BIWABIK – Both the Ely girls and boys Nordic ski teams finished in the top ten at last week’s state tournament at Giants Ridge, marking another successful season for the skiers from the end of the road.

The girls team, which struck gold in last year’s state tourney, finished in sixth place, but was in close competition throughout.

“The girls were only six points out of third place at the end,” said Ely Head Coach Paula Anderson. “The boys finished in the top half of the field in seventh place.”

It was an impressive performance considering that Ely routinely competes against much larger schools in the Nordic competition, which runs all schools through a single class.

Ryne Prigge, who led the girls team all season, took 11th place overall in the individual standings, followed closely by Emma Terwilliger who finished less than four seconds behind in the 13th spot. Both were repeat all-state award winners.

A healthy Laura Pasmick stepped up to take 48th while Evelyn Bercher came in 59th. Following them was the future for the girls team as sophomores Kalyssa Eilrich and Brooke Pasmick finished 94th and 103rd. Freshman Julia Schwinghamer finished 128th in her first state competition.

Freshman Jasper Johnston and sophomore James Schwinghamer continued to improve all season and had strong performances at state, finishing 22nd and 40th. Johnston’s finish was the best freshman time in the competition and was good enough for an all-state award. Ben Gustafson, Ethan Hasz, and Elijah Olson, all seniors, finished 55th, 85th, and 102nd skiing in their final meet. Sophmore Raif Olson was 111th and edged out classmate Nate Nettifee at 113th.

“The girls will be in a rebuilding phase but there is a lot of young talent that will work very hard this summer and is ready to fill those spots,” said Anderson. “Next year we will field a competitive boys team that will be looking for a return trip to the state meet.”

The girls will lose their top four finishers at state to graduation and will be looking for younger skiers to fill their boots. The boys will lose three seniors but their top two finishers were a ninth grader and a sophomore, which bodes well for the team’s competitiveness over the next few years.

“We had a good state meet with the usual mix of results,” said Anderson. “Overall it was a good, solid day at state and many of them will be back next year to go for it again.”

INDIVIDUAL ELY GIRLS

PLACE NAME TOTAL

11. Ryne Prigge 34:29.1

13. Emma Terwilliger 34:33.0

48. Laura Pasmick 36:55.0

59. Evelyn Bercher 37:18.6

94. Kalyssa Eilrich 38:56.4

103. Brooke Pasmick 39:19.4

128. J. Schwinghamer 41:05.8

INDIVIDUAL ELY BOYS

PLACE NAME TOTAL

22. Jasper Johnston 30:56.7

40. J. Schwinghamer 31:39.6

55. Ben Gustafson 32:07.9

85. Ethan Hasz 32:57.8

102. Elijah Olson 33:32.4

111. Raif Olson 33:54.2

113. Nate Nettifee 33:58.5

GIRLS TEAM RESULTS

1. Stillwater 414

2. Forest Lake 407

3. Robinsdale Armstrong 372

4. Duluth East 369

5. Minneapolis Southwest 368

6. Ely 366

7. St. Paul Highland Park 338

8. Wayzata 327

9. Edina 304

10. Andover 291

11. Eastview 233

12. Winona-Winona Cotter 230

13. Mora 216

14. Bemidji 206

15. Alexandria Area 175

16. Minneapolis South 94

BOYS TEAM RESULTS

1. Wayzata 384

2. Stillwater 382

3. Forest Lake 377

4. Minneapolis Southwest 366

5. St. Cloud Cathedral-Sartell 350

6. Robinsdale Armstrong 325

7. Ely 324

8. Grand Rapids 288

9. Little Falls 285

10. Mora 279

11. St. Paul Highland Park 269

12. Blaine 268

13. Prior Lake 249

14. Eden Prairie 223

15. Burnsville 204

16. Minnehaha Academy 163