SUPERIOR, Wis.-Erin Hoelzel finished sixth and Brandon Neifert was seventh for the Brainerd Warriors who placed second in both the boys and girls races at the Gitchie Gumee Invite Thursday, Jan. 24 at Mont du Lac Resort.
All four of Brainerd's scoring girls finished in the top 13. Following Hoelzel were Alli Krantz (10th), Emma Hiebert (11th) and Cassidy Chaney (13th).
Finishing behind Neifert for the boys were Max Darkow (10th), Cal Madison (11th) and Trevor Hutchison (24th).
"It was cold and there was a strong wind blowing right in the skiers faces," said Brainerd head coach Jim Ruttger. "That was a factor today for sure, especially with some of the younger kids. It was cold enough that Spirit Mountain across the river was closed today and tomorrow.
"And we're right back at it tomorrow (Friday) when we go to a 20-team meet at Afton Alps. That's where our section will be in two weeks so we're excited about getting a chance to ski there before sections."
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Boys team scores: 1-Washburn 301, 2-Brainerd 284, 3-Duluth East 274, 4-Hibbing 258, 5-VAAST 240, 6-Cook County/Silver Bay 202, 7-Southwest Minneapolis 200, 8-Hermantown 194, 9-Cloquet-Esko-Carlton 175, 10-Marshall 141, inc-Minneapolis Area Ski Team
Individual winner: Thomas Heren (CEC) 1:03.33
Brainerd results: 7-Brandon Neifert 1:08.39, 10-Max Darkow 1:09.64, 11-Cal Madison 1:09.99, 24-Trevor Hutchison 1:15.33, 26-Kameron Lee 1:15.45, 28-Anthony Elsenpeter 1:15.96, 49-Gavin Hoelzel 1:27.09, 53-Parker Linn 1:30.43, 65-Sean Baumann 1:44.86, 70-Esten Hiebert 1:48.31
Girls team scores: 1-Southwest Minneapolis 278, 2-Brainerd 272, 3-Cook County/Silver Bay 237, 4-Washburn 234, 5-Duluth East 215, 6-Hibbing 196, 7-VAAST 190, 8-Hermantown 112, 9-Cloquet-Esko-Carlton 95, inc-Denfeld, Minneapolis Area Ski Team
Individual winner: Elsa Peterson (SW Mpls) 1:05.44
Brainerd results: 6-Erin Hoelzel 1:10.49, 10-Alli Krantz 1:11.10, 11-Emma Hiebert 1:11.44, 13-Cassidy Chaney 1:12.44, 18-Calia Chaney 1:14.61, 27-Anna Krieger 1:20.41, 29-Maddie Pederson 1:21.25, 33-Whitney Fink 1:23.20, 41-Madeline Sherman 1:28.31, 62-Maddie Kalenberg 1:51.12
Next: Brainerd at Afton Alps Invite 12:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25.
