Forest Lake-Stillwater rivalry has a kick

Simply mentioning the Forest Lake-Stillwater Nordic rivalry stirs memories for Rangers coach Deno Johnson, who immediately recalled the 2003 sectional doozy.

"That's the first light bulb that went off in my head," Johnson said.

After the morning and afternoon races, the top four times for each team matched down to the second. A triple-tiebreaker, in which scoring dived into the secondary skiers, gave the edge to Stillwater.

Forest Lake was left with a bunch of individuals who qualified for the state meet, but their efforts wouldn't count toward a team score.

"And the way our kids were peaking, we just blew them out of the water," Johnson said. "But we didn't get credit for it because we didn't make it as a team."

That competitiveness hasn't changed. Both boys' teams and the Rangers girls are near the top five in rankings, while the Pony girls sit at third overall, according to SkinnySki.

With conference rival and fellow state power Roseville in a new section, Forest Lake and Stillwater both earned state berths Wednesday at the Section 4 meet at Trollhaugen.

Both Nordic-heavy high schools have built a storied rivalry and lots of success. But despite similar results, they are widely different programs.

"We have a lot of respect for each other," Stillwater girls' coach Kris Hansen said. "Two very different but very high-quality Nordic programs."

Forest Lake averages about 20 skiers every year. Stillwater boasts a whopping 140 this winter, with a horde of help to manage the crew.

"We've got about 20 very active community volunteers that work with our team. It's the biggest blessing that we have," Hansen said. "On a Saturday morning, we'll have 20 adults that come out and can work with a group of five or 10 skiers. Some are alumni but others are just Nordic ski enthusiasts, people who really want to see the sport grow."

The Ponies' program dates to the 1960s when it was jump-started by Bill Simpson, who remains a key member of the coaching staff. The boys have won six state titles dating to the 1977 season. The girls' team has nine state titles, including six in a row from 1982-1987.

The key to their success? Continuity, for one. Hansen is a former Ponies standout and two-time individual state champion. She helped her team to four of those six consecutive titles in the 1980s.

Adding intrigue and camaraderie, Ponies boys' coach Torry Kraftson competed against Johnson in high school, with Kraftson at Hastings and Johnson at North St. Paul.

Forest Lake's program began in 1992-1993 but has found unprecedented success in the new millennium.

"I guess we're more of the new kids on the block," Johnson said.

The Rangers boys have captured four state titles in the past seven years. The girls were last year's Suburban East Conference champions and consistently send individuals at the year-end state meet.