Valley high school teams put four skiers in top 10 at state

KINCAID PARK — Last weekend’s standout Valley skiers didn’t disappoint at the state championship this weekend.

Of the 30 Mat-Su competitors racing Kincaid Park in Anchorage this weekend, four posted top-10 individual finishes: two from Palmer, and two from Colony.

For the Knights, senior Tracen Knopp placed fifth in the individual-start 7.5-kilometer classic race on Thursday and 13th in the mass-start 10-kilometer freestyle on Friday, finishing sixth overall with a combined time of 45 minutes, 45 seconds. On the girls’ side, sophomore Annika Hanestad took 12th in the 5k classic and eighth in the 7.5k skate (freestyle) for a 10th-place finish overall in 36:50.5 — one tenth of a second from tying ninth-place finisher Aubrey LeClair from West Anchorage High School.

“Tracen and Annika raced really well, it was nice to see,” said head coach Mark Strabel after the relay races on Saturday.

Knopp said he was happy with his classic race and his overall finish, but had hoped for more from Friday’s event.

“I was gonna try to hang on with (Service skier) Canyon (Tobin), who got fourth ... and then I crashed so I was kind of out of it after that, and it was just like, kind of mentally hard for me to stay competitive,” he said.

Hanestad said she had strategized to take it easy at the beginning of her skate race to conserve energy for Elliot’s Climb and the arduous Andrew Lekisch Loop, but even in doing so, she stayed up with the front of the pack.

“I surprised myself and stayed like, up with the top people, and was in first for over two seconds, which is great, but … I was just trying to be careful kind of not to go too hard, because I’ve done that a lot in mass starts,” she said.

Seniors Josiah Alverts and Rya Berrigan were the top scorers for the Palmer Moose, finishing ninth and 16th overall, respectively. Alverts placed 12th in the classic race and fifth in the freestyle with a combined time of 45:59. Berrigan took ninth in the classic and 22nd in the skate for an overall 16th in 37:45.

“The classic (race) was really good,” Berrigan said, but her skate race did not go according to plan.

“It was just kind of like a rough start for me,” she said. “I didn’t go out quite as hard as I probably should have, and so I just kind of got caught in some people, got kinda tripped up, fell, and… I couldn’t really catch back up to that top pack that I wanted to be in.”

Still, Berrigan said she was glad to have one top-10 finish, her first at a state meet.

Alverts, coach Mikey Evans said, had a similar weekend.

“I’m super happy with Josiah’s performance in the freestyle event on Friday,” Evans said, but, “his 12th place on Thursday doesn’t really tell the story. I mean he was only two seconds out of the top 10.”

In addition to Berrigan’s and Alverts’ top-10 performances, Evans said he was also proud of sophomore Joseph Walling, who “put in a really good result … for his team” in the relay race, as well as the girls’ team winning the academic award for highest GPA.

“Those are things to celebrate, but I wanna do more,” Evans said.

Alverts, Berrigan, Knopp and Hanestad each led their four-person relay teams — 5k legs for boys, 3k for girls — on Saturday. The Lady Knights finished sixth; Lady Moose, ninth; Colony boys, ninth; and Palmer boys, 11th, out of a total 19 teams represented (three or four were incomplete). Wasilla boys came in 15th.

ASAA/First National Bank State Nordic Ski Championships

Kincaid Park, Anchorage

2017 Skimeister (2-day) totals

Boys’ individual results (top 20):

1 G. Schumacher, Ser 42:52; 2. L. Jager, West 43:11; 3. H. Wonders, Sou 43:18; 4. C. Tobin, Ser 44:32; 5. S. York, West 45:24; 6. T. Knopp, Col 45:45; 7. A. Hull, Sou 45:55; 8. T. Donaldson, WV 45:57; 9. J. Alverts, Pal 45:59; 10. T. Wiese, West 46:09; 11. H. Wolf, Sou 46:30; 12. Z. Bassett, Ser 46:32 13. N. Ravens, West 46:40; 14. E. Hermanson, Ser 47:12; 15. A. Endestad, WV 47:20; 16. L. Mowry, Lat 47:20; 17. B. Koenig, WV 47:20; 18. K. Meyers, Sou 47:26; 19. G. Cvancara, Dim 47:39.

Other Valley finishers:

37. G. Block, Col 50:10; 42. J. Houston, Pal 50:56; 52. J. Walling, Pal 52:55; 56. B. Grover, Col 53:49; 59. E. Cowan, Col 54:02; 62. N. Kristich, Col 55:20; 68. T. Steiner, Was 56:29; 71. D. Halfacre, Col 57:13; 78. R. Qualls, Pal 58:21; 82. M. Singh, Pal 59:08; 83. A. Ravencraft, Was 59:16; 87. K. Taylor, Pal 1:01:47; 92. K. Greathouse, Was 1:03:38; 95. B. Brunnhoelzl, Was 1:06:55; 96. A. Bashor, Was 1:11:37;

Girls’ individual results (top 20):

1. M. Gellert, West 34:34; 2. M. York, West 34:53; 3. J. Difolco,WV 35:15 4. K. Kramer, WV 35:26; 5. H. Booher, Chu 35:48; 6. E. Nelson, Chu 36:03; 7. A. Amick, Sou 36:44; 8. R. Cvancara, Dim 36:48; 9. A. LeClair, West 36:50.4; 10. A. Hanestad, Col 36:50.5; 11. M. Meeds, Sou 36:52; 12. A. Proffitt, Chu 37:10; 13. A. Legate, West 37:27; 14. E. Sees, Chu 37:33; 15. M. Druckenmiller, WV 37:38; 16. R. Berrigan, Pal 37:45; 17. I. Eski, West 38:02; 18. G. Tobin, Ser 38:02; 19. R. Boonstra, Ken 38:07; 20. A. Gonzales, East 38:17.

Other Valley finishers:

33. A. Kopsack, Col 40:34; 38. R. Woodings, Pal 41:04; 45. B. Block, Col 42:51; 49. C. Powers, Col 43:01; 52. C. Bates, Was 43:27; 55. A. Taylor, Pal 43:55; 61. A. Baxter, Pal 44:38; 69. S. Spaic, Col 46:07; 74. Z. Capp, Pal 47:10; 81. T. French, Col 47:41; 89. G. Singh, Pal 50:24.

Boys’ 10-kilometer freestyle

Total team times:

1. West 1:37:58; 2. South 1:38:08; 3. Service 1:39:01; 4. West Valley 1:40:10; 5. Dimond 1:46:34; 6. Grace 1:47:01; 7. Chugiak 1:47:32; 8. Soldotna 1:49:10; 9. Lathrop 1:49:59; 10. Colony 1:50:52; 11. Palmer 1:51:06; 12. Kenai 1:52:13; 13. Homer 1:56:03; 14. Eagle River 2:01:07; 15. Wasilla 2:15:02; 16. Valdez 2:21:12.

Individual results (top 20):

1. G. Schumacher, Ser 23:19; 2. H. Wonders, Sou 23:20; 3. L. Jager, West 23:33; 4. T. Donaldson, WV 24:22; 5. J. Alverts, Pal 24:25; 6. C. Tobin, Ser 24:26; 7. T. Wiese, West 24:28; 8. S. York, West 24:40; 9. A. Hull, Sou 24:52; 10. K. Meyers, Sou 24:55; 11. H. Wolf, Sou 24:59; 12. A. Endestad, WV 25:03; 13. T. Knopp, Col 25:09; 14. B. Koenig, WV 25:15; 15. N. Ravens, West 25:16; 16. R. Swingle, WV 25:28; 17. Z. Bassett, Ser 25:33; 18. L. Mowry, Lat 25:37; 19. C. Schoff, Sou 25:38; 20. L. Fritzel, Gra 25:38.

Other Valley finishers:

36. G. Block, Col 27:01; 43. J. Houston, Pal 27:42; 47. J. Walling, Pal 27:48; 60. E. Cowan, Col 29:12; 63. B. Grover, Col 29:29; 65. N. Kristich, Col 29:59; 70. T. Steiner, Was 30:19; 73. D. Halfacre, Col 30:52; 76. R. Qualls, Pal 31:09; 81. M. Singh, Pal 31:41; 87. A. Ravencroft, Was 32:47; 91. K. Taylor, Pal 33:46; 92. K. Greathouse, Was 34:14; 95. A. Bashor, Was 37:40; 96. B. Brunnhoelzl, Was 37:54.

Girls’ 7.5-K freestyle:

Total team times:

1. West 1:11:00; 2. Chugiak 1:12:46; 3. West Valley 1:12:48; 4. South 1:16:18; 5. Service 1:18:24; 6. Colony 1:21:09; 7. Kenai 1:21:15; 8. Dimond 1:22:34; 9. Palmer 1:22:38; 10. East 1:24:54; 11. Homer 1:26:38; 12. Grace 1:27:12 13. Soldotna 1:27:29; 14. Lathrop 1:27:48; 15. Seward 1:30:12.

Individual results:

1. M. Gellert, West 16:58; 2. M. York, West 17:13; 3. J. Difolco, WV 17:40; 4. K. Kramer, WV 17:42; 5. H. Booher, Chu 17:51; 6. E. Nelson, Chu 17:52; 7. M. Druckenmiller, WV 18:06; 8. A. Hanestad, Col 18:11; 9. R. Cvancara, Dim 18:12; 10. M. Meeds, Sou 18:13; 11. A. Proffitt, Chu 18:21; 12. A. Amick, Sou 18:23; 13. A. Legate, West 18:24; 14. A. LeClair, West 18:24; 15. A. Gonzales, East 18:41; 16. E. Sees, Chu 18:41; 17. R. Boonstra, Ken 18:46; 18. R. Lindquist, Sewe 18:47; 19. G. Tobin, Ser 18:49; 20. I. Eski, West 18:56.

Other Valley finishers:

22. R. Berrigan, Pal 19:11; 29. A. Kopsack, Col 19:50; 34. R. Woodings, Pal 20:02; 47. B. Block, Col 21:13; 50. C. Bales, Was 21:13; 52. A. Taylor, Pal 21:41; 53. A. Baxter, Pal 21:43; 57. C. Powers, Col 21:54; 74. Z. Copp, Pal 23:24; 76. S. Spaic, Col 23:25; 79. T. French, Col 23:47; 87. G. Singh, Pal 25:16.

Boys’ 7.5-K Classic

Total team times:

1. Service 1:2207; 2. West 1:23:24; 3. South 1:24:42; 4. West Valley 1:27:52; 5. Dimond 1:30:36; 6. Grace 1:32:03; 7. Chugiak 1:32:48; 8. Colony 1:32:55; 9. Soldotna 1:33:02; 10. Lathrop 1:34:13; 11. Palmer 1:37:06; 12. Kenai 1:37:18; 13. Eagle River 1:43:19; 14. Homer 1:43:39; 15. Wasilla 1:51:02; 16. Valdez 2:06:47.

Individual results (top 20):

1. G. Schumacher, Ser 19:32; 2. L. Jager, West 19:37; 3. H. Wonders, Sou 19:57; 4. C. Tobin, Ser 20:05; 5. T. Knopp, Col 20:36; 6. S. York, West 20:44; 7. Z. Bassett, Ser 20:58; 8. A. Hull, Sou 21:03; 9. N. Ravens, West 21:24; 10. H. Wolf, Sou 21:30; 11. E. Hermanson, Ser 21:30 12. J. Alverts, Pal 21:33; 13. T. Donaldson, WV 21:34; 14. T. Wiese, West 21:38; 15. L. Mowry, Lat 21:34; 16. T. Fritzel, Gra 21:50; 17. B. Keener, WV 21:52; 18. G. Cvancara, Dim 21:54; 19. B. Koenig, WV 22:08; 20. L. Fritzel, Gra 22:08.

Other Valley finishers:

38. G. Block, Col 23:09; 39. J. Houston, Pal 23:14; 49. B. Grover, Col 24:20; 53. E. Cowan, Col 24:50; 57. J. Walling, Pal 25:06; 61. N. Kristich, Col 25:20; 70. T. Steiner, Was 26:09; 72. D. Halfacre, Col 26:20; 73. A. Ravencroft, Was 26:28; 80. R. Qualls, Pal 27:11; 82. M. Singh, Pal 27:27; 86. K. Taylor, Pal 28:00; 88. B. Brunnhoelzl, Was 29:00; 90. K. Greathouse, Was 29:23; 97. A. Bashor, Was 33:57.

Girls’ 5-K Classic:

Total team times:

1. West 1:12:44; 2. Chugiak 1:13:48; 3. West Valley 1:14:19; 4. South 1:17:36; 5. Service 1:18:14; 6. Colony 1:22:07; 7. Dimond 1:23:58; 8. Kenai 1:24:05; 9. Palmer 1:24:45; 10. Lathrop 1:25:36; 11. East 1:25:46; 12. Grace 1:26:11; 13. Homer 1:28:06; 14. Soldotna 1:28:55; 15. Valdez 1:32:38; 16. Eagle River 1:33: 24; 17. Seward 1:36:06.

Individual results (top 20):

1. J. Difolco, WV 17:35; 2. M. Gellart, West 17:35; 3. M. York, West 17:40; 4. K. Kramer, WV 17:43; 5. H. Booher, Chu 17:56; 6. E. Nelson, Chu 18:10; 7. A. Amick, Sou 18:21; 8. A. LeClair, West 18:25; 9. R. Berrigan, Pal 18:34; 10. R. Cvancara, Dim 18:36; 11. M. Meeds, Sou 18:39; 12. A. Hanestad, Col 18:39; 13. A. Proffitt, Chu 18:49; 14. E. Sees, Chu 18:51; 15. A. Legate, West 19:02; 16. I. Eski, West 19:06; 17. G. Tobin, Ser 19:13; 18. R. Boonstra, Ken 19:21; 19. E. Jerone, WV 19:28; 20. M. Druckenmiller, WV 19:31.

Other Valley finishers:

37. A. Kopsack, Col 20:43; 41. R. Woodings, Pal 21:02; 43. C. Powers, Col 21:06; 50. B. Block, Col 21:38; 57. C. Bailes, Was 21:55; 59. A. Taylor, Pal 22:13; 63. S. Spaic, Col 22:41; 69. A. Baxter, Pal 22:55; 78. Z. Copp, Pal 23:46; 81. T. French, Col 23:56; 88. G. Singh, Pal 25:08.