The first time Maren Overgaard recalls skiing with her sister Alyda, things didn’t go so well.
“I was in eighth grade,” the senior at St. Paul Academy and Summit School said. “She was in sixth grade, so she hadn’t joined the team yet. But we were on the Birkie trail in Cable, Wisconsin, and Alyda broke my pole!
“I can still remember her just trying to keep up with me on those hills.”
It went much more smoothly Wednesday when Maren and Alyda, now a sophomore, teamed up to win the girls team sprint title at the state Nordic ski meet at Giants Ridge in Biwabik.
The duo finished in a time of 14 minutes, 20.3 seconds, outpacing the second-place team of Nora Deisz and Keira Dahlquist of Minneapolis Southwest that finished in 14:29.19.
“There were no broken poles this time,” Alyda said with a laugh. “I made sure of that. And I stayed on my feet this time, too. There were no falls.”
Maren – who has competed at the state meet since she was in seventh grade – was a defending champion in the sprint, having captured the state title with partner Inga Wing a year ago.
But she said this time was even more special, both because it marked her final high school race, and she got to complete it with her sister.
“I’ve been to state every single year, but this one definitely had a different tone to it,” Maren said. “I told myself in the lead-up this week to make sure to slow down and soak it all in.
“I knew this would be my last race, and to be able to share that with my sister was really cool.”
The siblings actually had a conversation after head coach Maxemilian Lundgren paired Alyda with her sister.
“She sat me down a couple months ago and told me she wanted to win the whole thing,” Maren said. “We were both really excited that we were going to get the chance to share this experience together.”
“I actually said it as a joke,” added Alyda, who was watching from the top of the hill when her sister and Wing won last season. “I mean I did want to win. But classic is not my favorite technique, and I wasn’t feeling very confident in my abilities. But we worked through that.”
Indeed they did … well enough to end up as state champions.
“Classic isn’t Alyda’s favorite technique, but once she was assigned to the relay, she threw herself into it every week and wound up skiing faster than I could have possibly imagined,” Lundgren said. “And Maren is just an amazing technician. I wasn’t surprised at all she was as dialed in as she was today.”
The team of Eden Prairie seniors Ani Dirks and Sydney Bond finished fourth overall in the girls race in a time of 14:44.37. St. Paul Highland Park senior Madeleine Klevay and junior Alice Rapacz finished in sixth place in a time of 15:07.21
St. Paul Central was one spot away from making the final, ending up ninth overall with a heat time of 15:42.18. Stillwater finished 10th (15:44.45), Forest Lake finished 19th (16:30.02), Roseville finished 21st (16:39.34) and Eagan finished 22nd (17:07.85).
In the boys sprint team final, the day belonged to a Stillwater duo who each felt they had something to prove.
Senior Talbot Ward competed at state in this event two years ago when he and partner Charlie Sanderson finished ninth overall, one spot away from qualifying for finals. Junior Wyatt Wolfe, meanwhile, was in the event last season. But he and partner Mo Schollett finished 13th, also missing the finals.
In fact, no Stillwater boys team had previously advanced to the sprint finals. But that changed Wednesday when Ward and Wolfe won the boys race in a time of 12:16.69.
“There’s been a smile on my face since we finished,” Ward said. “I can’t describe how good this feels.”
“It was so much fun,” Wolfe added. “I don’t even know what to say right now. Last year was a little disappointing. It didn’t go the way we were hoping it would.
“But to come back and win it all today was a huge redemption.”
That exhilaration was shared by Ponies head coach Torry Kraftson.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these guys,” he said afterward. “Since they started the sprint relay here, we’ve never had a boys team make a final. So just seeing them get there was quite thrilling in itself. But then to watch the way they skied in the finals was incredible.
“I don’t have enough words to describe it.”
The St. Paul Academy and Summit School duo of Sam Hilton and Darien Hull placed sixth in a time of 12:55.34.
Not making the final in the boys race was Como Park, which finished 11th with a heat time of 13:21.70. Mounds Park Academy was 16th (13:29.05), Mounds View was 20th (13:37.67) and Rosemount/Apple Valley/Eastview was 24th (14:55.21).
State Nordic competition continues Thursday with the girls and boys individual pursuit.
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