BIWABIK - For the first time in 15 years, a Brainerd Warriors team hoisted a first-place state championship team trophy Wednesday.
The Brainerd girls captured the state title by 26 points over second-place Blake as all four Brainerd scorers landed in the top 40 individually.
Brainerd head coach Jim Ruttger had said the goal for the team was to finish in the top three. After the morning run, that's where Brainerd was. Then came run No. 2.
"We were sitting behind Blake, and Hermantown was in the lead," said Ruttger. "We knew Hermantown was only four skiers deep and if they and Blake had any issues they would be in trouble.
"We knew we had the horsepower if one of our girls fell. So we needed two things to happen and both Hermantown's and Blake's No. 1 skiers had a ski out and that put us right in contention and we capitalized on it."
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Alex Stone led the Warriors with her 13th-place 1:18.59. The sophomore veteran opened in 20th with a 38.28, but stormed back with a 10th-fastest 40.31 on the second run.
"On the first run I think I was holding back a little," said Stone. "On the second run, we were sitting in third and I wanted to make sure the team stayed in there or got better. I pushed it harder. I knew there was a tricky part to the course where the other girls had ski outs so I just wanted to ski it right."
Emily Aga finished 29th with a 1:21.30. The junior clicked off a 24th-best 38.52 on her first run. She turned in a 42.78 on her second run.
Senior Hannah Moen and freshman Grace McGuire were neck-and-neck all day and finished 34th and 35th, respectively. Moen recorded a 39th-fastest 39.99 on her first and a 31st-best 42.09 on her second. McGuire clocked a 40th-best 40.10 and a 33rd-fastest 42.18 on her attempts.
"It feels amazing," said Moen. "Once they started announcing the finishes they got to fourth place and we all got excited that our name hadn't been said because that meant we got at least top three. That's what we were gunning for the whole time.
"Then they announced the third team, Minnetonka, and we all just kind of looked at each other because we knew we were second or first. That was more than we expected. And then the Blake School also starts with a B so that was kind of suspenseful. Once we figured out we won we started crying."
Brainerd's depth was best displayed by Ashley Fitterer, who finished 42nd overall with runs of 42.67 and 40.78. Fitterer was the 15th-fastest skier among competitors representing a team. While she didn't score for Brainerd, the junior would have been the second-fastest skier on Blake's team and the third-fastest on both the Minnetonka and Mahtomedi teams, which finished third and fourth.
"When we sat down this week after sections and got to see what the lineups were for the state meet, just on paper, we felt we had the strongest team, especially in terms of depth," said Ruttger. "We knew there would be teams with great skiers, but that we would have the best fourth and fifth and sixth skiers out there. That came into play today. Grace was our fourth skier and we had her positioned as our No. 5 skier. She put together two solid runs."
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Stone admitted to being fortunate with both Hermantown and Blake's top skiers having miscues on their second runs, but that didn't steal any of the excitement from the victory.
"This is just amazing because we worked so hard this year," said Stone. "It paid off so much and you couldn't ask for anything more."
Said Moen: "We knew we would have to work hard for it, but that we were up to the challenge. This is going to be something really cool to look back on. I'll be telling this story forever."
Girls team scores: 1-Brainerd 164, 2-Blake 138, 3-Minnetonka 131, 4-Mahtomedi 130, 5-Hastings 114, 6-West Mankato 109, 7-Eden Prairie 99, 8-Hermantown 95
Individual winner: Kate Hanson (Rochester) 1:13.33
Brainerd results: 13-Alex Stone 1:18.59, 29-Emily Aga 1:21.30, 34-Hannah Moen 1:22.08, 35-Grace McGuire 1:22.28, 42-Ashley Fitterer 1:23.45, 79-Payge Fitterer 1:35.62
