March 14, 2013 (Fairbanks, Alaska) – The U.S. and Alaska flags flapped steadily in the Birch Hill stadium as the qualifying round of the freestyle sprint began late Thursday morning amid brisk conditions.

The temperature was 8 degrees Fahrenheit and the windchill read minus 8 when Max Donaldson of Team Alaska set off as the first skier in the J2 men’s division at the U.S. Cross Country Junior Nationals.

His mission, like everyone else’s on the serpentine 1K loop, was to finish among the top 30 skiers of his division and advance to Thursday afternoon’s heats.

Donaldson had no problem advancing as the sixth-ranked qualifier, though Alaskan teammate Jake Bassett claimed the top time in 2:20:06. Bassett ranked 4.2 seconds ahead of Logan Diekmann of Intermountain.

One of the most anticipated matchups is in men’s OJ, where Ben Saxton of Midwest seeks seek to dethrone Alaska’s Logan Hanneman, the winner of Monday’s freestyle race and anchor of Tuesday’s winning relay.

“That was rough,” Saxton told Hanneman before learning he’d posted the top qualifying time on the OJ 1.25-kilometer course of 2:40.11. Hanneman was second 2.54 seconds behind, then revealed he felt “flat.” The feeling, however, is nothing unusual for qualifying rounds, he said, and is not necessarily an indicator of how the rounds will go.

Racers also face the challenge of warming up properly for the intensity of the all-out sprint while also staying warm and recovering before the next round of racing.

In the J1 men’s division, Matti Stenshagen of guest Norway posted the fastest preliminary time of 2:44.54. The top American qualifier was Thomas O’Harra of Alaska 2.54 seconds slower.

In the girls’ qualifiers, the J1 division is again going faster than the Older Juniors. Annika Miller of Intermountain skied a 3:12.05 to lead all women, exactly 3 seconds quicker than Norwegian guest Tiril Weng.

Felicia Gesior of Midwest was the fifth-fastest girl, but top OJ in 3:16.36. Stephanie Kirk of Alaska trailed Gesior by 1.75 seconds.

Julia Kern of New England led the J2 division in 2:43.98 with Lydia Blanchet of Alaska 1.17 seconds back.

See full preliminary results HERE.

During the break between the qualifying round and heats, the sun still shone and the temperature had warmed up to about 15 degrees, with winds near 10 miles per hour and a windchill just above zero. The chilly weather, slow snow and challenging course present challenging conditions for the heats, which features 5 quarterfinals per division followed by a pair of semifinal rounds and then the A and B Finals.

The top two finishers of each heat in J2, J1 and OJ, along with a pair of lucky losers, will advance to the semifinals.

The heats, beginning with J1 men, start at 3:15 p.m. They will conclude around 7:15 p.m. with the men’s OJ final.

Videos by Kirk Nichols HERE.
Read more on the championships HERE.