Valley cross-country ski teams gearing up for a busy season

As the Mat-Su Valley high school teams prepare for another cross-country skiing season, the recent new snow has been welcomed. Skiing is important to the state — just look at the rallies that have been held to save the ski teams.

“Nordic skiing is a lifelong sport and our high school programs play an integral role in fostering a love for the lifestyle,” said Palmer head coach Mikey Evans. “It’s my hope to see today’s athletes skiing in local races after high school and supporting local Nordic ski club programs like Junior Nordic.”

The Palmer Moose this year will have 33 skiers suit up. Palmer also has 15 returning athletes from last year, as they look to have a stronger finish than at last year’s Nordic Skiing Championships in February. They finished eighth in the state for the girls’ relay and 12th for boys. Their leading skier for the freestyle race was Josiah Alverts, who placed 27th in the race for the Moose. Coach Evans listed his captains as Alverts, Jeremy Houston, Rya Berrigan and Gurpreet Singh. As his team prepares for the upcoming meets and races, Evans has the mindset of the team headed in the right direction.

“This year is about developing new skiers and continuing to build our traditions and expectations for hard work and dedication to Nordic skiing as a lifestyle.” Evans said about his expectations for the team.

Some of the student athletes from the Valley will go on to race for other colleges. Earlier this year, a lot of high school students were up at the University of Alaska Fairbanks to train and watch top athletes. Many schools were in attendance, from West Valley to Colony High School, showing the importance of skiing to the students.

The Colony Knights will try to improve on their top five finish for the boys’ team last year. Knopp led the team in the freestyle race with an overall fifth-place finish. The girls’ team posted an eighth-place finish in the Nordic Ski Championship.

“We have a lot of new skiers and so we want to develop them into great skiers. Both Tracen (Knopp) and Annika (Hannestad) are in the running for region champion, and possible top five at state,” said Colony head coach Mark Strabel.

The Knights are looking to continue their success behind leaders Aly Kopsack and Elic Cowan, along with other skiers.

“As team standings go, our girls are in the running for regions and the top five teams at state. It is a goal that we have. For boys, we would like to see our boys in the top three in regions and top eight at state,” Strabel said about his team’s expectations.