Knights boys, girls earn top-3 finishes in state ski meet

High school Nordic teams from across Alaska kicked and glided their way to Government Peak Recreation Area for the ASAA State Championships. The three-day event was sunny, windy and cold, part of the home field advantage that Colony and Palmer teams capitalized on.

The Colony boys took second overall and the girls placed third, the highest girls team placement in the school’s history.

“They’ve all been rockstars, all weekend and the whole season,” Colony head coach Mark Strabel said.

The girls team accrued a time of 3:37:57.8, coming in behind Service in second and South Anchorage in first.

Elliot Sensabaugh placed sixth for the girls individually coming in with a cumulative time of 41:27.6. Racing at state allows the athletes to compete against other schools they may not face very often, something that Sensabaugh said she enjoys.

“I enjoy racing with all the competition,” Sensabaugh said. “It’s definitely more competitive and it’s way harder, but I like it like that.”

As a junior, Sensabaugh has another year to prepare for next year’s championships. She plans to focus on volume in preparation for next winter and having fun training with her friends in the off-season.

“I’m really excited for my senior year,” Sensabaugh said.

Colony boys took second overall with a cumulative time of 2:55:44.2, only 31 seconds behind first place South Anchorage.

Top skiers included Gabe Black, coming in at fourth overall with a cumulative time of 34:28.8, and Weston Sensabaugh, coming in at sixth with a cumulative time of 35:25.9. The two have been friends since sixth grade, where they met skate skiing during the summer. Both are now seniors and were on the relay team that helped bring Colony to their second-place finish.

“It’s been cool racing with all these guys for four years in a row,” Weston said. “It’s pretty cool that we’ve all grown up as friends and racing each other.”

Both expressed their appreciation for all those involved that made this season and this year’s championship a success.

“Thanks to all of our coaches and Mr. Strabel for doing the grooming and waxing,” Black said. “And everyone out here, all of the volunteers.”

Black will be racing in the U.S. Cross Country Junior National Championships in Cable, Wisconsin next month.

With the boys bringing in the championship title in 2025, and with both teams placing in the top three this year, Strabel and his coaching staff are continuing to build a winning team. The future is bright for Colony.

“We’re just at the beginning of it,” Strabel said. “We want to start a dynasty again.”

The Palmer Moose boys took 14th overall with a cumulative time of 3:40:53.4 and the girls took 11th with a time of 4:05:04.1. The girls team received the academic award for having a cumulative 4.0 GPA, something they shared with three other girls teams. Top skiers for Palmer included Amelia Parker for the girls taking 27th individually and Daniel Hennemann for the boys coming in at 52nd individually.