Former Valley skiers thrive at UAA

HATCHER PASS - Bearing the physical burden of being the state's best high school cross-country skier may have taken its toll on Colony graduate Eric Strabel as the 2000 ski season wound down last winter, but the three-time state champion is moving forward, competing against the nation's best college athletes.

"He seems to be recovering pretty well," University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) ski coach Bill Spencer said Saturday at Hatcher Pass. "I expect him to be one of our top guys."

Spencer hasn't had a chance to evaluate the skill levels of all his skiers yet. Lack of snow in the Anchorage bowl has hindered his evaluation process, but it didn't stop him from conducting UAA's first timed trials of the year. The summer-like conditions just forced his ski team to relocate last weekend's scheduled races from Kincaid Park to Hatcher Pass.

UAA conducted the informal, timed races for anyone who wanted to test their skill levels against the Seawolf skiers. More than 30 skiers raced over the weekend, attempting to draw Spencer's attention. He was hoping to narrow the field to a more manageable 13 or 14 members, who will make up UAA's traveling ski team of both men and women.

One of the country's top junior racers was at Hatcher Pass racing against the college talent. Tara Hamilton finished with the fastest women's time of the day to set the tone in the women's timed trials. Spencer liked what he saw, but it was too bad for the UAA women's team, because Hamilton is still a senior at Service High School. She won the two-lap, 5K race with an unofficial time of 20 minutes and 14 seconds.

Su Valley graduate Nicole Hanson jumped right into skiing after a successful UAA cross-country running season in which her team placed 10th in regional competition. She finished with a respectable time of 25:15.

"It' a whole new ball game," Hanson said before her race. "It's a little different than high school. I'm training with a lot faster girls. And it's different not having my dad as coach."

Spencer said he hopes some of his freshman skiers will compete at the junior nationals this year. To qualify, skiers must be no older than 19 years old.

Last year, skiers were able to train in Hatcher Pass a month earlier than this year. The ski area has only recently received enough snowfall to accommodate cross-country skiers.

Spencer isn't expecting fast times from his racers until they have had time to log some training hours. The park has only been open for about two weeks, forcing the skiers to catch up on some mileage.

"It's a long season," Spencer said. "Physically, they shouldn't be peaking for this race. We're trying to get a lot of volume in now. They've skied a lot of kilometers."

Strabel eased over the winding, 7.5K course in an attempt to bring his skill level up to top form. The men were timed for three laps around the 2.5K upper trail, which is nestled in a large bowl area just above Independent Mine. The ski trail is a difficult course with short flat straightaways that transition to short, steep climbs and long, treacherous descents and are complicated by layers of soft-packed snow.

"It has tough climbs with lots of transition stuff," Strabel said. "It really wears you out. My small [ski pole] baskets kept punching through the snow."

Strabel finished the 7.5K race in fourth place with an unofficial time of 27:07, behind Frode Lillefjell, Tobias Schowerer and Jason Freeken.

"It's a good, solid result for him," Spencer said of Strabel's fourth-place finish. "We're going to have another race next week to see who will do what."

Photo : Eric Strabel competed at the University of Alaska Anchorage timed trials in Hatcher Pass last weekend. As a freshman, Strabel is one of UAA's top skiers. The informal ski meet was relocated from Kincaid Park in Anchorage, to Hatcher Pass.

Photo by GENE JANSEN/Frontiersman.