Birch Hill, Fairbanks
Courtesy of VHS Nordic Ski Coach
The Valdez Nordic Ski team wrapped up their season at the state competition in Fairbanks.
Nine skiers represented Valdez in the difficult three-day race, comprising the best racers in the state. This was the Bucs’ third time skiing the Birch Hill trails this winter, but it was by far the most challenging course of the season. Steep climbs followed by fast downhills and tight turns, only to be rewarded by more steep climbs, made each race a true test. But the Bucs were ready for the challenge.
Day 1 featured a 5k Classic race on a grueling course that set the tone for the state competition. With a climb of 37.9 meters per kilometer, there was very little skiing that wasn’t climbing over the course of the race. First up was the boys’ team, comprised of four juniors—Gray Odencrans, James Humphrey, Gabe Caruthers, and Braiden Williams—and two freshmen, Zane Caruthers and Paxson Williams. Gabe had a great first day, coming in first for the Bucs on Classic day with a time of 19:26. Next in for the Bucs was Gray Odencrans, who pushed through illness to have a great race. James Humphrey came in just 36 seconds after Gray, with our top three boys competitively grouped within a minute of each other. Zane Caruthers came in 4th for the Bucs, securing his time for the overall team score after skiing a great first race at state. The girls were up next, featuring three Valdez skiers: senior Morgan Hamilton, senior Kinsey Mishmash, and junior Hailey Major. Kinsey came in first for the Bucs in Classic technique with a great time of 26:07. As a first-year skier at state, Kinsey was fearless and skied a great race. It’s been fun to see her take to skiing so quickly. Just 50 seconds later, Morgan crossed the finish line after battling through the difficult race in her less-preferred technique.
Day 2 offered the Bucs a chance to reset physically and mentally with a 7.5k skate mass start race on a similar course to what we completed just two weeks ago at regionals. This time, each skier had a time to chase and the experience and confidence to go after it. The girls were up first, with race temperatures at 11°F. Senior and Captain Morgan Hamilton was excited to ski in her preferred technique for her last race of her high school career. Morgan had just set herself a new PR to chase at regionals. With determination to push V1 up every hill and leave it all on the course, Morgan not only beat her record but set a new one, finishing 2:54 seconds faster! In fact, Morgan wasn’t the only skier to set a new 7.5k skate PR. Every skier who competed this weekend saw dramatic improvements to their times. Kinsey came in second, dropping 6:06 seconds off her time. Next was Hailey Major, who dropped the most time of any skier this weekend, shaving off 7:12 from her previous time!
The six boys were up next, stepping to the start line in the mass start format against 117 skiers. Thankfully, there were no crashes or pileups at the start, and the Bucs got into a good position. Again, our top three boys were competitively grouped within a minute of each other for the entire race, pushing each other forward. Gray was the first Buc across the finish line in skate technique, dropping 3:20 from his regional time. Gabe was next, dropping 4:44 off his time.
James suffered a painful crash on a difficult downhill turn that also broke his pole. Despite that, James powered through and fought with a broken pole all the way to the finish, setting a PR and dropping 3:38. In 4th place, securing the final spot on the team relay, was Braiden Williams, who skied a great race, dropping 4:45. The freshman boys continued to impress, learning and progressing with the valuable experience of competing at state. Both set new records for themselves, with Zane dropping 5:40 and Paxson dropping 6:49. In total, all nine Valdez skiers dropped a total of 21 minutes and 8 seconds from their previous times!
Day 3 featured the team relay. Our boys’ team of all juniors was ready to take on the competition. Two classic skiers, Gabe Caruthers and Braiden Williams, and two skate skiers, James Humphrey and Gray Odencrans, each skied a 4x3k sprint classic race. The boys did great, each dropping time from their last 3k race. However, I know that for these competitive four, there’s still some unfinished business from this season. I’m confident they will return even stronger for their senior years, and I’m excited to see how far they will push the competition next year.
This weekend at state was a strong finish to a difficult season. Each skier committed to finding ways to improve every day despite the challenges of this winter. They took every opportunity to race and saw continued improvement. Overall, we overcame a lot as a team this season, and we had a lot of fun together as well. It was a great way to end the season.
Go Bucs!