St. Paul Central's William Poppleton entered the final lap of the boys Nordic skiing team sprint relay at the high school state championships Wednesday five seconds behind Orono's Johnny DiPrima.

Poppleton caught him before heading up a hill. As he hit the final stretch, Poppleton had to hold off Ely's Eli Olson. He did, by just .22 of a second, and that made St. Paul Central's pair a state champion at Giants Ridge near Biwabik.

St. Paul Central finished with a combined time of 14 minutes, 40.32 seconds.

The girls' race was far less dramatic. St. Paul Academy led after all four laps and won with a time of 16:16.23.

Poppleton, who raced the second and fourth laps and left the first and third to teammate Edward Brandt, said he was aware of his pursuers in the boys race.

"I wasn't too worried about Orono. I just wanted to keep Ely off my heels," he said. "I was thinking, 'I could win this thing.' I pushed my hardest and caught him. I let [Olson] pass me. I drafted off him down the hill. Then I slingshot-passed him to the finish line, which was real fun.

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Gallery: Nordic ski sprint boys and girls state tournament team finals.

"[Coach Robb Lageson] was yelling at me at the top of hill, 'Don't go down the hill first.' I was thinking, 'OK, I'll let [him] pass me so I can slingshot.' "

St. Paul Central had finished behind Ely in their heat and had the fourth-best qualifying time overall. It was not part of a strategy to conserve energy for the finals.

"I felt horrible the first race," Poppleton said. "I felt really sick. At the finish line, I thought I was going to throw up. I don't know what happened the second race. I just decided to go out and win.

"It's a great feeling. It's my last ever high school race. So I was like, 'Might as well go out with a bang.' "

Olson posted the best individual lap of any skier in the final lap, his time of 3:06.9 securing second place for Ely with a combined time of 13:40.54. His teammate was Oliver Hohens.

Orono/Delano had the best time in the preliminary heats and led by nearly five seconds after the third lap of the final, but Poppleton and Olson's fast final lap dropped Orono/Delano to third place with a time of 13:58.08.

Orono/Delano had the best time in the preliminary heats and led by nearly five seconds after the third lap, before Poppleton and Olson's fast final lap dropped Orono/Delano to third place. DiPrima and teammate Walter Holmes had a combined time of 13:58.08.

In the girls final, Maren Overgaard got St. Paul Academy off to good start by taking a 4.2-second lead on the first lap. SPA extended the lead over the next two laps before Inga Wing coasted across the finish line.

Proctor/Hermantown, featuring Campbell Amun and Nene Sclisizzo, passed St. Paul Highland Park on the final lap to claim second place with a time of 16:44.59. St. Paul Highland Park, with skiers Addie Corbett and Ingrid Haaland, came in third in 16:51.06.