Reese Hanneman of Alaska Pacific University's Nordic Ski Center won a SuperTour freestyle sprint in British Columbia on Saturday and U.S. Olympian Jessie Diggins finished fourth in a women's World Cup race in Switzerland to vault into seventh place in the overall World Cup standings.
Hanneman, a two-time national sprint champion, conquered the field in Silver Star, British Columbia. Though he qualified 15th, he won his quarterfinal heat, finished second in his semifinal and seized the final.
The victory marked Hanneman's second podium finish in three SuperTour races this season. He was third last week in a freestyle sprint in West Yellowstone, Montana.
On the women's side in Silver Star, APU's Becca Rorabaugh won the B final to finish seventh in the freestyle sprint, and teammate Jessica Yeaton took 10th. Also, APU's Canyon Tobin finished sixth among junior men.
Diggins, who earlier this season won her second World Cup individual race and has five individual podium (top three) finishes in her career, took fourth in the 15K freestyle race in Davos, clocking 38 minutes, 38 seconds. That left her 38 seconds behind third place, but she moved into seventh overall in the World Cup standings.
Four-time Olympian Kikkan Randall of Anchorage and APU finished 33rd, 2.3 seconds out of the points. The top 30 finishers in World Cup races rack points. Caitlin Patterson of Anchorage finished 44th. Skiers raced at altitude — Davos is stationed at about 5,000 feet elevation.
Randall, a three-time World Cup overall sprint champion, is on the comeback trail after taking last season off to have her first child.
"I think this was a step in the right direction," Randall said of her result, by email. "Getting the right race gears back has been more challenging than I thought. But each race I do feel a little closer."
The World Cup women on Sunday ski a freestyle sprint, Randall's specialty.
On the SuperTour, men on Sunday will ski a 15K freestyle and women will compete in a 10K freestyle.