The Arctic Winter Games, a bi-annual winter sports competition for young athletes from Arctic regions, featured four days of cross-country ski racing in Grand Prairie, Alberta.  The Games officially conclude on the 14th, but all cross-country competitions have been completed.

Complete ski results from the Games can be found at www.zone4.ca.   Many athletes from Alaska competed against Canadaian provinces and Greenland, among others.

The event website can be found here.

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With two races down at the 2010 Junior National Championship in Presque Isle, ME, New England has come out strong.  With a total of 946 points the New England team is clearly the team to beat.  The Alaskan team showed strength in the FOJ class during the sprints and in both boys and girls J1 classes during the classic distance race.  They lurk in second with a total of 584 points, while the Intermountain Division is holding on to third with 385 points.

Complete Alaska Cup Points.

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I am not sure how we did it but we had another amazing day. All the way down the line the team seems to be skiing well above anybodies expectations. We won two races with back-to-back champs Corey Stock and Katlyn Miller leading that charge. The performances of the day had to be Sam Tarling and David Sinclair taking seconds, by mere seconds to respective Alaska standouts David Norris and Scott Paterson in the OJ and J1 boy’s races. After that we had a bunch podiums and top ten’s. Typically on the distance day we hold our ground or even lose some points to the other strong regions. This year we won the day and actually increased out lead in Alaska Cup.  Justin Beckwith was putting the skis out the door pretty much dialed from a kick perspective, which definitely helped keep things running smooth. The touch up guys were getting bored up in the stadium.

The big topic the night before was reframing the kids minds for the sudden change from a Mass start to an Interval Start. Our team was totally psyched for the head to head match ups. They have been skiing that course for several years now and were ready. As a team Mass starts, sprints and relays are generally New England’s strengths, but they bucked that trend in a big way on Wed. The coaching staff took it as an opportunity to teach them and ourselves how to deal with changes. In the future we will all face some sort of delays, course changes etc. The JO Race Crew deserves a big hand as well. They did an amazing job with the changes and we ended up with a great day of racing in perfect conditions.

In regards to the format change, it just seemed like the system failed in this case. Not the system of safety, nobody wants to see injuries. That system worked very well. What appeared to fail was the multi year system to get the courses approved. How come any course issues were not addressed during the approval process is anybody’s best guess. We have seen how hard the MWSC and Nordic Heritage Center crews can work. Given the time in the off-season I am sure they would have taken some machines down there and completely restructured any questionable sections. Or this week spent a few hours with a chainsaw and moving some snow around. Again safety has to be the primary concern, but the trend looks to be more and more fitness based courses, which require less skiing skill.

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Wow, what else can you say after a day like that? I don’t have records but what our New England skiers did in sprints have to be or really close to a single day record. 13 out of 18 medals, 5 national champs and sweeping 3 age groups. You don’t see to many days like that when everything clicks. Everything from the waxing, the shuttling of skis and athletes, touch ups, good tactics, and of course good luck. A few examples: They used the lucky loser rule to get two more New England skiers into semi’s, and one skier broke two different poles in the A finals and still got 2nd. Our team was just on and just got faster throughout the day. You can see that when you look at the prelims, versus the heats.

The waxing was spot on all day as well. I saw times when the other teams had a little too much or were a little slippy. I am not sure how the wax guys did it and I don’t know what they were exactly on. I saw 5 or 6 klisters they were going back and forth with. There were a few different structure tools out as well. With the weather going from cool to warm, back to cool there was plenty of tweaking going on. Glide Wax Coach and Presque Isle local Will Sweetser said it best when asked about our wax. “It really helps to have really good skiers skiing on it”

Despite all the excitement of having a great day we told the team not to let their “guard” down and be extra diligent about their recovery. Skiing all those heats and staying up at the venue all day can be tough on the athletes. We need to make sure they are ready for the distances races later in the week. Going forward we are confident but realize anything can happen and there are plenty of other skiers here ready to perform and fight for top finishes.

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By: Shane MacDowell

Today was the first day of competition at the 2010 Junior Olympics in Presque Isle, Maine. The day’s conditions started out hard and fast with the J2’s, but as the day wore on the conditions quickly began to deteriorate from the raising temperatures as the older age groups got underway. By the time the heats began, the hills had been reduced to mush in most areas making kicking a chore for the majority of the athletes.

Every heat was intense and exciting for all of the spectators lining the trails and finish area. One of the most competitive heats was the OJ Boys A-Final that ended up leaving some serious carnage in its wake. The pack was tight and aggressive which brought three broken poles and one broken ski on the first long climb.

As the men’s heats finished the temperatures began to drop for the J1/OJ women, hardening the once wet tracks into hard packed ice. The previously soft down hills were then covered in hard rutted tracks making descents faster and more difficult to maneuver. This also made the racing more interesting to watch as the girls worked hard all over the course to try to gain an advantage anywhere they could.

With the first day of competition completed New England looks to be the team to beat, having swept three podiums and winning five of six national titles. The 2010 Junior National Sprint winners for today were;

J2 Girl: Corey Stock, New England

J2 Boys: Cole Morgan, Intermountain

J1 Girls: Isabel Caldwell, New England

J1 Boys: David Sinclair, New England

OJ Girls: Kaitlynn Miller, New England

OJ Boys: Alex Schulz, New England

Complete Results.

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With the 2010 Junior Nationals set to kick off Monday, Andy Newell made a welcome video starring the U.S. Ski Team and some international guests. Check it out below. For live results from the sprint races (and links to start lists), visit this link.

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Tyson Flaharty (FAST) made it two for two with a victory at the wire, and the Alaska Nanooks Aurelia Korthauer led from wire to wire to win in the final race of the Besh Cup series at Birch Hill. Following the race, Cross Country Alaska announced the teams selected for the 2010 Junior Olympics in Presque Isle, Maine and the 2010 Arctic Winter Games in Grande Prairie, Alberta.

The weather on Sunday was a bit cooler than on Saturday — in the single digits above zero, rather than in the high teens to mid-20’s. However, the temperatures were perfect for rock-hard tracks and bomb-proof kick, a critical need if skiers wanted to get a good result on the very challenging courses which included some steep hills which tested the best skiers ability to run straight up and avoid herringboning.

The combination of the great conditions, challenging and well-prepared courses, and excellent race organization drew rave reviews from the competitors and the visiting coaches and parents. Hats off to the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks race crew for another great production. It wouldn’t happen without the great, knowledgeable, skilled, experienced and energetic volunteers.

In the women’s 10Km, Aurelia Korthauer celebrated her birthday by taking the lead from the gun. For the first couple of kilometers her teammate Teresia ”Te-Te” Schnurr and ANR’s Kinsey Loan kept pace, but by the time the skiers returned to the stadium at the end of the first lap, just before the 4Km mark, Korthauer had a huge lead that would only grow for the rest of the race. Both Schnurr and Loan would pay for their attempt to stay with Korthauer, as they faded to eighth and twelfth, respectively.

Meanwhile, many of the out-of-town Junior 1 and Older Junior high schoolers went out overly ambitiously, and were reeled in and then dropped by the UAF skiers who train regularly on the Birch Hill trails, as well as by local skier Hannah Boyer (FXC/WVHS). Pacing was crucial, and skiers who waited until finishing the climb out of the Black Funk loop to put down the hammer did well. Anna Coulter, who was just back of the three leaders early was the runner-up, Boyer moved up to third, Alaska Nanook Elisabeth Angeles ended sixth, and UAF redshirt skiers Heather Edic and Rebecca Konieczny placed ninth and tenth, just behind Schnurr, giving UAF six of the first 10 positions. Korthauer’s winning margin was 1:48.

The men’s 10Km followed a very different pattern, with a lead pack forming early, and the outcome of the battler for first in doubt until the final meters. Initially FAST’s Tyson Flaharty, David Norris and Logan Hanneman joined up with APU coach Dylan Watts to form the lead pack, with ALaska Nanook Tyler Kornfield close behind. However, by the time they had finished climbing out of the Black Funk and ascending the Ramp, it was a duel between Flaharty and Watts, who traded the lead for much of the rest of the race. Norris, just back from Junior World Championships in Hinterzarten, Germany, was relatively comfortable in third, but Nick Treinen (AWS), who hitched a ride with Norris on Saturday, reeled in Logan Hanneman to make a very tight race for fifth place.
Meanwhile, Kornfield, who had great success on these trails at the 2009 ASAA State High School Championships, looked like he was showing the effects of racing and traveling the the Junior World Championships, was slowly fading backward, and finished eighth.

Flaharty and Watts came down the finish lane side-by-side and Flaharty had the extra gas at the end, taking a close, but clear victory. Norris was third, and Hanneman, after getting caught by Treinen, was able to pull away at the end and snag fourth.

The other notable local result was by Pat Nugent (FXC/LHS)who needed a good result to make the JO team. Nugent appeared to be struggling at times, but worked his way up to a position that would assure him a spot on the team, and put on a hard sprint at the finish to hold his finish rank.

In the J2 Boys’ 5Km race, Lathrop HS’ Kyle Hanson cemented his position on the JO team with a third-place finish, one of his best results of the season. John Glen and Austin Hess (both AWS) placed 1-2. Among local skiers, Erich Hoefler (FAST) and Riley Troyer (WVHS) placed 5-6, and Kuba Grzeda was 10th.

Anchorage area skiers dominated the J2 Girls’ 5Km, with Marion Woods (AWS), Celia Haering and Mackenzie Flynn (both APU) taking the podium positions. Mikayla Hamlin (FXC) was the top Fairbanks skier in 10th.

Other class winners were:
J3’s – Lydia Blanchet and Jacob Bassett (APUNSC)
J4’s – Jenna DiFolco (JNC/NSCF) and Tracen Knopp (ANR)
J5’s – Amber Hajdukovich (JNC/NSCF) and Gus Schumacher (AWS)
J6’s – Halene Johnson (Weller) and Rudy Schumacher (AWS)

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The Alaska Nanooks’ Julia Pierson and Team FAST’s Tyson Flaharty were the winners in Saturday’s Besh Cup racing on the Jim Whisenhant Ski Trails at Birch Hill Recreation Area.

Saturday’s event was an interval start (15-second intervals) event in free technique. Sunday’s race will be a mass start event in classic technique, beginning at 11:00AM. Sunday’s race is also the final event in the 6-race qualifying series that determines who will qualify for the Alaska teams to the 2010 Junior Olympics in Presque Isle, ME, and the 2010 Arctic Winter Games in Grande Prairie, Alberta.

When the decision was made Wednesday night to hold the races as scheduled this weekend, the temperatures were very cold, but the forecast was positive. The weather changed as predicted, and even earlier than scheduled, so that temperatures at the start were in the mid-teens, and the mercury even touched +20F before the racing was concluded for the day.

The course used was the tradiitonal “Three Hills” course, using the Blue Loop, the East Ramp/Tower Direct climb, and the White Bear/White Bear Access ascent back to the stadium. This is the same course that will be used for the ASAA state high school championship girls 5Km interval start event at the end of this month.

Pierson beat her red-shirt teammate, Raphaela Sieber by only 0.3 seconds over the 5Km distance to take top honors. Next behind Sieber was Celia Haering, a J2 from Alaska Pacific University NSC (APU) at 15:02.4. Fairbanks Cross Country (FXC)/West Valley HS teammates Marisa Rorabaugh (1st OJ) and Hannah Boyer (1st J1) were fourth and fifth in 15:10.1 and 15:12.9, respectively.

Behind Haering in the J2 class were Stephanie Kirk of Alaska Nordic Racing (ANR), Marion Woods of Alaska Winter Stars (AWS), Maranda Merkes of Soldotna HS, And Eliza Rorabaugh (FXC/WVHS). Jessie Yeaton (OJ), Kryston McPhetres (J1/ANR) and Mackenzie Kanady (J1/AWS) rounded out the top five for J1/OJ girls.

The USSA points penalty for the women’s 5Km was 116.65.

The J1-OJ-SR-MA men did two laps of the women’s 5Km course. Tyson Flaharty of the Fairbanks Alaska Ski Team (FAST) was 21.9 seconds faster than APU coach Dylan Watts (25:55.8 to 26:17.7). FAST’s David Norris was third and was first in the J1/OJ rankings, Alaska Nanook John Parry of Whitehorse was fourth, and Nick Treinen (AWS) was 2nd OJ and 2nd in the J1/OJ rankings.

Three J1 skiers, Logan Hanneman (FAST), Forest Mahlen and Jack Novak (both APU), rounded out the top 5 in the J1/OJ group.

The USSA points penalty for the men’s 5Km was 60.78. The minimum penalty for regional NRL events for men is 55 points, so this was a very good opportunity for skiers to earn some excellent points with a fast race.

In the J2 boys 5Km, AWS took 1-2 with Austin Hess (14:08.0) and John Glen (14:20.2). Lathrop HS’ Kyle Hanson had an excellent race, placing third in 14:23.7. Douglas Watts (West Anchorage HS) and Jake Prince (AWS) were fourth and 5th.

Local skiers Kuba Grzeda (FAST/WVHS) and Riley Troyer (WVHS) helped their qualifying rankings by placing 6-7, and Eric Hoefler (FAST) was 9th. Eight J2 boys (and eight girls) will go to the Junior Olympics and four J2 boys (and 4 J2 girls) will go to the Arctic Winter Games.

APU’s Jacob Bassett and Tanner Ramey and FXC’s Max Donaldson filled the J3 podium, and Tracen Knopp (ANR), FXC’s Benjamin Koenig and Louis Bassett (APU) were on the steps for J4’s.

Lydia Blanchet (APU), Sarissa Lammers (ANR) and Taryn Hunt-Smith (APU) placed 1-2-3 in the J3 Girls class and Amber Lenze, Jenna DiFolco and Maya Yoshikawa (all Fairbanks Junior Nordic Competition Group/JNC) were on the J4 podium.

Among the littlest skiers, the J5 winners were Gus Schumacher and Amber Hajdukovich, and the J6 winners were Rudy Schumacher and Halene Johnson.

NOTE: Photos Courtesy of Bert Boyer

J2-J1-OJ-SR-MA Women 5Km
1. Julia Pierson, UAF,14:41.0
2. Raphaela Sieber 14:41.3
3. Celia Haering, APUNSC,15:02.4
4. Marisa Rorabaugh, FXC,15:10.1
5. Hannah Boyer, FXC,15:12.9
6. Jessie Yeaton 15:18.8
7. Kryston Mcphetres, ANR,15:24.0
8. Mackenzie Kanady, AWS,15:40.7
9. Tristan Ramey, AWS,15:43.2
10. Davya Flaharty, NSCF,15:51.4
11. Heather Edic 15:52.4
12. Emily Rogers, AWS,15:55.1
13. Rebecca Konieczny 16:03.0
14. Allison Ross, AWS,16:03.6
15. Stephanie Kirk, ANR,16:06.0
16. Greta Anderson, APUNSC,16:11.1
17. Marion Woods, AWS,16:11.3
18. Morgan Bender, ANR,16:15.5
19. Anna Price, AWS,16:19.2
20. Bree Mucha, ANR,16:20.0
21. Rebecca Mamrol, AWS,16:20.3
22. Kimberly Del Frate, ANR,16:20.4
23. Jasmine Clock, ANR,16:21.6
24. Megan Baker, AWS,16:27.8
25. Maranda Merkes, Soldotna HS,16:35.8
26. Brittany Hippe 16:44.2
27. Sarah Cresap, APUNSC,16:44.5
28. Eliza Rorabaugh, FXC,16:48.2
29. Amelia Hennessy, APUNSC,16:48.7
30. Mykaela Mcmullen, AWS,16:51.2
31. Becky Butler, AWS,16:52.6
32. Teagan Yutrzenka, AWS,17:05.2
33. Mackenzie Flynn, APUNSC,17:06.4
34. Deanne Martin, Soldotna HS,17:13.8
35. Elizabeth Whisenhant, FXC,17:13.9
36. Amanda Del Frate, ANR,17:14.7
37. Megan Edic, FXC,17:15.1
38. Bonnie Scott, ANR,17:22.9
39. Mikayla Hamlin, FXC,17:26.6
40. Tsaina Mahlen, APUNSC,17:30.5
41. Erica Barnhart, APUNSC,17:31.3
42. Ema Mayo, FAST,17:34.0
43. Alexandra Okeson, APUNSC,17:36.5
44. Christi Schmitz, North Pole, AK,17:39.6
45. Heidi Rader 17:44.6
46. Sheryl Loan, ANR,17:48.3
47. Jacqueline Klecka, ANR,18:00.6
48. Crystal Pitney 18:20.5
49. Kelly Schmitz, North Pole, AK,18:32.0
50. Kimberly Fitzgerald, Lathrop HS,18:40.1
51. Helen Sudkamp-walker, FXC,18:48.1
52. Claire Ferree, FXC,18:53.8
53. Shannon Wyatt 19:11.3
54. Jeanette Klecka, ANR,19:30.9
55. Madeline Button, FXC,19:52.1
56. Sarah Lilly, West Valley HS,19:58.2
57. Kristan Kelly 21:57.0
Junior 2 Boys 5Km
1. Austin Hess, AWS,14:08.0
2. John Glen, AWS,14:20.2
3. Kyle Hanson, Lathrop HS,14:23.7
4. Douglas Watts, West HS,14:29.0
5. Jake Prince, AWS,14:31.4
6. Jan (kuba) Grzeda, FAST,14:37.5
7. Riley Troyer, West Valley HS,14:37.6
8. Schyler Knopp, ANR,14:43.4
9. Erich Hoefler, FAST,14:43.7
10. Eric Backstrum, AWS,14:44.5
11. Alex Loan, ANR,14:52.4
12. David Mcphetres, ANR,15:05.3
13. Jack Parke, APUNSC,15:20.2
14. Lucas Michael, ANR,15:24.4
15. Auberin Strickland, Palmer HS,15:28.5
16. Hugh Cosgrave, AWS,15:31.6
17. Brandon Kowalski, FXC,15:57.0
18. Bobby Signor, Fairbanks Jr. Nordic,16:29.2
19. Josiah Martin, Soldotna HS,16:42.2

J1-OJ-SR-MA Men 10Km
1. Tyson Flaharty, FAST,25:55.8
2. Dylan Watts, APUNSC,26:17.7
3. David Norris, FAST/NTG/FISCHER,26:30.0
4. John Parry, UAF,26:38.4
5. Nick Treinen, AWS,26:45.9
6. Logan Hanneman, FAST,26:47.6
7. Forrest Mahlen, APUNSC,26:55.9
8. Jack Novak, APUNSC,27:02.3
9. Henri Soom, University of Alaska Fairbanks,27:04.6
10. Silas Talbot, AWS,27:14.2
11. Isaac Lammers, ANR,27:23.4
12. Bobby Miller, APUNSC,27:23.6
13. Ray Sabo, UAF,27:24.8
14. Cole Talbot, AWS,27:38.0
15. Carl Smith, ANR,27:45.7
16. Patrick Nugent, FXC,27:53.7
17. Erik Soederstroem, UAF,27:57.7
18. Don Haering, APUNSC,27:58.5
19. Neil Liotta, AWS,28:00.7
20. Kyle Barnhart, APUNSC,28:01.0
21. Nathaniel Knapp, APUNSC,28:04.3
22. Sam Dougherty, AWS,28:07.0
23. Noah Hagen, AWS,28:12.8
24. Lars Arneson 28:17.9
25. Cody Priest, AKSR,28:19.9
26. Peter Mamrol, AWS,28:21.5
27. Travis Semmens, ANR,28:28.4
28. Galen Johnston 28:32.9
29. Stefan Hajdukovich, FXC,28:35.7
30. Erin Phillips, APUNSC,29:01.1
31. Eric Ryan, AWS,29:02.8
32. Andrew Arnold, Grace Christian,29:03.9
33. Benjamin Fitzgerald, ANR,29:11.6
34. Dunedin Strickland, ANR,29:13.6
35. Hunter Jackinsky, ANR,29:24.0
36. Scott Wheeler, APUNSC,29:29.1
37. Anders Nyquist, ANR,29:31.6
38. David Durst, FXC,29:42.8
39. Erik Gorman 29:48.5
40. Vanya Rybkin, FXC,29:51.1
41. Ian Wilkinson, Fairbanks, AK,29:55.4
42. William Coleman, NSCF,30:00.2
43. David Edic, NSCF,30:12.8
44. Werner Hoefler, FAST,30:19.0
45. Jani Lane, AWS,30:30.7
46. Dan Bradley, ANR,30:33.6
47. Wyatt Mayo, FAST,30:36.3
48. Bad Bob Baker 31:49.5
49. Davis Dunlap, ANR,31:53.5
50. Bryce Monaco 31:55.4
51. Kipp Wilkinson, FXC,32:06.0
52. Mike Hajdukovich, Fairbanks, aK,32:47.9
53. Zach Keskinen, West Valley HS,33:05.3
54. Michael Kowalski, FXC,33:06.8
55. Gerry Hovda 33:54.5
56. Mark F Smith 33:55.0
57. Bruce Talbot, NSAA,35:12.3
58. James Lilly 36:16.1
59. Gunnar Knapp, NSAA,36:35.9
60. Matt Stoller 37:55.8

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Bend, Oregon – Racers from across the Pacific Northwest skated through a fresh snowstorm on the first day of the Sunnyside Junior Olympic Qualifier and enjoyed fast tracks and clear skies for the Classic race.

Photos

Results

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