ISABELLE IWEN
Bloomington Jefferson, Alpine skiing
The biggest Alpine skiing meet of the season, the Buck Hill Invitational, took place Friday and the conditions were terrible.
The course, wet and sloppy, became more icy and rutted as the meet progressed.
That's why Iwen was thrilled when she drew the first position in the race, meaning she would be the first skier on the course, able to cut her own line down the hill.
The position paid off as she won the girls' individual championship. She was the only girl to finish in under 24 seconds on both of her runs en route to a combined time of 46.74, more than a half-second ahead of runner-up Juliana Damberg of Mounds View.
"It was definitely the luck of the draw with where I skied today," Iwen said. "Some of my teammates looked like they were going through a luge [run], it was so grooved."
As one of the few prep Alpine skiers who does not also compete in USSA meets during the winter, Iwen went into the meet with high hopes but low expectations. Bad weather or not, she was thrilled with the result.
"Considering how many people I was skiing against, this is a pretty big deal," she said. "I was hoping for a good finish but it came out much better than I expected."
QUADE ZUPKO
Chisago Lakes, wrestling
The 138-pound senior became the winningest wrestler in school history when he pinned John Lewis of Totino-Grace on Thursday. He followed with three victories in Saturday's Pine City Invite, improving his career record to 174-45.
