Jackie Thelen was fifth, Beth Hauer eighth and Molly Binger 11th.
Brainerd's Katherine Mueller was ninth in 20:12 and Amanda Finstad's 14th-place time of 21:09 rounded out the top 15 area skiers.
"I'm very impressed with the freshman girls' as they continue to get better," said Kellerman. "Hannah and Katherine continue to improve and I think they're going to grow as a team as the season progresses. The top five teams at this meet are all in our section. So we have a tough section. If we can sneak a little closer to Grand Rapids that would be nice. It was good to move ahead of Bemidji and Alexandria, which we haven't done for a while."
Pat Mangan's 10th-place time of 17:47 paced the Brainerd boys' team. Jimmy Dean was 20th with an 18:54.
The Flyers were led by Kyle Czech's 11th-place time of 17:50 and Philip Prosapios' 12th-place 17:55.
"Pat continues to have strong races," said Kellerman. "Jimmy Dean has improved. I have been impressed with the way he has skied so far this season. He's been very consistent. As a team we didn't finish as high as I hoped. But it could have been the day."
Brainerd's Pat Mangan (right) led Allan Banks of Mora at the start of Saturday's Nordic ski race at the Northland Arboretum. Mangan finished 10th to lead the Warriors. Brainerd Dispatch/Clint Wood » Purchase reprints of this photo.
Kellerman said the course was set up to provide skiers with a variety of terrain from fast flat parts to hills. She added the course was also fan friendly.
In the junior varsity meet Jenna Ruzich finished fourth to lead the Warrior girls to second.
Logan Hopp paced the boys' team to fourth with his 13th-place time of 15:14. Michael Montgomery was 17th in 15:28, James McLean was 22nd in 15:41 and Corbin Campbell was 29th in 17:04. It was Campbell's first career race.
It was also the first race for Megan Holmes and Anna Gessell. Holmes finished 15th and Gessell placed 28th. Erica Hiller was 14th in 18:36 and Laura Huss placed 25th in 20:04.
Boys team scores - 1-Grand Rapids 34, 2-St. Cloud Tech 46, 3-Bemidji 57, 4-Little Falls 60, 5-Brainerd 80, 6-Alexandria 84, 7-Willmar 168, 8-Buffalo 196, 9-Deer River 199, 10-Mora 200, Inc-Fergus Falls, Detroit Lakes, St. John's Prep
Individual winner - Conrad Roberts (FF) 16:25
Brainerd results - 10-Pat Mangan 17:47, 20-Jimmy Dean 18:54, 24-Tyler Vanderlinden 19:15, 26-Josh Woodard 19:28, 40-Ross Duval 20:56, 44-Peter Lindman 21:15
Little Falls results - 11-Kyle Czech 17:50, 12-Philip Prosapio 17:55, 16-Luke LeBlanc 18:31, 21-Drew Geisenhof 19:02, 32-Adam Kempenich 20:06, 36-Noah Hecht 20:22, 41-Alex Houle 21:04
Brainerd's Pat Mangan (right) led Allan Banks of Mora at the start of Saturday's Nordic ski race at the Northland Arboretum. Mangan finished 10th to lead the Warriors. Brainerd Dispatch/Clint Wood » Purchase reprints of this photo.
Girls team scores - 1-Little Falls 26, 2-Grand Rapids 41, 3-Brainerd 56, 4-Bemidji 70, 5-Alexandria 92, 6-Buffalo 108, 7-St. John's Prep 138, 8-Willmar 174, 9-Detroit Lakes 218, Inc-Fergus Falls, Deer River, St. Cloud Tech, Mora
Individual winner - Addie Byrne (Grand Rapids) 17:38
Brainerd results - 4-Hannah McAllister 19:18, 9-Katherine Mueller 20:12, 14-Amanda Finstad 21:09, 29-Elizabeth Bonau 23:27, 40-Tina Borgstrom 25:01, 45-Rachel Howard 25.31, 47-Kacie Bahr 26:29, 48-Jordyn Hulsether 26:34
Little Falls results - 2-Melissa Kempenich 18:46, 5-Jackie Thelen 19:37, 8-Beth Hauer 20:10, 11-Molly Binger 20:33, 23-Erin Larson 22:48, 24-Kayla Meyer 22:49, 27-Megan John 23:25, 33-Laura Newman 23:59
JEREMY MILLSOP may be reached at jeremy.millsop@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5856.