Alpine ski: Warriors' Hiebert places 27th at state

Alpine skiing

Warrior boys' highlight: Cal Madison finishes 49th, Brandon Neifert 76th at state

Warrior girls' highlight: Emma Hiebert 27th, Erin Hoelzel 41st, Maddie Kalenberg 58th

BIWABIK-The Brainerd Warrior boys and girls skiers all considered Wednesday's state meet, Feb. 13, at Giants Ridge to be a valuable learning experience that will benefit all five qualifiers in the future.

"We can build on our experience today," said Warrior head coach Jim Ruttger. "We did well and I'm proud of all of our skiers. We've seen a lot of improvement this year, and we hope to be back (at state) next year. I'm also hoping we will be going to state with our teams next year since our boys and girls both missed qualifying by one spot (finishing third in Section 5-1A)."

State individual finishes for the Brainerd girls included: junior Emma Hiebert, 27th overall in 1:18.51; sophomore Erin Hoelzel, 41st in 1:21.23; and junior Maddie Kalenberg, 58th in 1:23.40. Junior Cal Madison was 49th in 1:21.10 for the Warrior boys while sophomore teammate Brandon Neifert was 76th in 1:40.98 despite falling on the second run.

Ruttger said all three Warrior girls "may have been a little intimidated" as first-time individual state qualifiers.

"They did well, and all finished a little better than we expected," he said. "The technical improvements we've seen in Emma (Hiebert) this year have been impressive. She's worked hard on staying balanced on the course."

Hiebert was pleased to finish 27th after being seeded 51st.

"Overall, I think I did better than expected," she said. "I talked with my coaches before the meet, and they had faith in me. I used their encouragement and did well."

Hoelzel was pleased with her first state effort.

"I think I did well," said Hoelzel, who was seeded 67th. "I left a little time on both runs, but I feel pretty good. Now that I know what it's like, I hope to go back to state next year."

Ruttger said Kalenberg skied "more aggressive" at state.

"We've been pushing her to attack the course more and not ski so defensively," he said. "And she did that today, especially on her second run."

Kalenberg agreed.

"I wasn't happy with my first run, but my second run was much better," said Kalenberg, who was an alternate on the Warriors' state championship team in 2015. "I was more aggressive today. I also felt a lot less pressure compared to the section meet."

Neifert had an admirable first run and was sitting 13th overall, but a fall in the final one-third of the second run cost him valuable time.

"Brandon did awesome on his first run," Ruttger said of Neifert, who qualified for state last year, but didn't compete because of an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered just days before the meet. "On the second run, he skied the most difficult part of the course with no problems, but then he fell (adding about 40 seconds to his time)."

Neifert was seeded 19th for the meet.

"I felt good about my first run, and then I went for it on my second run since I didn't have the pressure of scoring points for my team," he said. "I wasn't ready for the pitch (steep part of the course) and I fell. I should have been more conservative."

Madison was returning to state after qualifying two years ago as a freshman.

"I think I finished about the same as I did two years ago," he said. "I'm happy with how I did today. My first run was pretty solid."

Ruttger added that weather conditions were ideal for skiing.

"I can't remember a nicer day for a state meet," he said. "The sun was shining, and we weren't fighting the typical wind and cold conditions. We did have a lot of snow, with 4 or 5 inches falling (Tuesday) on training day. The first few seeds did have better snow conditions, but then the softer layer of the course started to get chewed up."

Boys team scores: 1-Edina 157, 2-Washburn 150, 3-Minnetonka 149, 4-Lakeville South 141, 5-Stillwater 132, 6-St. Thomas Academy 102, 7-Duluth East 85, 8-St. Cloud Breakaways 71

Individual winner: 1-Kaarl Damberg (Mound) 1:11.72

Brainerd results: 49-Cal Madison 1:21.10, 76-Brandon Neifert 1:40.98

Girls team scores: 1-Lakeville South 153, 2-Orono 152, 3-Minneapolis Southwest 130, 4-Minnetonka 130, 5-St. Paul Academy 120, 6-Mankato West 112, 7-Stillwater 97, 8-CC/SB 96

Individual winner: 1-Peyton Servais (Lakeville North) 1:11.18

Brainerd results: 27-Emma Hiebert 1:18.51, 41-Erin Hoelzel 1:21.23, 58-Maddie Kalenberg 1:23.40

1/4: Erin Hoelzel skis in the Wednesday, Feb. 13, Alpine ski state meet at Giants Ridge in Biwabik. Bill Johnson, Picture Day Pro!

2/4: Emma Hiebert skis to a top finish for the Warrior girls skiers at state Wednesday, Feb. 13, at Giants Ridge in Biwabik. Bill Johnson, Picture Day Pro!

3/4: Maddie Kalenberg skis downhill in the state meet, Wednesday, Feb. 13, at Giants Ridge in Biwabik. Bill Johnson, Picture Day Pro!

4/4: Brandon Neifert skis during the Alpine state meet Wednesday, Feb. 13, at Giants Ridge in Biwabik. Neifert finished 76th at state. Bill Johnson, Picture Day Pro!