Crimson Bears cross-country skiers in sync

The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Nordic Ski team spent the bitter cold morning Saturday hosting their first official race of the season on the Eaglecrest Ski Area lower cross-country trail in the Shaky Shakeout Invitational, a six-kilometer freestyle (skate ski) mass start.

While the community race encountered timing issues that resulted in no actual times being recorded and skiers mistakenly turned the proposed 6K route into a 8K to 9K outing, the desired result was achieved — that of a race day environment with competition and fun.

“It is no secret that the snow has been a little late to show up,” JDHS coach Abby McAllister said. “Winter took its time this year. What really impressed me is these athletes, they showed up on the starting line, they really didn’t know a lot about how they would stack up against each other and how they would stack up against our adult league — which showed up, which is fantastic — and even some of the coaches that stepped to the line today. That takes a lot of bravery. And so I’m really impressed with the bravery and the way that they put themselves out there.”

The top three high school female skiers were sophomore Kaia Mangaccat, senior Ida Meyer and freshman Sigrid Eller.

“It was pretty fun,” Mangaccat said. “The weather’s nice, except me and two other people went the wrong way at one point and then right before the end we also went the wrong way.”

The race featured adult, high school and middle school athletes on the course and helping on the course.

“It was fun. I like seeing all the middle schoolers there today cheering us on,” Meyer said of the race turnout. “That is great. And all the parents and all the other community members that showed up. It makes it so much more fun.”

The overall fastest skier on the course was adult male Julius Adolfsson, who is originally from Sweden, and the fastest adult female was his wife Aldyn Brudie.

“It was fun to be out there and fun to race against these kids on such a beautiful day,” Julius Adolfsson said. “Great grooming again from Wayne Carnes. Yeah, just a great race in general.”

Adolfsson said the key to being a good cross-country skier is “time on skis. You know, really getting as much time as you can on skis, both classic and skate, and of course it doesn’t hurt to run a little bit in the summer as well and do some weight training as well. So good cross training as well.”

The top three high school male skiers were senior Ferguson Wheeler, freshman Landon Adkins and senior Finley Hightower.

“First for high schoolers, but Julius totally destroyed me,” Wheeler said. “But he doesn’t count, you know, he’s from Finland or whatever so he’s got the skills…Seriously, though, we’ve been practicing a lot of form this year, like trying to nail down our form for the races. But this year we haven’t really done a ton of racing so now I’m remembering what it feels to be in the middle of the race and be tired and still have to stick to your form. Because if you don’t stick to good technique, then you just start to burn energy and get less efficient. Which is hard to motivate yourself to do because sometimes it feels like it’s harder, but I think I just have to remember to stick to good technique in the middle of the race…I think I did pretty good today. I think I could have pushed a little harder, but it is just the first race of the season basically, still feeling it out. But it’s a nice day out here and a really fun race even though the course was a little confusing. Yeah, I really liked it.”

The JDHS Nordic Ski Team will take 21 athletes to compete at the Region VI championships at Fairbanks’ Birch Hill Recreation Area this weekend. Originally the team was going to the Region III championships in Kenai, but the lack of snow has made Fairbanks a popular destination for most schools.

“One thing I have learned is that it is really helpful to stay in the tuck on the downhills,” Mangaccat said. “It helps you go. It is a lot more efficient and to focus on the person ahead of you works well, too.”

Added Meyer, “I am definitely going to coat my face in Aquaphor because it saves me from the cold and I’m actually not that cold right now. I am also going to put on three layers underneath my race suit again.”

Friday will be a 7.5K Freestyle Mass Start and Saturday races are a 4x3K Mixed Technique relay of dual discipline, meaning two legs of classic and two legs of freestyle.

The 2025 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska Nordic Ski State Championships are scheduled for Palmer’s Government Peak Recreation Area Trails Feb. 20-22. JDHS will take seven females and seven males to the event. The first day of races are the 5K Interval Start Classic Technique (males first race, females second), the second day is the 7.5K Mass Start Freestyle (females first race, males second) and the third day is the 4x3K Mixed Technique — Classic-Classic-Free-Free (females first race, males second).

• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.