Last year’s champions are this year’s champions in Minnesota high school Nordic skiing.
Two sophomores, Logan Drevlow of Hopkins and Linnea Ousdigian of Mounds View, successfully defended the boys and girls Nordic pursuit state titles they won as freshman, taking dominant victories Thursday at Giants Ridge in Biwabik.
Pressure was different this time around, but not everything had changed. It was Ousdigian’s third time competing in the state meet, and she found this year’s victory just as special as her first, she said. She was especially excited about the course that was used.
“I was excited for it to be on this course because there are more hills and one big lap instead of multiple laps,” Ousdigian said.
Drevlow said the course was an advantage for him. His coach, Brett Schulze, understands why.
“He loves challenges,” Schulze said. “He embraces challenges. He embraces hills. It works for him because he trains hard for the terrain.”
Drevlow turned that advantage into a lead of 40 seconds after the first race. He had extended the lead to nearly 50 seconds when he crossed the finish line for a total time of 27:59.3.
“It was my goal to get [a] 25 to 30-second [lead],” Drevlow said. “So, 40 seconds was like, ‘Whoa.’ I was really proud of that. And it’s nice to have a buffer going into the second race if I break a pole or something, I should have enough of a gap to get another pole from a coach or if something bad happens.”
