Lookout Mountain in Homer hosted the third and fourth races in the Besh Cup series Saturday and Sunday. The Besh Cup races feature the top skiers in the state and are used to select Alaska teams for Junior Nationals and the Arctic Winter Games.
Saturday, racers competed in freestyle sprints. In the 1.2-kilometer race for U16, U18 and U20 boys, Kenai Central’s Karl Danielson led the peninsula’s effort by taking second place in the final. Dawson Knopp defeated Danielson for the victory. Also from the peninsula, Soldotna’s Jeremy Kupferschmid finished 22nd, Soldotna High School’s Koby Vinson finished 26th, Homer’s Caleb Rauch was 44th, Homer’s Jacob Davis was 47th, Soldotna’s Jack Harris was 49th, Soldotna’s Bradley Walters was 51st and Homer’s Denver Waclawski was 52nd.
In the 1.2-kilometer race for U16 and U18 women, Addison Gibson gave Kenai Central another solid finish by taking third in the final. Quincy Donley won the event. Also from the peninsula, Katia Holmes was 25th, Soldotna’s Sonora Martin was 36th, Homer’s Zoe Stonorov was 37th, Soldotna’s Kellie Arthur was 43rd and Soldotna’s Cameron Blackwell was 51st.
In the U14 boys 1.1-kilometer sprint, Soldotna’s Tyler Hippchen was 19th. In the .5-kilometer sprint for U8 and U10 boys, Homer’s Reid Rauch took the win while Homer’s Joy Ridgely was second, Anchor Point’s Nate Jaworski was third, Homer’s Fischer Corazza Spurkland was fourth and Homer’s Sawyer Johnson was fifth.
Sunday, racers did an interval start classic race.
For U18 females, Gibson led the way in the 5K by taking fourth place at 16:58, about 30 seconds behind the winner. Arthur was 14th in 19:15 and Holmes was 15th in 19:27.
For U20 males, Danielson was fourth at 29:47, Davis was sixth at 31:29 and Waclawski was eight at 33:19.
For U16 females, Homer’s Autumn Daigle finished seventh in a 5K race, finishing at 19:21. Martin was 14th at 20:39 and Stonorov was 15th at 20:50.
For U18 males, Kupferschmid was 21st in in the 10K, finishing at 33:55. Harris was 22nd at 34:09, Rauch was 24th at 35:17 and Walters was 26th at 35:38.
