With the loss of last year’s most valuable skier, Garret Shaffer (‘11), the team is prepared to feel the effects. Placing 13th at the state meet last season, Shaffer’s talent was an obvious advantage for the team as a whole. “Our team result won’t be nearly as good as last year, but we do have some good individual skiers who will be able to train together and make a push for state,” said senior captain Brian Tobelmann.

Two skiers to look for this season are  Brian Tobelmann and sophomore Andrew Egger. As two of the top skiers on the team this year, they should be able to make an appearance at the state meet as well. “Brian Tobelmann is probably our best skier this year, and he will make an impact at the meets this year,” said senior Andy Helms.

To prepare for the season, the team runs and rollerskies, and official practice commenced on Nov. 14. Without the fall of any natural snow, the team will be rollerskiing until the first snow or until it gets cold enough to make snow at the local parks.

This season, the teams to look out for are St. Louis Park, Edina, and Hopkins. These three schools in our section have long histories of sending both teams and individuals to the state race every year. “Some of the best skiers that come out of Minnesota and go on to ski D1 in college, come from these schools,” said Tobelmann.