Pierson beat her red-shirted Nanooks teammate, Raphaela Sieber, by only 0.3 seconds in the 5-kilometer race to take top overall honors in the women’s division. Celia Haering, a Junior 2 from Alaska Pacific University NSC (APU), was third at 15:02.4. Fairbanks Cross Country (FXC)/West Valley teammates Marisa Rorabaugh (first in the older junior class) and Hannah Boyer (first J1) were fourth and fifth in 15:10.1 and 15:12.9, respectively.
Flaharty (25:55.8) was 21.9 seconds faster than APU coach Dylan Watts (26:17.7) in the men’s 10K race. FAST’s David Norris was third overall and first in the J1/OJ rankings, Nanook John Parry of Whitehorse was fourth, and Nick Treinen (AWS) was second OJ and second in the J1/OJ rankings.
Three J1 skiers, Logan Hanneman (FAST), Forest Mahlen (APU) and Jack Novak APU), rounded out the top 5 in the J1/OJ group.
Saturday’s race on the Jim Whisenhant Ski Trails was an interval start freestyle event.
Today’s race will be a mass start classic technique event starting at 11 a.m. It is the final event in the six-race qualifying series that determines who will qualify for the Alaska teams to the 2010 Junior Olympics in Presque Isle, Maine, and the 2010 Arctic Winter Games in Grande Prairie, Alberta.
Cold temperatures earlier in the week put some doubt into whether the races would be held in Fairbanks but temperatures were not a problem on Saturday.
Temperatures at the start were in the mid-teens, and the mercury even touched 20 before the racing concluded on Saturday.
The course used was the traditional “Three Hills” course, including the Blue Loop, the East Ramp/Tower Direct climb and the White Bear/White Bear Access ascent back to the stadium. It is the same course that will be used for the ASAA state high school championship girls 5K interval start event at the end of this month.
The J1-OJ-senior and masters men did two laps of the women’s 5K course.
Finishing behind Haering in the J2 class were Stephanie Kirk of Alaska Nordic Racing, Marion Woods of Alaska Winter Stars, Maranda Merkes of Soldotna, and Eliza Rorabaugh (FXC/WVHS).
Jessie Yeaton (OJ), Kryston McPhetres (J1/ANR) and Mackenzie Kanady (J1/AWS) rounded out the top five for J1/OJ girls.
In the J2 boys 5K, Arctic Winter Stars racers Austin Hess and John Glen finished first and second. Lathrop’s Kyle Hanson placed third. Douglas Watts (West Anchorage) and Jake Prince (AWS) were fourth and fifth.
Local skiers Kuba Grzeda (FAST/WVHS) and Riley Troyer (WVHS) helped their qualifying rankings by placing sixth and seventh, respectively. Eric Hoefler (FAST) was ninth.
Eight J2 boys and eight girls will go to the Junior Olympics and four J2 boys and four girls will go to the Arctic Winter Games.
Contact the News-Miner sports department at 459-7581.
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