Alaska
Winter Stars 2005-06
Season
Overview
With the season now complete, the AWS coaches would like to take this opportunity to thank you, the athletes and parents for making this season such a success. Getting the opportunity to work with such a great bunch of skiers is truly amazing and what makes it all worthwhile for us as coaches.
We of course would like to acknowledge every single skier, but that is just not possible. It seems over the past few years that the level of Winter Stars skiing has risen to the point that makes great results overshadowed by stellar results. This paradox can be attributed to every skier in the program raising their game to a level not seen in some time in Alaska as well as the country itself. Essentially, you could argue Winter Stars has become the most successful club in the county; and for that, you ALL should be commended. Together we have constructed a collection of highlights from the 05/06 season, which has in our minds best represented what Winter Stars has accomplished.
-Rachel Steer finished her super career with a memorable performance at the Olympic games in Torino, Italy. Ask any of the Winter Stars who they were rooting for during the Olympics and it was Rachel for sure. We wish her luck going into her retirement from the World Cup.
Max Treinen more or less dominated the Alaskan Juniors from start to finish. His season started with strong performances in the Fall Super tour races, continued through Senior Nationals, World Juniors and Junior Nationals.
Amy Glen, like Max was by far the strongest female junior in Alaska. She raced fast all season, winning the State Skimeister award and winning first National championship on the JO’s.
All this as a first year J2.
Ryan McClure: hard work paid off big time when he qualified for Junior Worlds in Biathlon. Ryan had solid races and shot almost perfect during World Juniors and will be back for more next year. Still, by far the highlight of his season was dropping coach Brian in the Tour of Anchorage 50k.
Artic Winter Games was a huge success for AWS athletes, especially Eric Ryan who won all races with Scott Patterson just behind with the Silver medal. Emily Rogers was equally dominating her races with Mackenzie Kanady very close behind. Most importantly, all the athletes competing had a memorable time meeting and racing juniors from across the world.
Arctic Winter Games - Soldotna, Alaska |
Emily Rogers
Karina Packer
Mackenzie Kanady
Lauren Hess
Megan Ryan
Esther Kennedy
Carolyn Wilson |
Eric Ryan
Scott Patterson
Tyler Kornfield
David Besh
William Ross |
2006 Junior Nationals - Houghton, Michigan
Junior Nationals was yet another stage for Winter Stars to show their mojo. Eric Packer and Lex Treinen both won individual National Championships with Cole Talbot just behind in the skate race. The highlight of the week was Max and Patrick Johnson playing an integral part in winning the overall boys relay title, just edging out New England. It was a very exciting race for sure.
2006 Junior Olympics Houghton, Michigan
Another big success this year was the fact that 20 juniors from our program qualified for the Junior Olympics 2006 in Houghton (Michigan) as well.
J2 |
Amy Glen
Caitlin Patterson
Alison Butler
Heidi Rogers |
Eric Packer
Andrew Dougherty
Cole Talbot
Lex Treinen |
J1/JO |
Ky Eiben
Hanna Johnson
Kelsey Coolidge
Rachelle Kanady
Kalen Ramey
Kalysta Schmidt |
Max Treinen
David Hansen
Mason Hulen
Patrick Johnson
Steven Buklis
Brian Kirchner |
Among our twenty skiers we had 3 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze medal in individual races and 2 gold, 1 silver, and 3 bronze medals in relays. This makes it a total of 12 Junior Olympic medals for Alaska Winter Star skiers.
AWS-Junior Olympic Medalists:
- Lex Treinen-J2 1st place 5km freestyle, 2nd 5km classic, 1st 3x3km relay 9th classic sprint
- Eric Packer-J2 1st place classic sprint, 1st 3x3km relay, 4th 5km freestyle, 7th 5km classic
- Amy Glen-J2 1st place 5km classic, 2nd 5km freestyle, 5th classic sprint, 4th relay 3x3km
- Cole Talbot-J23rd place 5km freestyle
- Max Treinen-J1- 1st place relay 3x5km, 5th place 15km classic
- Patrick Johnson- 1st place relay 3x5km, 9th place 10km freestyle
Our Winter Star masters were busy as well. Matthew Pauli and Nick Enos made the trip across the pond to World Master Championships in Brusson, Italy. According to Matt, they had respectable races with Nick focusing on skate and Matt on classic. However their highlight was the beautiful mountain weather, the Italian food and libations.
It’s important to take notice of what ex-winter stars are accomplishing. The most notable being Kassie Rice, racing for UAA taking 5th place at the NCAA championships. We were also fortunate enough to have three Winter Stars representing the USA at Junior World Championships in Kranj, Slovenia. Joining Max were Mike Hinckley and Matthew Johnson both of whom are racing in college for Denver University and Middlebury, respectively. Hard work obviously pays off after graduating from High school.
As coaches, we have learned a lot from this past season. With this knowledge, we will be able to formulate an even better recipe for the hard training that’s already on the horizon. For example, be prepared for more strength this summer and fall. Strong skiers are fast skiers and this was evident this year with the skiers doing the most strength having the most success. One thing is for certain: hang around our camp long enough and you’re sure to see improvements in your skiing and beyond. Once again, thanks for a great year and being so into skiing. After all, it is your dedication that has driven us all too absolute success. Train hard, train smart, and enjoy what Alaska has to offer this summer.
AWS Coaches
Jan Buron
Ben Arians
Brian Erickson