James Southam's finish-line celebration said it all -- for himself, for his teammates Holly Brooks and Kikkan Randall, for the whole world of Alaska cross-country skiing.

Southam's victory in the men's 30-kilometer classical race gave Anchorage skiers a sweep of Wednesday's gold medals at the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships at snowy Kincaid Park and inspired an elaborate and emotional celebration.

After blowing a kiss to the white winter sky upon finishing the grueling race, a sobbing Southam sank to his hands and knees. He collapsed facedown for a moment and then, with a big grin replacing the tears, rolled onto his back and thrust his feet and arms into the air, a happy dance that spoke for a whole bunch of Alaskans.

"I knew I needed to do something today if I wanted to show I should be on the Olympic team," said Southam, 31, who is aiming to become a two-time Olympian.

He made his point authoritatively, soundly beating 13-time national champion Kris Freeman, who finished a distant second.

Just as jubilant as Southam were Randall and Brooks, who turned the 20-kilometer mass-start women's race into an all-Alaska duel.

Randall, an East High graduate who is playing the role of hometown hero to a T, won her third national title in five days and the 13th of her career.

And Brooks, the Alaska Pacific University coach-turned-contender, bounced back from two disappointing races to win the silver medal and remind U.S. Ski Team coaches -- who will name the Olympic team later this month -- that she's one of the fastest distance skiers in the country.

"Finally," Brooks said. "It was a little bit demoralizing after those first two. You want to race really well all week, you want to race well at home in front of all the people and you want to race well when it counts.

"I talked to my dad a lot yesterday, and he said, 'Holly, ski with joy, because you love to ski and because you love competition. Don't think about all the numbers and points and the things that can pre-occupy you.' ''

Father knows best. Brooks managed to put aside her worries long enough to make a statement much like Southam's. By the end of the second of three laps, she and Randall had forged a 20-second lead over their nearest competition and widened the gap from there. They skied together until Randall shook Brooks on a hill just outside the stadium.

"It was fun to have Holly come with me," Randall said. "There was a bit of pride there, the two of us leading for APU out there. But on the last lap it's woman for woman."

And so far, no one has been woman enough to stop Randall at these championships. She won in 1 hour, 14 minutes, 19 seconds and beat Brooks by 10 seconds. Brooks was 35 seconds ahead of third-place Caitlin Compton of Minneapolis, a gap she hopes bodes well for her when Olympic selections are made.

Southam annihilated his competition. He finished in 1:32:08.3, with Freeman second in 1:33:18.2 and Bryan Cook of Rhinelander, Wis., third in 1:33:43.0. Three other Alaskans cracked the top 10 -- 19-year-old David Norris of Fairbanks was an impressive fourth, Dylan Watts of APU was eighth and Reese Hanneman of Fairbanks was ninth.

About the only Alaskan not having a good day was two-time Olympian Lars Flora of Anchorage, who skied even though he was sick with the flu and was among the leaders for a lap or two before dropping out of the race. Flora skied on the U.S. World Cup team earlier this season but could have a tough time landing an Olympic berth if the current team quotas for the United States -- four men, four women -- don't change.

OLYMPIC DREAMS ALIVE

Southam has his eye on one of those berths and may have done himself a big favor by beating a field that included Freeman. Earlier this season, Freeman finished a career-high fourth in a 15-K classical World Cup race and earlier this week at Kincaid he came from behind to claim gold in the 15-K freestyle race, during which Southam slipped from first to third.

"This is my fifth national title but the first one I've beaten Kris for," Southam said. "The other day was a pretty big disappointment for me, so to come back and to win -- and win by a bit -- was sweet."

Southam said he didn't want to make the same mistake he made in Monday's 15-K, when he went out fast only to get reeled in by Freeman, who has a track record for finishing strong. So he made a concerted effort to hold himself back.

"I didn't even have coffee this morning," he said. "I want to just chill. I didn't want to lead the first lap."

Brooks knows that Randall is also a strong finisher, so her strategy was to stick with the favorite for as long as she could.

"You just have to pretend you're glued to the person in front of you," she said. "Pretend there's something holding you together."

A beaming Brooks shared a big hug with Randall at the finish line as hundreds of onlookers cheered. The coach of dozens and dozens of Anchorage skiers, Brooks is as much a hometown favorite as Randall, and she was gratified to perform well in front of so many supporters.

"You hear people chanting your name and it makes that hill a little less steep," Brooks said. "It makes you smile mid-stride."

She just hopes other people besides her fans were watching Wednesday. People like the U.S. Ski Team coaches.

"There's a long classic race in the Olympics, and hopefully the coaches are looking to see who can classic ski and who can classic ski fast," she said. "We'll see."