Prep athletes of the week: Forest Lake Nordic skier shines in biggest meet

Leo Hipp looked around at the more than 1,200 high school-age skiers at Giants Ridge Ski Area before the Mesabi East Invitational on Saturday and marveled at what he saw.

"It was pretty crazy," Hipp said. "You see all of these skiers getting warmed up and amped up for this huge meet. It was fun to be in the middle of that."

He wasn't in the middle for long. The junior won the boys' freestyle race, covering the 5K in a time of 14 minutes, 16.6 seconds. His victory spurred the No. 1-ranked Rangers to the team championship of what is considered the largest high school Nordic ski race in the country.

Hipp said the victory was an awe-inspiring achievement. "Half the people ski [classic-style] and half freestyle," he said. "If you split them up, that means I finished ahead of 650 skiers. That's pretty cool to think about."

He called winning the individual race one of the top experiences in his life. What was better?

"I think the team win was the coolest," he said. "But this is top three, for sure."

HAILEY BORK

The 6-1 senior shooting guard, who has committed to play at Seton Hall next year, became the highest-scoring girls' basketball player in Anoka history with a double-double — 14 points, 10 rebounds — in a 61-47 victory over Maple Grove. She now has 1,136 career points.

The senior showed he is completely recovered from a leg injury and appendicitis by winning the most competitive high school meet of the season, Friday's Buck Hill Invitational. Morrison's combined slalom time of 42.10 seconds included a final run in 20.96, the only run under 21 seconds in the meet.

The senior left wing had 15 points in three victories, moving up to No. 8 in Minnesota in scoring (30 goals, 54 points). She had back-to-back two-goal games in victories over Blake and Irondale and had four goals and four assists as the Red Knights thumped Cloquet 9-0.

Having just returned from skiing in the U.S. National Championships in Utah, the senior was primed for the Mesabi Invitational. She dominated the 5K freestyle race, winning in a time of 16:11.4, helping the Trojans to the team championship.

The senior captain was in a groove in leading the Saints to a pair of victories. He had two goals and two assists in a 6-2 victory over Monticello and had a hand in all 10 goals in a 10-1 rout of Cambridge-Isanti with four goals and six assists.