newsminer.com

Photo by Eric Engman

Photo by Eric Engman

Photo by Eric Engman

FAIRBANKS — More than 340 Nordic skiers, from kindergarten to senior age, participated in the Town Race Series opener on Saturday at Birch Hill Recreation Area.

The Fairbanks Youth Sports Season Opener kicked off the popular 13th annual Flint Hills Resources Town Races Series and included multiple exciting freestyle mass starts at a temperature of about zero degrees.

The largest of the age divisions were the high school races, in which eight school participated, including Valdez and four teams from the Matanuska Valley.

Marisa Rorabaugh of West Valley dominated the 94-skier girls high school race, winning in 19 minutes, 16 seconds. Teammate Wendy Boger was second in 20:19, followed by Wolfpack freshman Hannah Boyer in 20:31. The West Valley girls topped the team standings, with Palmer second and Lathrop third.

For the boys, Logan Hanneman of Lathrop cruised to the win in 21:50, following by West Valley’s Jacob Remington (23:10) and Lathrop’s Robert Hovda (24:13). The Malemutes won the team competition, with Palmer second and West Valley third.

The race also served as the first half of the Alaska Nordic Cup between the Alaska Nanooks and the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves.

UAA took a commanding 27-15 lead by winning the women’s 5-kilometer race 12-9 and having the fastest three collegiate men to take that gender 15-6.

Aurelia Korthauer was actually the fastest woman among 122 racers in 17:30, but because she is redshirting for the Nanooks her result didn’t count in the Cup standings. Jamie Bronga of UAA (17:35), Amy Glen of UAA (17:36) and Julia Pierson of the Nanooks (17:40) were the next three finishers.

In the 141-skier men’s 7.5K race, Raphael Wunderle of UAA won in 20:53, followed by Max Treinen of UAA in 21:03 and Scott Patterson of Alaska Winter Stars in 21:08. Oyvind Watterdal was the fastest Nanook in 21:31, good for eighth place.

Today beginning at 10:30 a.m. at Birch Hill will be an individual-start classic race, with women going 5K and men striding 10K. The event is a USSA National Ranking List points race as well as the second half of the Alaska Nordic Cup.

Contact the News-Miner sports department at 459-7581.