Five western Alaska athletes are set to compete in Greenland next year after earning spots on Team Alaska for the 2016 Arctic Winter Games at the Western Interior Cross Country Ski and Biathlon championships.
Skiers and biathletes from across western Alaska and the interior gathered in White Mountain late last week for the event. The teams are part of the Western Interior Ski Biathlon Association. Interior teams came from Galena, Manley and Nenana, while western teams came from Gambell and Savoonga, Shishmaref, White Mountain, Koyuk, Unalakleet, and Nome.
Thursday saw events kick off with the 7.5-km cross country ski race around the “Sweetheart Loop,” a trail into the backcountry around Sweetheart Mountain.
“Very classic trail in the state. I think anybody who’s into skiing has not fulfilled their skiing bucket list if they haven’t gotten to WMO and done the Sweetheart Loop,” said WISA president Keith Conger, who works alongside Jeff Collins to coach the Nome team.
In the first race Galena freshman Jacob Moos took first, with a time of 26 minutes and 31 seconds, about 30 seconds faster than the second place finisher, sophomore Wilson Hoogendorn of Nome. Third went to Aaron Bergamaschi of White Mountain.
For the girls in the cross country ski race, Nome sophomore Bianca Trowbridge took first, also winning by roughly 30 seconds over second place Alyeska Daniels from Unalakleet. Third went to Galena’s Carolyn Sam.
The junior high boys and girls ran a shorter 4k race, with Nome’s Mallory Conger taking first by nearly two minutes, faster than the junior high boys first place finisher, Daniel Kopp from Galena.
Biathletes took to the trails Friday, with Nome’s Bianca Trowbridge again leading the high school girls with a time of 22 minutes 51 seconds, hitting 5 out of 10 targets. Aliy Daniels took second, and Nome’s Janelle Trowbridge took third.
That first-place finish secures Trowbridge a spot on the WISA contingent for Team Alaska to next year’s international games in Nuuk, Greenland. She said it took a season of intense training.
“At the beginning of the season I had a goal, and it was to make it to Arctic Winter Games, and I worked as much as I could to get there.”
Get there she did, and coach Conger said her effort was unlike anything he’s ever seen as coach. “[She] increased her training, three, four fold from the past. Had a determination that I’ve never had in any other athlete that I’ve ever coached. She was as motivated as I’ve ever seen. Her goal was to be number one in the biathlon, in the state of Alaska, and she achieved that goal, and has a ticket now to go to Greenland as a ski biathlon.”
Trowbridge wasn’t the only one to earn a spot in Greenland from the WISA championship. In the high school boys’ biathlon race, Nome’s Wilson Hoogendorn took first, with a time of 19 minutes 13 seconds—and he also shot clean, hitting ten of ten targets. Galena’s Jacob Moos took second, and Aaron Bergamaschi of White Mountain took third.
Coach Conger said skiing started out as a way of Hoogendorn, already one of the state’s top 25 runners, to keep up his cross country cardio in the winter. Now it’s taking him to an international competition.
“Quick study, has the drive and the head for really being very competitive and very easy to coach,” Conger said. “First year skier, ended up winning the biathlon, hit 10 out of 10 shots, and he has a ticket to go to Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska.”
Junior high biathletes were again led by Mallory Conger, with an incredible time of 21 minutes 26 seconds and hitting all ten targets. Finishing first for the junior high boys was Galena’s Daniel Kopp.
Mallory Conger will run the cross-country skiing event in Greenland, joining her Nome teammates Trowbridge and Hoogendorn, who are now qualified after their victories in the WISA event. Those three will join previously-qualified Galena athletes Jacob Moos and Carolyn Sam for the biathlon event in Nuuk next March.
Overall team awards saw the Nome girls take home first in both the high school and junior high teams. White Mountain took first for the high school boys, while Galena took first for the junior high boys.
Jacob Moos and Bianca Trowbridge also took home Skimeister awards for the high school athletes. Mallory Conger and Galena’s Daniel Kopp were the junior high Skimeisters. The Unalakleet team took home the sportsmanship award.
