Sports Roundup: Local Skiers Compete at State Nordic Meet

A pair of Bentons led the way for a number of local skiers at the state Nordic meet with a second-place finish in the boys individual competition as qualifiers from Robbinsdale Armstrong and Cooper joined those representing the Royals at Giants Ridge in Biwabik hours before the Hopkins and Armstrong boys hockey teams hit the ice for conference matchups.

Hopkins Nordic Ski: Bentons take second, third at state meet

He may have been the only Hopkins boys skier competing, but he made his appearance count as Connor Benton took second place at the state Nordic meet with a total pursuit time of 29 minutes, 14.2 seconds to edge Forest Lake's Joe Jackson by two-tenths of a second for the runner-up slot.

Benton, a senior skiing in his final high school meet, had times of 13:47 in the freestyle and 15:27.2 in the classical to come in less than nine seconds behind state champion Ben Saxton of Lakeville North.

Sophomore Sarah Benton placed third in the girls pursuit standings with a total time of 32:32.2, coming in behind only Burnsville's Sharmila Ahmed and Wayzata's Alayna Sonnesyn after posting times of 15:10 in the freestyle and 17:22.2 in the classical.

The Royals' Julia Lavanger took 15th with a total time of 34:10.7 (15:42, 18:28.7), while Siena Ellingson came in 31st in 35:24.7 (16:12, 19:12.7).

Cooper Nordic Ski: Three Hawks compete at state

A trio of Robbinsdale Cooper Nordic skiers competed at state, with Kaelyn Williams and Ellie Evans representing the Hawks girls and Zach Pierson skiing for the boys.

Pierson placed 92nd in the boys pursuit with a total time of 33:51.6, putting up results of 16:01 in the freestyle and 17:50.6 in the classical.

Williams took 63rd in the girls pursuit with a time of 36:48.9 — 15:49 in the freestyle, 20:59.9 in the classical — with Evans combining results of 16:18 and 21:46.4 for a complete pursuit result of 38:04.4.

Armstrong Nordic Ski: DeSalvo 108th at state meet

Robbinsdale Armstrong was represented by a lone skier at the state Nordic meet as Falcons junior Veronica DeSalvo took 108th in the girls pursuit with a combined time of 40:29.2, based on a 19:48 in the freestyle and 20:41.2 in the classical.

Armstrong Boys Hockey: Falcons 3, Blaine 3

Forward Ryan Enselein netted a hat trick as the Robbinsdale Armstrong boys hockey team rallied against visiting Blaine to pull out a 3-3 tie versus the Bengals at the New Hope Ice Arena.

Blaine led 2-o after the first period and 3-1 in the third frame before the second and third of Enselein's three goals on the night brought the Falcons even before a scoreless overtime session left the contest deadlocked in the final tally.

Armstrong goaltender Michael Greenberg made 32 saves on the night as his team improved to 12-11-1 overall and 8-10-1 in Northwest Suburban Conference play.

The Falcons host Champlin Park at 3 p.m. Saturday night.

Hopkins Boys Hockey: Eden Prairie 9, Royals 3

The Hopkins boys hockey team fell to 11-13 overall and 0-7 in the Lake Conference with a 9-3 loss at Eden Prairie.

Forwards Tanner Holmquist, Andrew Glover and Michael Mazzitelli scored for the Royals in the loss as the team now prepares to host Wayzata at 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon.