Skiers hit Valdez for region meet

WASILLA — Mother Nature is not always kind to the local prep cross-country skiers. Conditions have not always been ideal, and races have been canceled.

But, at least for a weekend, things are expected to look pretty good from a skier’s point of view.

“Blue sky and great snow,” Colony head coach Mark Strabel said by cellphone Thursday afternoon, reporting the conditions in Valdez, where Strabel and the Knights are preparing for the 2016 Region III Championships, which start Friday in Valdez.

It’s the second trip to Valdez of the years for local prep Nordic skiers. Valley teams competed in the Valdez Invitational in early January.

“It was OK, it wasn’t great,” Strabel said of the trail conditions in January.

But things were much different Thursday.

“There’s quite a bit of new snow. They’re in great shape now,” Strabel said.

Overall, heading into the region meet, Strabel said local skiers have faced any obstacle Mother Nature has thrown.

“It’s been good. Better than last year, not great. We’ve been able to manage through it,” Strabel said. “You always hope for a little bit better conditions. In light of global warming, we’ll take this.”

The Knights also hope to take some top spots on the podium. On the boys’ side, Strabel hopes standouts Tracen Knopp and Dawson Knopp can sweep the top two spots in the individual standings. That could help the Knights snag their ultimate goal.

“Team-wise, for the boys, I’d like to take it,” Strabel said. “It’s going to be close between us and Grace and Soldotna.”

On the girls’ side, Strabel said, it could be anybody.

“I’d like to win it. Kenai and Palmer are going to be some of the main competition,” Strabel said.

Strabel said he’d like to see Jordyn Block and Lisbeth Olsen earn top-5 finishes.

Like Strabel, Palmer head coach Mikey Evans has high expectations for some of his skiers.

“The ladies team, the coaching staff would be disappointed if they’re not in the top 3 in our region,” Evans said by cellphone as his team traveled to Valdez Thursday afternoon. “It’s going to be a good race in the team competition with Kenai, SoHi, Colony and our girls. We’ve got a very legitimate shot of being in the top 3.”

In order for Palmer to earn that top-3 finish, Evans said the Moose will rely on their standouts, Rya Berrigan and Ruby Woodings, to lead.

“They have a very legitimate shot of being in the top 10 in the region,” Evans said of the Palmer duo.

The meet starts with the 5-kilometer individual start freestyle race Friday afternoon. The varsity girls race is at 1:30 p.m. and the boys race will follow at 1:50 p.m. The mass start 7.5-K classic is schedule for Saturday, with the varsity boys at 11 a.m. and the varsity girls at 11:45 a.m.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.