With a long, hilly and demanding course awaiting them Friday on the first day of the Cook Inlet Conference cross-country ski championships at Kincaid Park, high school skiers had their fun the day before the race, filling out bio sheets to give the race announcer something to talk about.
The bios are a region-meet tradition, sometimes providing schools with a team activity in the week leading up to the two-day race series, and always providing chuckles as the public-address announcer reads highlights as each skier takes to the trail.
"I eat klister for lunch, and I live in a tent," was the word on South skier Sara Falcone.
"My goal is to kill all bears," was the send-off for another South skier, Petra Davis, the girl who was mauled by a grizzly last summer during a bike race at Far North Bicentennial Park.
"We have fun filling them out," South skier Karina Packer said. "We don't usually get to be creative at a ski race, but for the East relays we get to dress up (in costumes) and for regions we get to write a bio."
Sometimes, the skiers don't even write their own stuff -- their teammates do it for them. Scott Pattersen has no idea how his bio wound up saying "I like long walks on the beach with Tyler Kornfield, and winning." All he knows is that whoever filled it out got it at least half right.
Friday's race was a day at the beach for Pattersen, who was all smiles Friday after demolishing the field to win the boys 10-kilometer freestyle race.
Racing under a sunny sky amid temperatures in the high 20s, Pattersen went out fast and never let up to finish in 26 minutes, 48.2 seconds -- nearly a minute ahead of second-place Kornfield, his rival/training partner from Service High who was time in 27:44.4.
Pattersen, Kornfield and South's Andrew Dougherty (third in 28:06.6) are usually the skiers to beat in the CIC, so their 1-2-3 finish was no surprise.
Kornfield said he felt bad when he saw the race order, which sent skiers out two at a time in 30-second intervals. Through the luck of the draw, he and Dougherty were paired to start together, two minutes behind Pattersen.
Kornfield worried he and Dougherty might have an advantage, because they could push each other and work with each other.
"It seems a bit unfair to Scott," he said.
Not really, Pattersen said. If anything, he said, knowing Kornfield and Dougherty were starting shoulder to shoulder made him push himself harder.
"I knew they were going to be going fast, so I decided to go all out the entire way," he said. "I pulled out an awesome race."
Pattersen's margin of victory had people gasping in amazement. His big lead will make it hard for Kornfield, Dougherty or anyone else challenge him for skimeister honors in today's relay race. Each boy will race 5 kilometers, a short distance for a skier to close a one-minute gap.
Even more astonishing was the victory posted by Alyson McPhetres of Chugiak in the girls 7.5-kilometer freestyle race.
McPhetres had won one race this season, but she left no doubt about who was the fittest and fastest on Friday. She cruised across the course in 23:51.8 to win by more than 45 seconds over West's Annie Liotta (her bio: "I can pop, lock and drop it"), who was second in 24:37.1 and Chugiak teammate Kinsey Loan ("I am a walking, talking mammal impersonator"), who was a split-second behind Liotta in 24:37.4.
"It really surprises me," McPhetres said of her victory.
When told how much she won by, her eyes got big. "Really? Wow!"
Like Pattersen, McPhetres could be tough to catch today in the battle for skimeister honors, which go to the boy and girl with the fastest combined times from Friday's individual race and today's relay. Each girl will race 3.5 kilometers, which, again, is a short distance to make up a 45-second difference.
The relay race is unlikely to threaten South's big lead in the boys competition -- the Wolverines placed all five of their A-team skiers in the top 10 to build a lead of more than four minutes over West. The South boys are so strong and deep that two of their B-team skiers, Gabe Thomas and Noah Hagen, put down times that would have placed them 15th and 16th in the A-team race.
The relay could make a difference in the girls team competition, but it would take a pretty special effort from second-place South to erase Chugiak's first-day lead.
With three skiers in the top 10, the Mustangs posted team time of 1 hour, 40 minutes, 21.1 seconds. That puts them 80 seconds ahead of South, which also placed three skiers in the top 10. To take the team victory away from Chugiak, the South skiers need to beat the Mustangs by an average of more than 20 seconds on each of the four legs.
McPhetres and Loan were joined in the top 10 by teammate Kryston McPhetres, a sophomore who is a year younger than sister Alyson. She came through with a big race, finishing seventh.
"Both my sister and I like hills," Alyson said, so the up-and-down Kincaid course suited them well.
"I'm so proud of her. I think I was more proud of my sister than I was of myself."
Kryston's finish helped Chugiak withstand the absence of Morgan Bender, one of the team's top skiers who is out with an injury. Bender contributed nonetheless: she helped fill out Alyson's bio, which says that McPhetres' nickname is Frigid Witch ("My hands are always cold," McPhetres explained) and that her heart "is three sizes too small."
The bit about the heart was Bender's contribution, McPhetres said, and it might have been the biggest joke of the day. Because Friday at Kincaid, McPhetres had as much heart as, and way more motor than, anyone else.
Find Beth Bragg online at adn.com/contact/bbragg or call 257-4335.
Cook Inlet Conference championships
Friday at Kincaid Park
Girls 7.5-kilometer freestyle
Team standings (A team) -- 1) Chugiak 1 hour, 40 minutes, 21.1 seconds; 2) South 1:41:41.6; 3) West 1:42:28.0; 4) Service 1:42.52.1; 5) East 1:49:35.6; 6) Dimond 1:55:55.0; 7) Eagle River 2:10:20.2.
Individual results (A team) -- 1) Alyson McPhetres, Chu, 23:51.8; 2) Annie Liotta, West, 24:37.1; 3) Kinsey Loan, Chu, 24:37.1; 4) Kate Backstrum, South, 24:49.0; 5) Christina Knapp, East, 24:53.4; 6) Karina Packer, South, 24:53.9; 7) Kryston McPhetres, Chu, 25:02.9; 8) Rebecca Mamrol, Ser, 25:11.9; 9) Emily Rogers, South, 25:20.9; 10) Lauren Hess, Ser, 25:27.0; 11) Celia Haering, West, 25:49.3; 12) Megan Baker, West, 25:52.4; 13) Brittany Hippe, Dim, 25:56.8; 14) Esther Kennedy, Ser, 25:57.9; 15) Molly Larsen, West, 26:09.2; 16) Greta Anderson, Ser, 26:15.3; 17) Mackenzie Kanady, Ser, 26:19.4; 18) Sara Falcone, South, 26:38.7; 19) Tristan Ramey, 26:41.1; 20) Bonnie Scott, Chu, 26:49.0; 21) Rebekah Butler, Ser, 27:22.4; 22) Melissa Flynn, East, 27:24.2; 23) Stephanie Dow, South, 27:28.5; 24) Rebecca Farr, East, 27:32.3; 25) Kristen Lessard, Chu, 28:41.9; 26) Jasmine Neeno, West, 28:48.8; 27) Sarah Freistone, Dim, 29:11.6; 28) Carly Besh, South, 29:14.0; 29) Angela Hartford, Chu, 29:35.0; 30) Rachel Carey, East, 29:45.7; 31) Jackie Klecka, ER, 30:03.4; 32) Sarah-Marie Chan, Dim, 30:17.1; 33) Ashley Strauch, Dim, 30:29.5; 34) Sarah Poggi, ER, 30:32.8; 35) Madigan Stanley, West, 31:12.3; 36) Amy Gordon, East, 31:27.5; 37) McKinley Wallace, East, 31:50.4; 38) Jenny Klecka, ER, 32:12.8; 39) Sarah Fink, East, 32:22.5; 40) Robin Stramp, Dim, 32:32.3; 41) Kailyn Davis, Dim, 34:41.5; 42) Alicia Dair, Dim, 35:53.1; 43) Brenna Wheeler, ER, 37:31.2.
Boys 10-kilometer freestyle
Team standings (A team) -- 1) South 1:53:39.8; 2) West 1:57:59.7; 3) Service 1:59:27.1; 4) East 2:09:06.7; 5) Chugiak 2:11:15.5; 6) Dimond 2:14.43.8; 7) Eagle River 2:28:55.9.
Individual results (A team) -- 1) Scott Pattersen, South, 26:48.2; 2) Tyler Kornfield, Ser, 27:44.4; 3) Andrew Dougherty, South, 28:06.6; 4) Nick Treinen, West, 28:14.4; 5) Don Haering, 29:03.8; 6) Silas Talbot, Ser, 29:15.3; 7) Aaron Fletcher, South, 29:19.3; 8) Forest Mahlen, South, 29:25.7; 9) Neil Liotta, West, 29:47.1; 10) Sam Dougherty, South, 29:53.8; 11) Erin Phillips, 30:36.0; 12) Nathanial Knapp, East, 30:51.0; 13) James Crimp, West, 30:54.4; 14) Peter Mamrol, Ser, 30:56.1; 15) Scott Wheeler, West, 31:11.2; 16) Kyle Todd, Dim, 31:11.9; 17) Ray Wonders, South, 31:27.7; 18) Kyle Barnhart, Ser, 31:31.3; 19) Dan Bradley, Chu, 31:51.7; 20) John Glen, Ser, 32:27.0; 21) Conrad Chapman, Chu, 32:29.9; 22) Kenny Brewer, Chu, 32:51.5; 23) Bryce Monaco, Dim, 32:59.6; 24) Will Wright, West, 33:26.6; 25) Tim Flynn, East, 33:39.8; 26) Daniel Fink, East, 33:59.9; 27) Jacob Hakala, Chu, 34:02.4; 28) Kyle Carpenter, Dim, 34:03.2; 29) Jani Lane, Ser, 34:03.3; 30) Jack Novak, South, 34:26.6; 31) Mark Hansen, West, 34:35.2; 32) Ben Fitzgerald, Chu, 34:45.2; 33) Robert Walgren, Ser, 34:51.8; 34) Brandon Blackley, ER, 34:54.6; 35) Cameron Fritz, Chu, 36:08.9; 36) Trevor Clayton, Dim, 36:29.1; 37) Michael Bramer, Bar, 36:34.7; 38) Joseph Hansmeyer, East, 36:49.4; 39) Alexander Schumann, Dim, 37:05.5; 40) Erskine Frank, Dim, 37:18.0; 41) Cameron Johnson, ER, 37:22.9; 42) Jacob Wahry, East, 37:56.8; 43) Matt Johnson, ER, 38:10.2; 44) Jacob Arthen, ER, 38:28.2; 45) John Sanders, ER, 38:42.8; 46) Connor Scher, East, 39:36.2.
By BETH BRAGG
bbragg@adn.com