Congratulations to the Girls’ Nordic Ski team on their 3rd place finish at the State Meet. The Trojans were led by Lila Golomb who finished the race as the State Champion! Also competing for the Trojans: Meredith Gundale (25), Maddie Gullickson (33), Claire Britton (47), Karis McMaster (79). Erin Britton & Violet Gundale placed 5th in the Team Sprint portion of the State Meet.
For the Boys Individual Pursuit, Connor Viera finished in 12th place and Matthew Jenneke placed 22nd.
Amid a sea of spectators, Wayzata senior Lila Golomb spotted a familiar group as she approached the final turn into the Giants Ridge Stadium. It was her family, some teammates and other supportive fans who whooped it up as she was 75 meters from completing her high school Nordic Ski Racing career. Golomb knew why they were cheering. She was on the threshold of winning the Pursuit state championship but had to remain focused.
She allowed herself to smile and slyly pump her fist in a silent, triumphant salute. What Golomb didn’t do was look over her shoulder to locate her nearest competitor. That is considered a no-no in all forms of racing.
“I wasn’t about to ruin it by celebrating too early,” she said. “To come down that hill and make the final turn is one of the most inducing things I’ve ever felt. At that point, you aren’t going to settle for anything else but a win.”
Golomb didn’t falter in the final 75 meters in completing a two-race run that earned her the Girls Nordic Ski Racing Pursuit state championship. After finishing third in the 5-kilometer Freestyle earlier on Thursday, Feb. 12, she started 21 seconds behind for the definitive 5K Classical race. Not only did she eliminate that time deficit, but she posted the best run of the 5K Classical in a time of 15:53.1. Her two-race combined time was 31:38.3, more than five seconds faster than Bloomington Jefferson/Bloomington Kennedy senior Avery Rich. St. Paul Academy junior Eleanor Mody, a club skiing teammate of Golomb, was third in 31:45.5.
“You were absolutely amazing,” Mody said to Golomb as they hugged along the snow fence in the finishing area.
Like Hopkins junior Logan Drevlow in the boys race an hour earlier, Golomb overcame health issues in capturing a state title.
Two weeks ago, Golomb had a bout of what was diagnosed as pneumonia. She has had episodes of hard coughing that doctors say may have created a stress fracture in ribs. That slowed her, she said, during the 5K Freestyle, the first half of the Pursuit races.
“The skating (freestyle) is my best event,” she said. “I felt just horrible during the entire race. I was really down in the dumps after that race. My mom saw that and pumped me up. It worked and I had a different mindset.”
A pack style of skiing between Golomb, Rich and Mody allowed the trio to catch Brainerd senior Annelise Baird about midway through the 5K Classical. Baird was the fastest after the 5K Freestyle and had a 12-second headstart going into the final race. When Golomb reached the top of the hill that signals the approximate midway point of the course, she was alone. It was all downhill, literally, from there.
At the top of the hill, Golomb made a silent vow that she wouldn’t surrender the lead. Thoughts of her illness, painful ribs and the challenge to lift her arms took a backseat to what Golomb knew awaited her if she stayed on course.
“You are overcome with the feeling of ‘I can’t believe I am in this position,’” she said. “It’s so amazing. The reality of being an athlete is working through obstacles.”
Bouyed by Mody’s finish, St. Paul Academy won the team championship with 374 points. That was 14 better than runner-up Minneapolis Southwest, which had 360. Wayzata was third with 355. ~ MSHSL
Congratulations to the Girls’ Nordic Ski team on winning the Section 6 Championship! The Trojans finished with a final score of 391 points followed by Hopkins with 373 points.
Lila Golomb finished first place overall followed by her teammate, Meredith Gundale. Five Trojans finished in the top ten: Lila Golomb (1), Meredith Gundale (2), Maddie Gullickson (5), Karis McMaster (8), and Miley Clark (9).
Wayzata will compete in the State Meet February 11 and 12 at Giant’s Ridge, Biwabik.
MSHSL State Tournament information.
On the boys’ side, Seniors Connor Viera and Matthew Jenneke qualified as individuals for the State Meet.
