Alaska News

Alaskans clean up at Junior Olympics

Not long after the start of Wednesday's 5-kilometer mass-start classic race, Dimond High sophomore Marion Woods found herself rolling in the snow along with a knot of fellow racers after an early pile-up.

Woods sprang up quickly, dusted off the snow and then dusted the field for her second gold medal in two races at the 2011 Junior Olympic Nordic Ski Championships in Minneapolis.

As in Monday's sprints, Woods and Fairbanks skier Logan Hanneman claimed gold for Team Alaska in the national championship races for skiers ages 15-20. Ten regional teams compete in three age classifications: Junior 1 (ages 15-16), Junior 2 (ages 17-18) and Older Junior (ages 19-20).

Hanneman, a Lathrop High senior, topped fellow Alaskan Isaac Lammers by about eight seconds to capture the 15-K Junior 1 title.

Silas Talbot of Alaska Winter Stars was the other Alaskan to climb the podium, finishing second in the 15-K race among older juniors.

Two other Alaskans narrowly missed. Forrest Mahlen, who trains with the Alaska Pacific University program, was fourth among the Junior 1 boys while Fairbanks' Hannah Boyer took fourth among girls of the same age group.

Team Alaska is in second place among the 10 regional teams competing. The New England squad is comfortably ahead entering Friday's skate race.

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The Woods-Hanneman tandem will get another shot at glory there. Hanneman claimed the state skimeister crown for Lathrop High at the state championships two weeks ago, while Woods finished second to West Valley's Boyer for the girls skimeister title.

But conditions in Minneapolis were considerably warmer than they were in Fairbanks for the state championships. Rain fell late in the day Wednesday.

"It was definitely mushy out there," Woods said by phone. "A lot of people were debating on whether to use klister or kick waxes, but our coaches they did a great job."

She ended up with a kick wax. The result?

"My skis were rocking," she said.

So were Hanneman's.

"It was a tough day for waxing," noted Nick Crawford, one of the Team Alaska coaches from Lathrop. "We hit it really well with some and not so well with others. We hit it right on with Logan," Crawford said. "His skis were phenomenal. He skied with comfort against the best guys in the country."

Coming in, the Alaskans weren't entirely sure to expect of the course at Minneapolis' Theodore Wirth Park.

"Our expectation was a golf course -- a hilly, rolling course," Woods said.

Scratch that.

"It was very challenging," she said. "There were some tough hills and corners on the downhill that got us."

Eventually, a group of a half-dozen skiers split off from the pack and soon it was down to Woods and Heidi Halvorsen of the New England team.

Halvorsen couldn't hang, with Woods winning by about nine seconds in 16 minutes, 18.1 seconds.

"Marion had an exceptional race," Crawford said. "She was duking it out with that girl from New England and powered away on the final hill. She beat a stronger athlete by far. The other gal just could not match her tempo."

And winning against the top Americans in her age group was even more rewarding than a strong showing at Alaska's high school championship.

"Distance is my stronger suit," said Woods, the top-seeded J2 skier coming in. "I like getting out there and enduring."

But this year, she's focused her training more on sprinting, getting her muscle memory locked onto speed.

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"I have been working on it a lot, a lot of fast intervals," she said. "And it helps in longer races too -- especially the last push."

Jan Buron, the coach of her club team, Alaska Winter Stars, agrees.

"She's preforming very well compared to last year," he said. "It comes down to work ethic, and she's got it."

Reach reporter Mike Campbell at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329

2011 Junior Olympic Nordic Ski National Championships

Wednesday in Minneapolis

OJ Boys -- 15-K Mass Start

1) David Sinclair, New England, 40:52.8; 2) Silas Talbot, AWS, Alaska, 41:29.3; 3) Chris Stock, New England, 41:40.7. Other Alaskans -- 14) Benjamin Fitzgerald, Alaska Nordic Racing, 42:54.3; 24) Eric Ryan, AWS, 43:34.5; 27) Andrew Arnold, APU, 43:50.3; 40) Jani Lane, AWS, 46:58.7.

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OJ Girls -- 10-K Mass Start

1) Jessie Diggins, Mountain West, 33:34.0; 2) Mary Cirelli, New England, 34:10.9; 3) Anne Hart, New England, 34:14.4. Alaskans -- 12) Alyson McPhetres, Alaska Nordic Racing, 35:13.7; 14) Karina Packer, AWS, 35:29.1; 15) Sarah Cresap, APU, 35:40.2; 18) Kinsey Loan, APU, 35:53.8; 24) Kailey Mucha, Alaska Nordic Racing, 37:36.7.

J1 Boys -- 15-K Mass Start

1) Logan Hanneman, Alaska, FAST, 42:01.6; 2) Isaac Lammers, Alaska, Alaska Nordic Racing, 42:09.3; 3) Ben Saxton, Mountain West, 42:15.9. Other Alaskans -- 4) Forrest Mahlen, APU, 42:16.4; 9) Kyle Barnhart, AWS, 42:25; 10) Jack Novak, APU, 42:27; 39) Stefan Hajdukovich, FXC-NSCF, 45:35.5; 47) Peter Mamrol, AWS, 46:59.5; 48) Kyle Hanson, FXC-NSCF, 47:07.6; 49) Brandon Brewster, 48:07.7; 52) Kipp Wilkinson, FXC-NSCF, 48:50.8; 57) Sam Dougherty, AWS, 50:04.1; 66) Patrick Nugent, FXC-NSCF, 52:13.8.

J1 Girls -- 10-K Mass Start

1) Corey Stock, New England, 32:47.3; 2) Michaela Frias, Rocky Mountain, 33:11.5; 3) Heather Mooney, New England, 33:13.6. Alaskans -- 4) Hannah Boyer, FXC-NSCF, 33:15.8; 5) Annie Liotta, AWS, 33:17.4; 10) Kryston McPhetres, Alaska Nordic Racing, 33:28.2; 13) Teagan Yutrzenka, AWS, 33:48.4; 19) Tristan Ramey, AWS, 34:00.9; 25) Celia Haering, APU, 34:26; 27) Megan Edic, FXC-NSCF, 34:32.1; 31) Mackenzie Kanady, AWS, 34:51.6; 33) Anna Price, AWS, 34:54.1; 39) Stephanie Kirk, AWS, 35:12.6; 42) Savanna Desatoff, AWS, 35:20.8; 45) Eliza Rorabaugh, FXC-NSCF, 35:39.4; 50) Bree Mucha, Alaska Nordic Racing, 36:04.8;

J2 Boys -- 5-K Mass Start

1) Hamish McEwen, New England, 14:24.1; 2) Tyler Foulkes, New England, 14:27.7; 3) Harris Dirnberger, Mountain West, 14:35.5. Alaskans -- 7) Thomas O'Harra, APU, 14:46; 12) Erich Hoefler, FAST AK, 14:59.5; 17) Eric Backstrum, AWS, 15:13.2; 18) Alex Loan, Alaska Nordic Racing, 15:13.3; 32) Jack Parke, AWS, 15:40.5; 35) Troy Walters, APU, 15:44.2; 39) David McPhetres, Alaska Nordic Racing, 15:52.2; 45) Michael Wise, APU, 16:19.5.

J2 Girls -- 5-K Mass Start

1) Marion Woods, AWS, 16:18.1; 2) Heidi Halvorsen, New England, 16:27.4; 3) Brooke Mooney, New England, 16:36.3. Other Alaskans -- 20) Sarrissa Lammers, Alaska Nordic Racing, 17:34.3; 29) Mackenzie Flynn, APU, 17:57.5; 37) Hanna Gillis, FXC-NSCF, 18:14.9; 38) Mykaela McMullen, AWS, 18:15.2; 41) Taryn Hunt-Smith, APU, 18:20.6; 46) Alexandra Okeson, APU, 18:52.4; 49) Jade Hajdukovich, FXC-NSCF, 19:10.3; 51) Erin Baker, AWS, 19:15.0.

By MIKE CAMPBELL

mcampbell@adn.com

Mike Campbell

Mike Campbell was a longtime editor for Alaska Dispatch News, and before that, the Anchorage Daily News.

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