Kristen Faulkner was named our Alaska Athlete of the Week after using a daring solo attack to win a stage of the Vuelta Femenina in Spain.
The 31-year-old pro cyclist from Homer broke free with six kilometers left, pulling away from the peloton to post a 10-second victory in the fastest race ever on the women’s Grand Tour.
The 144K downhill course on day-four of the event featured an average speed of 29 mph, with Faulkner hitting 44 mph when the course went from road to freeway.
She left the pack in her taillights after breaking free and forcing the riders to chase her, building a 20-second lead with 2K left. The peloton pecked away at her lead down the stretch but was unable to reel her in.
Also receiving consideration:
- Robbie Annett – The Grace Christian junior logged an impressive sweep of the boy’s 800, 1600 and 3200 meter races at the Palmer Track and Field Invite at Palmer High School. Twenty schools and nearly 1,000 athletes participated in the two-day event.
- David and Daniel Feigner – South High brothers David and Daniel Feigner threw a combined no-hitter in a 6-1 win over Eagle River. David, a sophomore right-hander, started and pitched 5.2 innings before giving way to Daniel, a senior righty, to close out the final 1.1 innings.
- Mac Swanson – The Fargo Force left winger from Eagle River scored just 13 seconds into Sunday’s decisive Game 5, and added an assist inside the three-minute mark, to help trigger a 4-0 victory over the visiting Sioux City Musketeers and earn a spot in the U.S. Hockey League’s Clark Cup Finals.
- Jeremy Swayman – The Boston Bruins goaltender from Anchorage stopped 29 shots Saturday to backstop his club to a 2-1 overtime defeat of the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 of the NHL first-round playoff series.
- Tai Ushio – The talented forward from Hokkaido, Japan, made his biggest impact of the North American Hockey League season during the Anchorage Wolverines’ last home performance, scoring twice and adding two assists in the Wolverines’ 6-3 victory.
- Obed Vargas – The soccer player from Anchorage curled a shot from the top of the 18-yard box in the 22nd minute to become the first Alaskan to score a goal in the MLS in nearly 16 years, and at 18 years and 217 days, the youngest Sounder to score in Seattle’s MLS era dating back to 2009.
Have a candidate in mind? Email us your nomination: info@alaskasportshall.org.