Anchorage, Alaska – Resse Hanneman (AK) won the boy's OJ 15km mass start classic race at the Junior Olympics in Anchorage, Alaska. Hanneman skied to the top of a star-studded field, edging World Junior team members Noah Hoffman (RM) and Max Treinen (AK) by 1.5 and 1.7 seconds respectively. Another Worl dJunior skier, Reid Pletcher (IM) finished fourth, +28.2.
“The course is just gorgeous,†says Hanneman. “It was just an amazing day out there.â€
With three skiers in the top ten – including the two in the top three, Alaska moved closer to recapturing the coveted Alaska Cup – the trophy awarded to the winner of the overall team competition.
Alaska made it two for two in the OJ class when Becca Rorabaugh took the top spot in the 10km race. Rorabaugh out-sprinted Intermountain's Mali Noyes to take the title by .8 seconds. Parker Tyler (NE) was third, +13.4. The top three were a repeat of the podium in the classic sprint – with Noyes and Parker swapping spots. Noyes also took the gold in the 5km freestyle race.
The J1 boys also raced 10km with Eric Packer leading an impressive Alaska sweep. The top four spots all went to the home state, with David Norris, Andrew Dougherty and Lex Treinen all finishing within 5 seconds of Packer. Treinen took gold in the freestyle race and Packer silver.
Amy Glen continued the Alaska winning streak when she won her second gold of the week in the girl's J1 10km race. Sophie Caldwell (NE) was second, +9.7 and Jesse Diggins third, +28.5. Like the OJ girls, the J1 podium also matched the sprint race – again with second and third swapped.
“It was really awesome,†said the 16-year-old Glen. “I saw the opportunity and I just put it in another gear.â€
Both the J2s raced the usual 5 kilometers. In the boy's race, Scott Patterson led another Alaska sweep of the podium, winning his third medal and second gold of the week. Eric Ryan was second, +15.5 and Logan Hanneman was third, 1.2 seconds in back of Ryan.
In the last race of the day a region other than Alaska finally topped the podium – Joanne Reid of Far West won a tight battle over Elizabeth Anderson (NE), +1.7, and Kinsey Loan (AK), +2.3. Reid just missed the podium in the freestyle race where she finished fourth, less than 5 seconds out of third.
All in all, Alaska put on a strong showing that gives them a solid lead heading into Saturday's relay.
More coverage, including links to articles and photos in the Anchorage Daily News can be found at http://blogs.fasterskier.com/juniornationals
