Randall, Kornfield win cross-country sprint titles

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Kikkan Randall continued her tuneup for the Vancouver Olympics by winning the 1.4-kilometer classic sprint race Friday for a sweep of women’s events at the 2010 U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships.

Randall, skiing on home snow at Anchorage’s Kincaid Park, led in all four of her heats and won easily over Laura Valaas, who trains with Randall at the Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center. Ida Sargent of Craftsbury Vt., skiing for the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, was third.

“It was just good to finish off,” Randall said. “It was a good, full week.”

Erik Soederstroem, a Swede who skis for the University of Alaska Fairbanks, was first across the line in the men’s 1.5-kilometer classic sprint.

The national title went to teammate Tyler Kornfield of Fairbanks. Mike Hinkley, who trains with Alaska Pacific University, was second. Reese Hanneman, a Fairbanks club skier, was third.

Sprint racing on cross-country skis can be a contact sport, with competitors jostling through turns and attempting passes. Randall would have none of that.

She broke into the lead on the first straightaway and had no strategy other than to hammer the course.

“This is a test run for the Olympics,” she said. “and in the Olympics, there’s no dinkin’ around.”

By virtue of her World Cup ranking, Randall has a spot on the U.S. Olympics team wrapped up.

“I’m really happy with the way my body held up this week,” she said. “I’ve maintained a lot of energy. I really feel I’m a couple of weeks away from peak fitness but I’m confident I’m really going to get there.”

Kornfield’s chances improved with a seventh-place finish in the qualifying heats, before falls by top qualifier Garrott Kuzzy in his quarterfinal and Chris Cook in the semis.

In the final six-man race, Kornfield and Soederstroem trailed Hinkley much of the race.

“I used the same tactics that I did in the skate sprint Saturday,” Kornfield said. “Just try to ski from the back.”

The downhills were set up so that skiers could gain speed and pass racers in front, he said.

“Especially with the wind in the stadium, there’s a lot of drafts. My goal was just to catch people and stick it.”

Soederstroem and Kornfield caught Hinkley at the bottom of the last downhill. Kornfield credited the waxing job provided by his coaches.

“We had awesome wax. We were probably the best wax team here. We zoomed by Mikey going around that last turn.”