While Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School has a famous alumna in gold medalist Kikkan Randall, the Thunderbirds have been overshadowed by other Anchorage schools in recent memory.
That changed on Saturday when the East girls team won the South Classic at Kincaid Park by narrowly vanquishing traditional powerhouses Dimond, West Anchorage and Service.
That’s a huge jump for a team that finished ninth in the girls’ standings at the 2022 state championships and last placed among the top three at state in 2014 (third).
“For this result, a lot had to happen over the last few years,” East head coach Gary Snyder said by text. “We have a great group of kids, parents and assistant coaches. … I have seen great teams at East High but it has been well over a decade since we won a race as a team.”
Service’s Meredith Schwartz and East’s Marley Ireland ski together at the South Classic Saturday at Kincaid Park. Photo by Charlie Bader
The meet was scored using the combined times of each school’s top four skiers in the 7.5-kilometer mass start race held in chilly weather. East prevailed in 1 hour, 50 minutes and 20 seconds, with Dimond just 24 seconds behind. West was third (1:52:04) and Service — boasting individual winner Meredith Schwartz — took fourth (1:52:19).
Marley Ireland led the way for the Thunderbirds in runner-up position just four seconds behind Schwartz. Also scoring for East were Rosie Conway in seventh, Brynn Rathert in 10th and Svea Thomas in 20th. Abigail Howe followed closely behind in 21st and Beatrix Brogan was 22nd. Among their top six, only Ireland is a senior.
“Four years ago we had no girls’ A Team. At state we were trying not to get last,” Snyder said. “Now they can really compete. … It’s very rewarding to see the hard work start to pay off.”
In the boys’ race, West Anchorage took team honors by 55 seconds over Service by placing six skiers among the Top 10. Defending state Skimeister Aaron Power of Service won the individual race in 20:51, edging teammate Justin Lucas by two seconds.