Friday: Gibson leads area skiers at Junior Nationals

Kenai Central freshman Addison Gibson paced Kenai Peninsula skiers in the third race of Junior Nationals, being held this winter in Truckee, California.
The nation’s top skiers under 20 skied mass start classic races Friday.
In the Under-16 girls race, Gibson skied five kilometers in 22 minutes, 13.6 seconds, to take 23rd place. Inter Mountain’s Brooke Dunnagan clocked 20:38.4 for the win.
In the Under-20 men’s race, Kenai Central senior Travis Cooper skied 15 kilometers in 43:08.7 to finish 24th. Alaska’s Thomas O’Harra won the race at 40:00.3.
In the Under-16 boys race, Kenai freshman Karl Danielson skied five kilometers in 19:03.8 to take 29th place. Rocky Mountain’s Nolan Herzog won at 17:48.7.
In the Under-18 women’s race, Soldotna senior Sadie Fox covered the 10 kilometers in 44:11.3 to finish 56th. New England’s Katharine Ogden took the win at 36:09.9.
The competition concludes Saturday with relays. Alaska is currently in fifth place in the race for the Alaska Cup with 611 points. New England leads with 845.