The 2017 ASAA/First National Bank Nordic Ski State Championships, featuring three days of nordic sking on the trails at Kincaid Park in Anchorage, are scheduled for February 23-25 with all Alaska nordic ski programs eligible to enter teams.
The Kenai Kardinals and Soldotna Stars are entering teams in both the girls and boys competitions. The Region III championships contested last weekend are not a pre-qualifier to the state meet.
The Soldotna Boys, 2017 Region III champions, and the Kenai Girls, Region III runner-up, will vie for top spots in the team competition. Individuals to watch include: Kenai’s Karl Danielson, Region III Skimeister; SoHi’s Kody Vinson and Kenai’s Rianna Boonstra, both runner-up for Region III Skimeister Award.
Overall Team & Individual Results ( not including Saturday relay events)
State Team Standing Girls
1) West 2:23:44.8; 2) Chugiak 2:26:35.7; 3) West Valley 2:27:07.1; 4) South 2:33:55.3; 5) Service 2:37:18.3; 6) Colony 2:43:17.8; 7) Kenai 2:45:21.0; 8) Dimond 2:46:32.6; 9) Palmer 2:47:24.0; 10) East 2:50:41.4; 11) Grace 2:53:24.2; 12) Lathrop 2:53:24.2; 13) Homer 2:54:45.2; 14) Soldotna 2:56:24.8; 15) Valdez 3:05:20.7; 16) Seward 3:06:19.1; 17) Eagle River 3:11:04.2.
State Team Standing Boys
1) Service 3:01:09.6; 2) West 3:01:23.4; 3) South 3:02:51.0; 4) West Valley 3:08:03.3; 5) Dimond 3:17:10.7; 6) Grace 3:19:05.0; 7) Chugiak 3:20:21.0; 8) Soldotna 3:22:13.0; 9) Colony 3:23:47.6; 10) Lathrop 3:24:12.2; 11) Palmer 3:28:12.8; 12) Kenai 3:29:32.0; 13) Homer 3:39:45.6; 14) Eagle River 3:44:26.6; 15) Wasilla 4:06:05.4; 16) Valdez 4:28:00.6.
Skimeister Standings: Girls
1) Molly Gellert, West, 34:34.2; 2) Magdalen York, West, 34:53.2; 3) Jenna DiFolco, West Valley, 35:15.9; 4) Kendall Kramer, West Valley, 35:26.0; 5) Heidi Booher, Chugiak, 35:48.4.
Skimeister Standings: Boys
1) Gus Schumacher, Service, 42:52.6; 2) Luke Jager, West, 43:11.0; 3) Hunter Wonders, South, 43:18.7; 4) Canyon Tobin, Service, 44:32.4; 5) Sam York, West, 45:24.8.
Friday Event Results: Mass Start Freestyle Technique
Boys 10K Mass Start Freestyle Technique Race
Kenai’s Karl Danielson posted a time of 25:44.3 for 22nd overall in the freestyle event; SoHi’s Kody Vinson finished 30rd. Other top 50 performances included SoHi’s Addison Downing in 37th. Kenai’s Patrick Michel in 41st and SoHi’s Jeremy Kuperschmid in 44th and Josh Shuler in 46th.
Service’s Gus Schumacher posted a 23:19.8 for the fastest time in the 10-kilometer event.
Girls 7.5K Mass Start Freestyle Technique Race
Riana Boonstra of Kenai clocked a 18:46.4, good for 17th overall. Katie Cooper of Kenai finished 38th, followed by SoHi’s Kellie Arthur in 41st and Maria Salzetti of Kenai in 43rd.
West’s Molly Gellert posted a 34:34.2 for the fastest time in the girls 7.5-kilometer event.
Thursday Event Results: Classic Technique
Boys 7.5K Interval Start Classic Technique Race
The SoHi boys finished 9th and the Kardinal boys finished 12th in the opening event at the state nordic ski meet. Kenai’s Karl Danielson posted a time of 22:14.0 for 22nd overall in the classsic event; SoHi’s Kody Vinson finished 23rd, just 1/10 of second behind at 22:14.1. Other top 50 performances included Jeremy Kuperschmid and Addison Downing, from SoHi, in 35th and 36th; Kenai’s Eric Kempf finished 44th. Service’s Gus Schumacher posted a 19:32.8 for the fastest time in the 7.5-kilometer event.
Girls 5K Interval Start Classic Technique Race
The Kenai girls finished 8th and the SoHi girls finished 14th in the team scoring for the opening 5-kilometer classic event. Kenai’s Rianna Boonstra posted a 19:21.0 for the fastest time by a local skier. SoHi’s Kellie Arthur finished 33rd; Kenai’s Katie Cooper, 39th and Ithica Bergholtz, 49th. West Valley’s Jenna Difolco posted the fastest time, 17:35.2, in the girls classic race.
Classic Event Overall Results: Click Here!
ASAA Nordic Ski Champonships Schedule
Friday, February 24
11:00am Girls 7.5K Mass Start Freestyle Technique Race
12:30pm Boys 10K Mass Start Freestyle Technique Race
5:00pm Awards at West High School Auditorium (Thursday and Friday Awards)
Saturday, February 25
11:00am Girls 4 x 3K Mixed Technique (Classic-Classic-Free-Free)
12:30pm Boys 4 x 5K Mixed Technique (Classic-Classic-Free-Free)
2:30pm Awards at Kincaid Park