Men's Besh Cup Sprint Podium © APU

December 22, 2014 – The Conoco Phillips Besh Cup series kicked off Saturday at Kincaid Park in Anchorage, Alaska with back-to-back FIS scored races. Low snow conditions led to a shorter than usual Saturday sprint race as well as a change from classic to skate.  Sunday’s race was an interval start skate race at the Hillside Trails.

In Saturday’s Free Sprint, it was U20 APU skier Thomas O’Harra with the top Men’s qualifying time. He went on to finish 5th overall and top U20, while APU’s Tyler Kornfield took home the win. Mackenzie Kanady (UAA) snagged the top spot in the Senior women’s competition.

The distance Besh Cup race on Sunday saw an interval start 10k FR race for the women and 15k for the men. In the Women’s 10k, APU skiers went 1-2-3. Holly Brooks won the race by 51.6 seconds after just returning from her first Marathon race of the season, La Sgambeda in Italy. Chelsea Holmes was second and Becca Rorabaugh placed third.

In the Men’s 15k race, it was also a podium sweep for APU. After suffering an injury this fall, Scott Patterson impressively raced to the top step. APU Teammate Eric Packer finished second, and David Norris third.

Results

Day 1 qualifying here.
Day 1 final results here.

Day 2 final results here.