March 24, 2009 (Fairbanks, Alaska) – The Wedgewood Resort 2009 US Cross Country Ski Championships will be starting at 6:00pm Tuesday, March 24 on the Jim Whisenhant Ski Trails at Birch Hill Recreation Area in Fairbanks, Alaska. The opening event is the Yukon Title Company 5Km/10Km Classic Technique Interval Start race. The race series is hosted by the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks which has hosted several major national and international events.

Click here for today’s start list or for entries by affiliation click here.

The field for the first race includes 43 women and 52 men. The women’s “A” seed includes USST skiers Liz Stephen and Morgan Arritola who dominated this series one year ago. Other USST members in the field include Morgan Smyth, Lindsey Dehlin, and Rosie Brennan.

Also in the “A” seed are Alaska skiers Becca Rorabaugh (APU), Kate Pearson (APU/Rossignol), Taz Mannix (APU/USST), Aurelia Korthauer (a red-shirt skier at UAF), Jaime Bronga (NSAA/UAA), Kate Fitzgerald (APU), Sadie Bjornsen (UAA) and Nicole Deyong, now skiing for Fischer-Craft and SVSEF.

World Championships Sprint Silver-Medalist Kikkan Randall and Laura Valaas (both APU/USST) scratched from the Tuesday race.

The men’s race features several skiers with very low FIS points, including Canadians Ivan Babikov (winner of the hill-climb stage of this year’s Tour de Ski), Dan Roycroft, Stefan Kuhn and Graham Nishikawa. From the USST are Chris Cook, Matt Gelso (also Auburn SC), Noah Hoffman (SVSEF), Leif Zimmerman (Bridger SF) and Garrott Kuzzy (CXC Elite).

Top Alaskans in the field include Brent Knight (APU), James Southam (APU), Lars FLora (Saab-Salomon/APU), Mike Hinckley (Alaska Winter Stars) and state high school champion Scott Patterson. UA Fairbanks skiers in the field include Erik Soderstrom, John Parry, Will Coleman, Robert Pakk and Alex Morris. Local hot junior entries include David Norris (FAST), Reese Hanneman (FAST), Jordan Buetow (FXC), Kelsey Boyer (FXC) and Logan Hanneman (FAST).

Skies have been very sunny, and with the solar gain from the long days temperatures have reached the low-to-mid-20’s the last couple of afternoons, with a breeze starting up later in the afternoon. According to the coaches testing skis, the snow has been getting faster in the last couple of days after being quite slow last week.

Tracks will be set in the morning and should be rock hard and fast by race time. The course will be the “Three Hills” 5Km loop which has been used for several major races including the 2003 JO 5Km Classic, several state high school championships and a number of NorAm and SuperTour races. The major climb on the course occurs just past the 1.5 mark – the skiers descend to the stadium then climb 42m non-stop to the highest point on the trail system. The final meaningful ascent starts just before 4Km and climbs more than 30m back up to the stadium. Men will ski two laps of the course.

So far, ash from the Mt. Redoubt eruption has not proven to be a hazard for the races – although it has stranded the TD, Assistant TD and PA Announcer in Anchorage. If the ash clears all should be in Fairbanks by tomorrow. It is unknown if any skiers who had hoped to be here for the races have been delayed by the atmospheric conditions.

USSA Release – Distance Nationals Head To Fairbanks

With the World Cup tour wrapped up for 2009, U.S. cross country skiers are getting ready to close out the season as they head to Fairbanks for the second time in as many years for the 2009 U.S. Distance Cross Country Championships March 24-29.

“Last year was the first year we went to Fairbanks for long distance nationals and they did a superb job,” U.S. Nordic Program Director John Farra said. “Right now they still have winter there. There is plenty of snow and the weather is nice so it looks like we’ll have a great event up there.”

Among the athletes expected to compete are World Championship silver medalist Kikkan Randall (Anchorage), Olympian Torin Koos (Leavenworth, WA) and top distance skiers Liz Stephen and Morgan Arritola. After starting out the U.S. Cross Country Championships in Alaska in January with sprint and medium distance disciplines, the championships make a final stop at Wedgwood Resort in Fairbanks for long distance races. “We have four high caliber events with the highest level of competition in the nation all at the end of the season,” Farra said.

The championships will also feature the 5/10K interval start classic and freestyle team sprints, which were not held in Anchorage due to poor weather. “We’re really lucky to have a venue that can host all four of those races,” Farra said. “What that’s done is upped the ante. Anyone who has considered not going because they may be more of a sprinter than a distance athlete is now going. Fairbanks has become the place to be to end the season. It’s the last chance to improve one’s USSA points.”

Of the top athletes expected to compete, Randall is, perhaps, the most excited to be getting some on snow time in her home state.”It’s nice to know that there’s one more week of racing and it will be nice to go somewhere familiar and race in Fairbanks,” Randall said. “The crew there is getting all geared up and the city is excited so I think it will be a fun championship.”

According to Randall, the rich history of cross country skiing in Fairbanks is going to make the championships an amazing event. “There is a good culture of skiing up there. They put a lot of work into the trails and the facilities,” Randall said. “The people there are really passionate, so you’ll have a good atmosphere. There’s going to be a lot of fans coming out and it will be a great end to the season.”

Fans can keep track of the action as it starts Tuesday in Fairbanks.

2009 U.S. Distance Cross Country Championships schedule
March 24 – 5/10km classic * rescheduled
March 25 – Team sprint freestyle * rescheduled
March 27 – 15/30km pursuit
March 29 – 30/50km classic mass start