Sunday races:
Soldotna graduate Brent Knight led skiers with Kenai Peninsula connections at the Besh Cup 2 at Chugiak High School on Sunday.
The races were interval freestyle. In the men’s Junior 1 and older race, which was 15 kilometers, Knight finished sixth at 41 minutes, 49 seconds. David Norris won at 40:14.
Also from the area, Lars Arneson, a graduate of Cook Inlet Academy, took 19th in 44:11.
Lucas Michael, a student at SoHi and a Junior 1 skier, took 62nd in 49:31, while teammate Dillon Jensen was 70th in 50:48. Noah King, a graduate of Skyview, took 81st in 52:24, while Homer’s Andre Lovett was 84th in 53:05.
In the girls Junior 2 and 3 race, which was five kilometers, Homer’s Cassidy Soistman led the peninsula by finishing 19th in 21:04.
Also from the area, Kenai’s Kirsten Nyquist took 23rd (21:42), Soldotna’s Sadie Fox took 27th (22:24) and area skier Hannah Pothast took 31st (24:44).
In the boys Junior 2 and 3 race, which also was five kilometers, Travis Cooper led the peninsula by finishing 19th at 16:39. Also from the area, Levi Michael was 40th (19:49).
In the women’s Junior 1 and above race, which was 10 kilometers, Kenai Central graduate Kailey Mucha paced the peninsula by finishing 26th in 35:30. Her sister Bree Mucha, a SoHi grad, was 47th in 37:41.
In the boys Junior 4 and 5 race, which was two kilometers, area skier David Michael took fourth in 5:31.
Finally, in the girls Junior 4 and 5 race, which was two kilometers, area skier Addison Gibson took second, finishing 43 seconds behind winner Amber Hajdukovich, who finished at 5:17.
Saturday races:
Homer’s Barae Hirsch led the Kenai Peninsula at the first Besh Cup races of the season, held Saturday in Anchorage.
The races were classic 1.2-kilometer sprints. Hirsch won the Junior 3 race with a time of 2 minutes, 32.94 seconds.
In the Junior 3 boys race from the peninsula, David Michael was eighth and Jeremy Kupferschmid was 11th.
The area also had a couple of top finishers in the Junior 2 girls race. Soldotna’s Sadie Fox was third, while teammate Hannah Pothast was seventh.
In the Junior 2 boys race, Soldotna’s Levi Michael led the area by finishing seventh.
In the women’s Junior 1 and older race, Soldotna graduate Bree Mucha finished 17th to lead those with area connections. Mucha is now an Older Junior skier. Skyview’s Mika Morton, a Junior 1 skier, was 46th.
The top area finisher in the Junior 1 and older men’s race was Lars Arneson, the Cook Inlet Academy graduate who was 17th. Lucas Michael, an Older Junior skier from Soldotna, was 20th, while Homer’s Brian Rowe, a Junior 1 skier, was 40th.
Masters skier Jan Spurkland of Homer was 45th. Finally, area skiers Dillon Jensen (61st) and Kyle Austin (70th) competed.
