Super sophomore Skimeisters Olivia Soderstrom and Vebjòrn Flagstad named Alaska Athlete of the Week co-winners

Sophomore skiers Olivia Soderstrom and Vebjòrn Flagstad were selected as our Alaska Athlete of the Week co-winners after earning Alaska Skimeister honors for their standout performances at the 2024 ASAA Nordic Ski State Championships.

The coveted Skimeister award goes to the boy and girl with the fastest combined times from the two individual races.

Service High’s Soderstrom repeated as the girls Skimeister based on her freestyle victory and her sixth-place finish in the classic race. She became the 11th girl in Alaska history to win more than one Skimeister title.

Though a slim, combined total of 1.5 seconds separated South High’s Flagstad from two individual championships, he cruised to Skimeister honors with an overall time margin of nearly 30 seconds.

Also receiving votes:

Cody Barber and Brett Lapham – The Iron Dog team won the 40th running of the famous snowmachine race from Big Lake to Nome and back. They completed the course in a time of 52 hours, 36 minutes, 10 seconds, averaging 47.58 mph over the 2,503-mile race.

Joshua Caleb – The UAA sprinter had a flawless showing at the GNAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, shattering the all-time conference records en route to victories in the 60 and 200. The freshman from Nigeria was competing in just his second collegiate meet

Alissa Pili – The Utah women’s basketball All-American candidate had 23 points and 9 boards and was 12 of 14 from the free throw line to help lead the Utes their biggest road victory in program history, beating Pac-12 rival No. 7 USC 74-68 in Los Angeles.

Trent Powell – The Anchorage Wolverines defenseman from Soldotna recorded assists in all three games of the Wolverines’ home series sweep of the Chippewa (Wisc.) Steel and finished the weekend with four helpers.

Emily Robinson – The Nenana musher continued her torrid racing season by winning the Jr, Iditarod. Robinson, who topped a filed of adults to win the Knik 200 earlier this winter, became just the second musher to win three-straight Jr. Iditarods.

Gus Schumacher – Schumacher, who recently became the first American man to win a World Cup race in more than 40 years, won Saturday’s 50-kilometer American Birkebeiner, the biggest cross-country ski race in North America. He was named Athlete of the Week.