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  • Mankato West junior Collin Cassem is one of two local skiers who have qualified for the State Alpine Ski Meet in Biwabik on Wednesday. Cassem finished second in the Section 6 Meet last week with a time of 45.29 seconds. Pat Christman

    Cassem ski meet

  • Mankato East senior Cameron Clause is hoping for a better showing at state this year after finishing 42nd in last year's meet.

    Clause ski mug

February 8, 2010

Clause, Cassem prepare for state alpine ski meet

By Jim Rueda Free Press Sports Editor

MANKATO — A proven commodity and a relative unknown will represent Mankato in the State Alpine Boys Ski Meet Wednesday at Giants Ridge in Biwabik.

The proven commodity is Mankato East senior Cameron Clause. He’s been a top-notch skier for the Cougars for a few years and is a returning state meet entrant.

The unknown is Mankato West junior Collin Cassem. After a solid sophomore season, Cassem came on strong this winter to earn his first state tournament berth.

Clause’s main goal Wednesday is to simply improve on last year’s showing. In the 2009 meet, he slipped during one of his runs and had to settle for a 42nd-place time of 1:37.12.

“I definitely want to do better than last year,” Clause said before a practice session on Friday. “I didn’t fall last year but I slid a little bit and that cost me some time. I just want to stay on my skis and get two clean runs.”

Head coach Jon Andersen thinks Clause may be selling himself a little short. Andersen doesn’t see any reason why the East senior can’t earn All-State honors.

“He’s experienced and he’s a good skier,” Andersen said. “I think top 10 is a realistic goal for Cameron.”

West’s Cassem doesn’t have the experience Clause does, but he’s been posting strong times all season and finishing first in a lot of races. The junior credits a December camp for his improvement.

“I went to a camp at Buck Hill (in Burnsville) from Dec. 26-31 and, when I got done, I was a lot faster,” Cassem said. “That really helped me improve my speed. I picked up some technique and balance things that made me faster.”

Cassem is eyeing a top 10 finish Wednesday but, again, Andersen thinks the upstart skier may be short-changing himself.

“He’s really developed into one of the fastest kids in the state,” Andersen said. “If he skis well I think he has a shot to win it.

“He’s probably grown about an inch since last year, but his body has filled out. He’s a stronger kid now and that’s helped him get faster.”

Cassem’s main competition at Biwabik is likely to come from St. Thomas Academy’s Dylan Thomas, Bloomington Jefferson’s Andrew Bjorklund, Holy Angels’ Austin Guyette, St. Paul Academy’s Ross Baker and Brett Bremer of Hopkins.

Thomas finished second in last year’s state meet with a time of 1:10.33 for his two runs. Bjorklund was third (1:12.28), Guyette was fifth (1:13.69), Baker was sixth (1:14.13) and Bremer was ninth (1:15.99).

 This year’s competition gets underway with the first run at 9 a.m. and continues with the second run at noon.  Results will be posted on the Minnesota State High School League Web site at www.mshsl.org.

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