Alaska
Winter Stars 2000-2001 Season Overview
March
2001
What
an amazing year we have had. Once again Mother Nature provided us
with a challenging winter, not giving us snow and then teasing us
with snow, and then sending the rains and ice after it. The training
we came up with to compensate for the lack of snow was challenging,
but the hard efforts of everyone paid off with some amazing results.
After this season ends, we will resume with spring training and then
start hard summer workouts.
With
spring on its way our training hours are going to increase as we are
stepping into the most important period of preparation for the ski
season. We will be dividing High School Juniors into two groups to
eliminate the gap between our intermediate and advanced juniors. This
year we will have the Elite Junior Team (top 10 at JO '01) in order
to give them an opportunity to prepare well for international races
in the next winter season.
Younger
Advanced Juniors will have an option, just as last year, to attend
Intermediate Junior workouts. Intermediate and beginning older juniors
may come to the afternoon younger junior's practice. We will also
continue the masters program. The idea of our summer workouts is to
prepare the advanced group for major national and international competitions.
Season
Review
The
lack of snow didn't limit our success on the ski trails. AWS juniors
proved once again to be among the best in the state, country, and
the world.
One of
our athletes qualified for World Junior Championships for the 2nd
consecutive year. Congratulations to Tara Hamilton, who was selected
for Cross Country Skiing events in Poland. Tara's 15Th place in 5
Km classic style was the best performance among female US skiers in
last couple of years. Also, Tara improved her freestyle skills placing
34 in sprint and 37 in the 15 km-freestyle.
Another
big success this year was the fact that 16 juniors from our program
qualified for the Junior Olympics '01 in Marquette (Michigan) as well.
Mandy Brassfield-J2, Jenna Farleigh-J2, Katie Ronsse-J2, Paige Brady-J1,
Haley Ohms-J1, Christina May-J1, Kassie Rice-J1, Tara Hamilton-OJ,
Ryan Holtan-J2, Matthew Johnson-J2, Zach Hill-J1, Donovan Walsh-J1,
Dylan Watts-J1, Mark Brady-OJ, Ben Crawford-OJ, Brennan Walsh-OJ.
Among
our sixteen skiers we had 5 gold, 4 silver, and 2 bronze medals in
individual races and 2 gold, 4 silver, and 3 bronze medals in relays.
This makes it total of 20 Junior Olympic medals for Alaska Winter
Star skiers. The AWS skiers that attend Service High School also were
recognized at the Junior Olympics as THE National High School Championship
Team for both Boys and Girls. This is the first time that one high
school has earned both national championships. Our AWS skiers from
West High, Ryan Holtan (JO-10place 5km freestyle, Donnovan and Brennan
Walsh (Brennan-5 place US Tryouts for biathlon Junior World Championship),
had very successful seasons as well. 
AWS-Junior
Olympic Medalists:
Tara
Hamilton
·OJ National Champion-5 km classic (Overall winner -5km)
· 2nd -10 km Free-style
· 2Nd -sprint
· 1St pace - OJ relay 3x5 km
One of our hardest workers on the team. Her dedication and commitment
to the sport is reflected in her results and her leadership of the
team. We wish her the best of luck at University of Denver.
Paige
Brady
· J1 National Champion-5 km classic
· 2Nd place-relay 3x5 km(Paige Brady, Kassie Rice, Christina
May)
Paige was able to step up to a new level of fitness and her results
at Junior Nationals and World Junior Tryouts reflected it. Paige earned
the right to represent the USA at J1 races in Finland as well as was
a member of the Service State Championship Team.
Katie
Ronsse
· J2 National Champion 1km Sprint
· 2Nd place 5 km classic
· 1St -relay 3x3 km
· 7Th -5 km skate
Katie proved that Freshman are a threat to anyone skiing in Alaska
or the US. Katie's sprint victory at the Besh Cup #1 was a sure sign
that she was ready to take on the best in the country this year. At
the World Junior Tryouts she earned a spot on the J1 Scandinavian
Trip but declined it, choosing to stay home and focus on the Alaska
races and Junior Nationals.
Ben
Crawford
· OJ National Champion -15 km -Freestyle (Overall winner-15
km)
· 3rd - 1 km Sprint
· 3Rd relay 3x5 km
· 5th -10km classic
Ben is one of our graduating Seniors that has been with AWS for 6
years. As with Tara, Christina, and Zach he is finishing at the top.
Ben's National 15km Championship Title was a superb finish to his
high school career. We wish him the best of luck as he starts his
collegiate career.
Zach
Hill
· J1 National Champion-10 km classic (Overall winner -10 km)
· 3rd -1 km sprint
· 3rd-relay 3x5 km
Zach is yet another of our Seniors who have been with Jan, since he
was in diapers (Ok that's an exaggeration but its been a long time.)
Zach's determination and drive have been key to his steady improvement
throughout the years. Zach represented the US in Scandinavia as a
member of the J1 Scandinavian Trip, as well as lead Service to another
State Championship, and overall Skimeister award.
Christina
May
· J1 2nd -10 km freestyle (only .7 seconds out of first place)
· 2nd-relay 3x5km
· 6th-5 km classic
After starting training with Jan 7 years ago Christina leaves AWS
at the top of the results. Christina had a great Alaska State High
School Championships with a 2nd place skate finish, as well as winning
the Overall Besh Cup Title. We wish her the best of luck as she moves
on to the collegiate scene. We look forward to her returning during
breaks to give us insight into the latest college trends.
Kassie
Rice
· J1 2nd place relay 3x5km
· 5th -5 km classic
· 8th-10 km-free-style
Kassie was our Yo-Yo member. She had a series of up and down results,
due to illness, but we knew she would reel it in when it counted.
At the Alaska State Championships and Junior Olympics she let everyone
know she was back at the top of her skiing with Top 10 finishes in
the individual races and a silver medal in the relay. We look forward
to her staying healthy and leading the girls to more medals next season.
Mandy
Brassfield
· J2 2ND place relay 3x3 km
· 8th -5km freestyle
· 13-5 km classic
Mandy just started seriously skiing only two years ago. Mandy's focus
is reflected in her improvement and the top results she earned at
the Junior Olympics. We think she will continue to improve and be
a top contender for many years to come.
Matthew
Johnson
· J2 3rd place 3x3 km relay
· 8th -5 km classic
Matthew is another of our very promising junior boys. His first Junior
Olympics was a very successful trip. This freshman has some big shoes
to fill, but he shouldn't have any difficulty growing into them.
No
other program have qualified that many juniors and won that many medals.
These results make our club the most successful in the country for
the 3rd consecutive season. Because of your accomplishments, Team
Alaska is the most successful team in the country, and you helped
to bring Alaska's Cup back home again for the third year in a row.
Our
master skiers improved quite a bit this year as well. Most of these
athletes participated in the Sven Johanson, Pia's Classics, Hickok
Pursuit or the Tour of Anchorage races and they placed with very good
finishes. We kept our bodies in the best physical shape and had fun
attaining that goal.
Our younger
juniors also had an extremely successful season. At the Alaska Junior
Championship in Salcha Alaska Winter Stars brought home the 3rd place
Overall Team Title. Because of conflicts with Spring Break vacation
schedules AWS was represented by a small but determined group of 5
skiers:
· Patrick Johnson
· Ian Davis
· Issac Davis
· Jessica Davis
· Garren Volper
· Mari Volper
Competing
against larger teams, Patrick Johnson, the Volper/Davis Gang successfully
braved the infamous Salcha weather and brought home a mighty trophy
for AWS. A big thanks to their parents for their support in making
the drive north and giving these skiers the opportunity to compete
in these championships.
Our Boys
Younger Junior Group is exceedingly strong. Comprised of Ian, Isaac
Davis, Patrick 
Johnson,
Mason Hulen, Max,Lex Treinen,Tylor Kornfield and Tim Rice these future
of AWS junior program is very bright. As this group develops we anticipate
having many more top national caliber athletes emerge.
Our Girls
Younger Junior Group, led by Janna Widness is amazingly deep. Because
there is such a good pool of young athletes we feel that AWS will
be at the top of the girls, and I hope boys podium for many years
to come. If the past is any indicator of our future success we are
confident that we will have numerous national champions from this
group.
We are
very proud of each and every one of you. We also want to thank all
the parents for their wonderful support and help, and hope that we
can continue this relationship every year. Our parents are vital to
keeping this program running. Winter season is extremely busy and
we all live on-the-run during this time. Between local races, training,
national and international competitions we don't have much time to
catch a breath, and we really appreciate all the help and dedication
from our parents. Thank you.
We would
also like to thank our Assistant Coach Ben Arians and Jan Hazen from
Homestead Graphics, they have provided us with the extra support necessary
to continue to grow AWS to our current level of success. Other big
"Thank you's" go to our sponsors. Holmenkol Ski Wax, who
was our main sponsor and provided us with waxes this season. Rossignol
Skis AMH,and Barney's Sports Chalet, were instrumental in supporting
our top athletes. We would also like to thank the Anchorage Parks
and Recreation for their support and sponsorship this past year as
well.
Future
Plans
Spring
season is here and now we need to start thinking ahead towards the
2001-2002 season. As the snow melts, it doesn't mean that we do too
- we will continue to keep our bodies in shape, building a base for
the upcoming summer season. Extensive training in the summer and fall
seasons is what makes the best skiers.
For the
2001 2001 ski season we are planning the following trips:
· World Junior Tryouts
· Besh Cup Races
· USSA Junior Olympics
· Idaho International Spring Series
We are
planning to again offer several travel grants to assist our year-round
team members in attending the World Junior Tryouts. We feel that is
important for our AWS members to be able to have the opportunity to
travel to this event to gain national race experience and compete
for the right to represent the US at World Juniors.
During
the summer session we are planning on two overnight stays with hiking
workouts during these days. We will let you know about times and locations
later. We will be mountain biking, swimming, roller skiing, running,
and hiking. There are many fun activities planned ahead and we will
keep you posted on these events as they come up.
Remember
to dress properly for the workouts, and always have plenty of water
with you to prevent dehydration. We wish you a fun and safe spring
and summer and we'll see you at the workouts.
Sincerely,
Jan Buron and Ben Arians
Alaska Winter Stars Coaching Staff