In the Mayor’s Challenge (USSA SuperTour) collegiate ski meet (CCSA/NCAA Qualifier #2) this weekend at the Theodore Wirth Trails in Minneapolis, the Alaska Nanooks tied with arch-rival Northern Michigan University for the overall team title with a combined score (men + women) of 302 points. Michigan Tech University placed 3rd with 283.

A strong performance by the men’s squad in today’s 15 km mass start classical race propelled the Nanooks into first. Erik Soderstrom bounced back from a dismal skate race on Saturday to lead the Nanooks with a 2nd place finish in the collegiate division (10th overall). Ray Sabo took 4th (15th overall) while John Parry placed 7th (19th overall). Over 140 men competed.

Sundays’ overall podium in the women’s 10 km mass start classic race was a snapshot of Saturday as the top three women in the 5 km free technique finished in the same: 1. Rebecca Dussault, 2. Maria Stuber, and 3. Aurelia Korthauer (1st collegiate). Aurelia’s double collegiate victory this weekend cements her number one overall ranking in the Central Collegiate Ski Association. Julia Pierson posted one of her best collegiate classical races ever by placing 5th (12th overall). Theresia Schnurr rounded out the team scoring by taking 11th (21st overall). Over 110 women raced.

Former assistant coach Ingrid Olson (living here in her native Minnesota) helped Matt and me wax skis all weekend (late in the evening and very early in the morning). She was a huge help and we can’t thank her enough for volunteering for the team. (We had a mixture of mist and rain for today’s classic race which created sloppy klister conditions so was terrific to have an extra set of experienced hands on our staff.)

Scores from today (out of 10 colleges):
MEN
1. ALASKA 80
2. Northern Michigan University 73
3. Michigan Tech University 66
WOMEN
1. Northern Michigan University 78
2. Michigan Tech University 77
3. ALASKA 76
Overall scores from the weekend:
1. ALASKA 302
2. Northern Michigan University 302
3. Michigan Tech University 283
Freshman Tyler Kornfield competes this week at the World Junior Championships in Germany. Wish him luck!

We head back to Fairbanks tomorrow and will be in Fairbanks until February 10th. Our next competition is at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan, on February 13 & 14.

Ski on.

-Ian Wilkinson (photos)

“What did you use for wax?” I heard that question a lot following the classical sprint event at US Nationals. The Nanooks performed extremely well on the final day of racing in Anchorage. We had three men in the A-Final and one in the B-Final. Our men finished 1st, 2nd, 5th and 11th. We also had solid performances by our U23 and junior competitors.

Let me just say from the start, it was NOT the wax. It was the student-athletes. They did it. They trained, they prepared, they performed. They come from excellent clubs and have support from their families. Their previous coaches guided them, counseled them, and set the foundation. The University of Alaska Fairbanks Ski Team’s mission is to continue this long process. We support our team members, but ultimately they are the ones who do it or don’t. And yesterday we took advantage when opportunities presented themselves. The wax was a very small part of the entire equation. We tested a lot all week and here’s what we used.

For kick, we ironed in one layer of Swix Blue Extra, then added one layer of Rode Fast Wax (fluorinated) Violet Special, then finished with a layer of Rode Fast Wax Super Blue. For glide we prepped with a combination of Swix LF8 and Swix Moly (MB77). We covered with Swix HF7BW. Then we ironed in Swix FC8. After the qualifying we ironed in another layer of FC 8 and added the Swix Rocket Spray. We added the Swix Rocket Spray after every round and just corked the kick. No more kick was added.

We had made a strategic decision to err on the side of being a little too slick on the kick side. We knew that DP, kick DP, and tucking would be more important that striding. We also knew that herring-boning the top section of the course would be necessary.

Assistant coach Matt Dunlap, as well as the student-athletes, handled the entire waxing process in a professional way. The student-athletes made it easy for the coaches to help select and apply the wax.

It was a fun day and a fun week, but the season is young and we have many more goals on the bulletin board. It’ back to work. -SJ