Nordic skiing: Area teams hit slopes for MLK Day conference race

The East Ridge, Park and Woodbury Nordic ski teams competed in the Suburban East Conference Martin Luther King, Jr. Day races on Monday, Jan. 17, at Battle Creek Regional Park in St. Paul.

Out of nine teams, the East Ridge boys took seventh place with 289 points, Woodbury was finished in eighth place with 247 points and Park was ninth with an incomplete score.

In the girls nine-team race, Woodbury finished in seventh place with 232 points, East Ridge was eighth with 206 points and Park took ninth place with 194 points. Roseville won the boys and girls races with 468 and 474 points, respectively.

East Ridge’s Tom Dritina led the way for the Raptors, taking ninth place overall with a time of 34:58 in the pursuit-style race. Erik Jorgensen had the Raptors’ second-best finish, taking 27th place overall and was followed by Woodbury’s top-finisher, Lars Espe, who took 32nd place and the Raptors’ Mike Pakkala, who crossed the finish line in 37th place.

Forest Lake’s Joe Jackson won the meet with a 31:53 time.

For the girls, East Ridge’s Melanie Rabino led the way with a time of 44:30 to take 29th place overall, just ahead of teammate Hannah Strom, who had a time of 44:53, and came in 30th place.

Park’s Anne Lisson and Thea Ostby took 34th and 35th places, respectively, to lead the Wolfpack, while Erika Storvick had the top finish for Woodbury, taking 37th place overall — just ahead of East Ridge’s Emily Mueller, who earned 38th overall.

Zoe Reker won the meet with a time of 36:29.

The teams’ Suburban East Conference meet, set for Thursday, Jan. 20, was cancelled, as was the teams’ invitational at Les Bolstad Golf Course on Wednesday, Jan. 26.

Next, the teams will compete in the SEC Championships on Wednesday, Feb. 2, at Battle Creek Regional Park.

Tags: nordic skiing, east ridge, sports, park, woodbury, royals, raptors, wolfpack, preps, updates