The Glennallen Nordic Ski team wrapped up their season recently. The Panthers were at the Region VI meet at Birch Hill in Fairbanks on Feb. 6 and Feb. 7, where they had some solid performances to wrap up the year.
The first day consisted of a 7.5 classic style race on what head coach Bruce Rogers described as a “hilly and challenging course.”
In the boys’ race, Sheperd Korth finished in 34th place out of a field of 47 skiers, with a time of 34:08. Brett Gearhart was also 38th on a time of 36:18. In the girls’ portion, Kayla Abbott was 19th out of 33 skiers, thanks to her time of 35:55. Ally Fields managed a time of 39:23, giving her 21st overall.
Day two was a 4-person freestyle relay. Because Glennallen did not have four boys or four girls, they entered a two-boy and two-girl team into the boys’ race. They finished 10th out of 13 teams in that event.
Other teams competing at regionals included West Valley, Lathrop, Valdez, Hutchinson, Monroe Catholic, and North Pole.
“The Glennallen Nordic Ski team is in a transitional year this year, having lost eight skiers in the off-season to athletes graduating or families moving away,” Rogers said. “We adjusted our team objectives to focus more on teaching skiing as a life skill and improving athlete conditioning rather than competing at a high level at state.”
While their goals were different than other years, Rogers still felt that the season was a success as the Panthers were still able to accomplish what they set out to.
“I’m proud of these kids for sticking with skiing despite some very challenging conditions this year,” he said. “Skiing at -30 in the dark is not much fun but I never heard any complaints about the cold. We met our objectives of teaching Nordic skiing skills and improving or maintaining a good baseline physical condition. We also learned a lot about skiing competitively and strategies and techniques for Nordic ski races.”
Giving the program a major boost was a good number of middle school athletes coming out for the team. Glennallen also welcomed in students from Kenny Lake to join the roster.
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“(We are) encouraging a Copper Valley-wide team,” Rogers said. “For next year, we hope to build on the interest that we currently have. We have two graduating seniors this year but a good group of middle schoolers, plus we will continue with our mutually beneficial relationship with Kenny Lake.”
High schoolers on the team this year from Glennallen were Sheperd Korth, Kayla Abbott, Ally Fields and Mariah Abbott. Kenny Lake members were Sam Patinka and Andrew Bryan. Middle schoolers from Glennallen were Brett Gearhart, Jason Dysinger, Jackson Ashton, John Coulter and Gabe Jangala; while Timothy Lorenz is from Kenny Lake.
The team was led by head coach Bruce Rogers and assistant coaches Jack Cornish and Mackenzie Dysinger.
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