With snow finally covering the ground, Homer High School Mariner skiers headed north for the two-day Lynx Loppett, one of the biggest Nordic skiing events in the state.

“It was great to be on snow once again,” said Head Coach Eric Groth. “We were having such a hard time even being able to ski, that we were all very happy we could ski.”

Snow on top of the season’s accumulation of ice, however, didn’t make for the best conditions at Anchorage’s Kincaid Park.

“It was kind of like ground up ice chunks, and made for very fast skiing. Hard and fast at the same time,” said Groth.

Homer High sent 12 skiers — six girls and six boys — but not everyone was able to ski. It took four skiers to qualify as a team and Homer fell short of the minimum.

However, in Friday’s 5-kilometer classic, three Mariner varsity boys and three Mariner varsity girls finished the event. On Saturday, the same three boys crossed the finish line, but only two of the girls, with Cassidy Soistman out due to an injury.

In junior varsity competition, Tadgh Scholz competed for the boys and Audrey Russell for the girls.

Starting times for Saturday’s race were based on the skiers’ Friday finish times.

“It’s kind of a neat format,” said Groth. “It allows you to see where you’re standing. If you pass someone, you move up. If you get passed, you go down.”

Next up for the Mariners skiers will be a 5K race on the Tsalteshi Trails in Soldotna this week. 

“It’s another chance to get out there,” said Groth. “We’re just happy to have snow. Unfortunately, skiers always want more. … We’d like to have another foot or so, but we’re patient.”

Lynx Loppett

Kincaid Park, Anchorage Dec. 13-14

FRIDAY

Boys team times: 1. Service, 53 minutes, 11 seconds; 2. South, 53:19; 3. East, 54:14; 4. West, 54:20; 5. West Valley, 55:03; 6. Colony, 56:26; 7. Grace, 57:05; 8. Dimond, 57:42; 9. Chugiak, 58:18; 10. Kenai, 59:45; 11. Soldotna, 1:01:07; 12. Palmer, 1:01:40; 13. Lathrop, 1:02:19; 14. Skyview, 1:05:16; 15. Eagle River, 1:07:22.

Homer boys individual 5-kilometer classic: 44. Brian Rowe, 14:54; 89. Jake Worsfold, 17:31; 98. Tian-en Liu, 19:09.

Girls team times: 1. South, 1:05:16; 2. Service, 1:06:19; 3. West, 1:07:20; 4. East, 1:07:52; 5. Chugiak, 1:09:19; 6. Soldotna, 1:12:48; 7. Grace, 1:13:23; 8. Colony, 1:13:49; 9. Dimond, 1:14:39; 10. Palmer, 1:15:51; 11. Lathrop, 1:19:01; 12. Kenai, 1:20:41.

Homer girls individual 5-kilometer classic results: 36. Cassidy Soistman, 18:20; 44. Aspen Daigle, 18:45; 74. Rachel Ellert, 21:29.

SATURDAY

Boys team times (two-day total): 1. South, 2:22:16; 2. West, 2:24:17; 3. Service, 2:27:40; 4. West Valley, 2:27:42; 5. East, 2:28:55; 6. Grace, 2:31:24; 7. Colony, 2:31:39; 8. Dimond, 2:35:17; 9. Kenai, 2:37:48; 10. Chugiak, 2:38:47; 11. Soldotna, 2:42:51; 12. Lathrop, 2:46:29; 13. Palmer, 2:47:28; 14. Skyview, 2:52:13; 15. Eagle River, 3:01:40.

Homer boys individual two-day times (5K classic, 7.5K skate): 48. Brian Rowe, 40:23; 75. Jake Worsfold, 44:40; 94. Tian-en Liu.

Girls team times (two-day total): 1. South, 2:17:49; 2. Service, 2:18:37; 3. West, 2:19:06; 4. East, 2:22:38; 5. Chugiak, 2:25:13; 6. Soldotna, 2:29:06; 7. Colony, 2:31:36; 8. Dimond, 2:35:22; 9. Palmer, 2:37:37; 10. Kenai, 2:42:00; 11. Lathrop, 2:42:01; 12. Grace, 2:53:00.

Homer girls individual two-day times (5K classic, 4.9K skate): 36. Aspen Daigle, 38:25; 61. Rachel Ellert, 42:27.