Local skiers battle the best at Junior Nationals
Alaska’s Claire Nelson skis onto the trail during the girls U20/U18 5-kilometer freestyle race at the 2019 U.S. Junior National Cross Country Championships on Monday, March 11, 2019 at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. (Matt Tunseth / Chugiak-Eagle River Star)
Alaska’s Konrad Renner, of Chugiak, during the men’s 5-kilometer U16 freestyle race at the 2019 U.S. Junior National Cross Country Championships on Monday, March 11, 2019 at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. (Matt Tunseth / Chugiak-Eagle River Star)
Alaska’s Adrianna Proffitt skis around a corner during the girls U20/U18 5-kilometer freestyle race at the 2019 U.S. Junior National Cross Country Championships on Monday, March 11, 2019 at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. (Matt Tunseth / Chugiak-Eagle River Star)
Alaska’s Gus Schumacher, right, leads up a hill during the men’s 10-kilometer U20/U18 freestyle race at the 2019 U.S. Junior National Cross Country Championships on Monday, March 11, 2019 at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. (Matt Tunseth / Chugiak-Eagle River Star)
Alaska’s Hannah Cryder makes her way down the trail during the girls U20/U18 5-kilometer freestyle race at the 2019 U.S. Junior National Cross Country Championships on Monday, March 11, 2019 at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. (Matt Tunseth / Chugiak-Eagle River Star)
Alaska’s Michael Earnhart during the men’s 10-kilometer U20/U18 freestyle race at the 2019 U.S. Junior National Cross Country Championships on Monday, March 11, 2019 at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. (Matt Tunseth / Chugiak-Eagle River Star)
Alaska’s Emily Walsh races during the girls U20/U18 5-kilometer freestyle race at the 2019 U.S. Junior National Cross Country Championships on Monday, March 11, 2019 at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. (Matt Tunseth / Chugiak-Eagle River Star)
Alaska’s Konrad Renner, of Chugiak, during the men’s 5-kilometer U16 freestyle race at the 2019 U.S. Junior National Cross Country Championships on Monday, March 11, 2019 at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. (Matt Tunseth / Chugiak-Eagle River Star)
Alaska’s Helen Wilson makes her way up the trail during the girls U20/U18 5-kilometer freestyle race at the 2019 U.S. Junior National Cross Country Championships on Monday, March 11, 2019 at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. (Matt Tunseth / Chugiak-Eagle River Star)
Alaska’s Max Beiergrohslein, right, leads up a hill during the men’s 10-kilometer U20/U18 freestyle race at the 2019 U.S. Junior National Cross Country Championships on Monday, March 11, 2019 at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. (Matt Tunseth / Chugiak-Eagle River Star)
Heidi Booher, a Chugiak High grad who skis for the Sun Valley (Idaho) SKi Education Foundation Nordic Ski Team makes her way up the trail during the girls U20/U18 5-kilometer freestyle race at the 2019 U.S. Junior National Cross Country Championships on Monday, March 11, 2019 at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. (Matt Tunseth / Chugiak-Eagle River Star)
Alaska’s Miles Dennis during the men’s 10-kilometer U20/U18 freestyle race at the 2019 U.S. Junior National Cross Country Championships on Monday, March 11, 2019 at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. (Matt Tunseth / Chugiak-Eagle River Star)
Alaska’s Kendall Kramer, of Fairbanks, makes her way up the trail during the girls U20/U18 5-kilometer freestyle race at the 2019 U.S. Junior National Cross Country Championships on Monday, March 11, 2019 at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. (Matt Tunseth / Chugiak-Eagle River Star)
Skier Max Kluck skis up a hill during the men’s 10-kilometer U20/U18 freestyle race at the 2019 U.S. Junior National Cross Country Championships on Monday, March 11, 2019 at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. (Matt Tunseth / Chugiak-Eagle River Star)
Alaska’s Porter Blei during the men’s 5-kilometer U16 freestyle race at the 2019 U.S. Junior National Cross Country Championships on Monday, March 11, 2019 at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. (Matt Tunseth / Chugiak-Eagle River Star)
Emily Walsh, left and Claire Nelson pose for a photo after completing the girls U20/U18 5-kilometer freestyle race at the 2019 U.S. Junior National Cross Country Championships on Monday, March 11, 2019 at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. (Matt Tunseth / Chugiak-Eagle River Star)
Chugiak’s Adrianna Proffitt overcame a fall near the end of the race to turn in the top performance among nearly a dozen locals Monday on the first day of the 2019 U.S. Cross Country Junior National Championships at Kincaid Park.
Proffitt slipped coming through the final tunnel on the tricky course, which was hit with a variety of weather throughout the day ranging from rain to wind to snow to occasional sunshine and temperatures in the upper 30s to low 40s.
Proffitt, who races for Alaska Nordic Racing, was the eighth Alaskan in the women’s 5-kilometer freestyle race and finished 16th among U18 women.
Eagle River’s Helen Wilson was the next local across the line in the race, finishing 37th overall and 24th among U18s. Next among locals was Emily Walsh (56th overall, 39th U18), followed by Claire Nelson (96th overall, 66th U18) and Hannah Cryder (105th overall, 73rd U18). All the local skiers compete for ANR; Wilson, Nelson and Walsh compete scholastically for Eagle River High; Proffitt and Cryder ski for Chugiak High.
Heidi Booher, a Chugiak High grad who is racing for the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation team, finished 31st among U20/U18 women.
Monday’s races were interval start, with the men sking 10 kilometers and the women and U16 boys skiing 5K.
Michael Earnhart was the fastest local men’s skier, finishing 28th overall in the men’s 10-kilometer freestyle race. He was followed by fellow Chugiak High/ANR skiers Miles Dennis in 82nd (34th U20), and Max Beiergrohslein in 101st (63rd U18).
In the U16 boys race, local skiers Konrad Renner finished 32nd out of 72 racers and Porter Blei was 58th.
Racing continues Wednesday with classic sprint races beginning at 10 a.m. at Kincaid. Friday’s racing is a mass start classic competition, with Saturday reserved for relay races. For a complete schedule and results, visit juniornationalsxc2019.com.
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