Homer takes 2nd in Division II state ski championships

Published 1:30 am Friday, February 27, 2026

The Homer High School Nordic ski team traveled to Government Peak last weekend to compete in the ASAA Nordic Ski State Championships, held Feb. 19-21.

Both the Homer boys and girls teams claimed second place overall for Division II. Kenai Central High School took first place overall for Division II.

Homer’s Johannes Bynagle and Freya Bartlett both made it to the podium as individual winners — Bynagle with second place in the skate ski and third place in the classic, and Bartlett coming in second place in the classic ski race.

The Homer girls team also won the ASAA All-State Academic Award for having the highest cumulative grade point average in their division.

Homer head coach Jessie Goodrich said Tuesday that the Mariners “clearly” had a strong team this year, and expected to take first place in Division II after their top performance at the regional championships earlier this month. Unfortunately, Homer went into the state meet with most of their athletes “extremely” ill.

“These weren’t head colds or fatigue — these kids were extremely ill,” she said. “It was brutal … (but) we managed the best we could. I’m very proud of the kids for fighting so hard … they were so brave. This was one of the hardest things I’ve experienced as a coach.”

Goodrich called Bartlett’s placement in the classic race a “high point of the weekend.”

“I’m really impressed with her, she’s really tough. No doubt she’ll win skate and classic races in the coming years,” she said.

Goodrich added that Bynagle and Tait Ostrom, both seniors, had “great races” last weekend.

“I’m really happy they got to go out their senior year, they absolutely crushed it this weekend,” she said.

She also offered congratulations to Kenai.

“They’re a good team — they did what they needed to for sure,” she said.

This year marks both Goodrich’s and assistant coach Katie Miller’s last as Nordic ski coaches for Homer High School.

Goodrich said that she and Miller worked really well together and led the boys team to two championships and the girls team to winning the championships once as well.

“That partnership (with Katie) is very important — I couldn’t do that by myself,” she said.

The decision to retire as Homer High’s ski coach wasn’t a decision that Goodrich came to lightly.

“It’s been the most rewarding job I’ve ever had,” she said. “Seeing those two seniors go out, watching (Bartlett) come in — that’s why people coach, it’s for those highs. Seeing the kids’ effort pay off (has been) really rewarding and truly been an honor.”

She described the coaching experience as being a shield for their athletes, and how difficult it is to maintain that shield when “larger forces are eating away at it.”

“It’s really hard as coaches get holes in their shield,” she said. “This year, my assistant coach and I just can’t hold our shield anymore. I would love to keep coaching, but my shield is broken. My time is at an end.

“Katie and I have been very successful ski coaches, but the shield has to be intact. We have to have the energy to stay focused on the kids. It was a really hard decision to make.”

New coaching staff for the next season is still to be determined.

KCHS head coach Kristen Davis said via email Tuesday that the Kenai Central coaching team was extremely proud of their athletes’ outstanding performances at state, and that they were grateful for every opportunity to date to compete with other Kenai Peninsula teams.

“We are very fortunate to have talented athletes and outstanding coaches to push us to be our best every time we meet,” she wrote. “The kids put a tremendous amount of work into this season, and improved with each competition.

“Our whole season was planned around the state meet, and the kids delivered the results they trained for. We were pleased with our results at the region championship, but we knew our best races were still ahead at state.”

Davis said student Chase Laker had “an incredible season.”

“I am thrilled to see him finish his high school skiing career with such success. His second place finish in the 5K skate race and third place overall are only the second time a boy has placed in the top three overall at state in the history of the KCHS Nordic ski team,” she wrote.

“Fletcher Darr, Isla Crouse, and Ruby Davis also ended their seasons on the podium, and credit also goes to their relay teammates Levi Strong, Eli Pancoast, Teresa Fallon, and Emily Taylor for cinching the win on Saturday. We are also very proud of our boys team for being the only boys team to win the academic award at the state meet this year.”

Find the full results for Division I and Division II at zone4.ca/event/2026/M32V8V/.

2026 ASAA Nordic Ski State Championships Results

Open 4x3K Mixed Relay — Feb. 21

1. South Anchorage, DI, 32:00.2; 2. Colony, DI, 32:13; 3. Service, DI, 32:43; 4. West Valley, DI, 33:28; 5. West Anchorage, DI, 34:13; 6. Kenai Central, DII, 34:44; 7. Soldotna, DII, 35:24; 8. Dimond, DI, 36:28; 9. Homer, DII, 36:47; 10. Chugiak, DI, 38:51; 11. Lathrop, DI, 39:11; 12. Grace Christian, DII, 39:36; 13. Eagle River, DI, 39:36; 14. Palmer, DI, 40:32; 15. Valdez, DII, 42:23; 16. Bettye Davis East, DI, 43:39; 17. Juneau-Douglas, DII, 44:40; 18. North Pole, DI, 49:34.

Girls’ 4x3K Mixed Relay — Feb. 21

1. South Anchorage, DI, 38:35; 2. Service, DI, 38:50; 3. Colony, DI, 41:33; 4. West Valley, DI, 42:05; 5. Chugiak, 43:01; 6. West Anchorage, 43:19; 7. Bettye Davis East, 43:28; 8. Dimond, DI, 45:14; 9. Soldotna, DI, 45:38; 10. Kenai Central, DII, 46:19; 11. Palmer, DI, 46:47; 12. Homer, DII, 47:34; 13. Juneau-Douglas, DI, 48:34; 14. Grace Christian, DII, 49:26; 15. Lathrop, DI, 50:00; 16. Eagle River, DI, 56:13; 17. Valdez, DII, 1:00:51; 18. North Pole, DI, 1:05:08.

Open 7.5K Mass Start Classic, Div. II — Feb. 20

1. Chase Laker, Kenai, 21:10; 2. Fletcher Darr, Kenai, 22:44; 3. Johannes Bynagle, Homer, 23:19; 4. Tait Ostrom, Homer, 23:53; 5. Easton Roads, Grace, 24:11; 6. Dax Campbell, Hutchison, 24:13; 7. Grant Eldridge, Grace, 24:51; 8. Charlie Rustand, Homer, 24:57; 9. Levi Strong, Kenai, 24:59; 10. Rockwell Bates, Homer, 26:07; 11. Rhys Borland, Homer, 26:29; 12. Daniel Christ, Homer, 27:15; 13. Leif Laker, Kenai, 27:17; 14. Elijah Pancoast, Kenai, 27:20; 15. Zane Caruthers, Valdez, 27:24; 16. Luke Karpick, Kenai, 28:12; 17. Cooper Martin, Grace, 28:21; 18. Andrew Zingone, Grace, 28:39; 19. Gabe Caruthers, Valdez, 28:45; 20. James Humphrey, Valdez, 29:31; 21. Austin Merriner, Grace, 30:14; 22. Micah Varnell, Grace, 30:58; 23. Logan Johnson, Seward, 31:11; 24. Peter Baksis, Valdez, 31:53; 25. Paxson Williams, Valdez, 33:04; 26. Nolan Hayes, Monroe Catholic, 37:25; 27. Gray Odencrans, Valdez, 40:48.

Girls 7.5K Mass Start Classic, Div. II — Feb. 20

1. Isla Crouse, Kenai, 27:46; 2. Freya Bartlett, Homer, 29:39; 3. Ruby Davis, Kenai, 30:17; 4. Teresa Fallon, Kenai, 31:09; 5. Myra Kalafut, Homer, 31:13; 6. Sydney Mondeel, Grace, 32.19; 7. Adelaide Bell, Grace, 32.23: 8. Morgan Harness, Homer, 32:26; 9. Avery Reger, Grace, 33:05; 10. Swift Blackstock, Homer, 33:09; 11. Hannah Klima, Homer, 33:21; 12. Indigo Leslie, Seward, 33:40; 13. Etta Bynagle, Homer, 33:58; 14. Emily Taylor, Kenai, 34:02; 15. Kailey Crouse, Kenai, 34:38; 16. Sofia Tews, Kenai, 34:40; 17. Cate Merriner, Grace, 36:22; 18. Makena Wisner, Valdez, 36:23; 19. Hailey Major, Valdez, 39:13; 20. Zooey Baksis, Valdez, 39:24; 21. Miquela Baksis, Valdez, 42:31; 22. Zara Chang, Grace, 42:50; 23. Aubrey Buck, Grace, 44:03; 24. Ava Mitchell, Valdez, 46:10.

Open 5K Interval Free, Div. 11 — Feb. 19

1. Chase Laker, Kenai, 13:11; 2. Johannes Bynagle, Homer, 14:13; 3. Fletcher Darr, Kenai, 14:27; 4. Easton Roads, Grace, 14:28; 5. Tait Ostrom, Homer, 14:47; 6. Charlie Rustand, Homer, 15:30; 7. Dax Campbell, Hutchison, 15:31; 8. Levi Strong, Kenai, 15:53; 9. Rockwell Bates, Homer, 16:17; 10. Daniel Christ, Homer, 16:18; 11. Grant Eldridge, Grace, 16:21; 12. Elijah Pancoast, Kenai, 16:35; 13. Leif Laker, Kenai, 16:36; 14. Rhys Borland, Homer, 16:41; 15. Luke Karpick, Kenai, 16:48; 16. Andrew Zingone, Grace, 18:12; 17. James Humphrey, Valdez, 18:18; 18. Gabe Caruthers, Valdez, 18:22; 19. Logan Johnson, Seward, 18:34; 20. Austin Merriner, Grace, 18:49; 21. Paxson Williams, Valdez, 19:10; 22. Cooper Martin, Grace, 19:27; 23. Zane Caruthers, Valdez, 19:39; 24. Peter Baksis, Valdez, 22:16; 25. Nolan Hayes, Monroe, 25:50; 26. Gray Odencrans, Valdez, 32:08.

Girls 5K Interval Free, Div. II — Feb. 19

1. Isla Crouse, Kenai, 17:32; 2. Ruby Davis, Kenai, 17:45; 3. Indigo Leslie, Seward, 18:42; 4. Myra Kalafut, Homer, 19:07; 5. Freya Bartlett, Homer, 19:13; 6. Etta Bynagle, Homer, 19:31; 7. Teresa Fallon, Kenai, 19:39; 8. Morgan Harness, Homer, 20:01; 9. Kailey Crouse, Kenai, 20:11; 10. Adelaide Bell, Grace, 20:17; 11. Sydney Mondeel, Grace, 20:19; 12. Swift Blackstock, Homer, 20:20; 13. Hannah Klima, Homer, 20:21; 14. Emily Taylor, Kenai, 20:30: 15. Sofia Tews, Kenai, 20:33; 16. Avery Reger, Grace, 21:43; 17. Cate Merriner, Grace, 22:05; 18. Makena Wisner, Valdez, 22:36; 19. Hailey Major, Valdez, 24:23; 20. Zara Chang, Grace, 27:25; 21. Aubrey Buck, Grace, 27:53; 22. Zooey Baksis, Valdez, 27:59; 23. Ava Mitchell, Valdez, 28:47; 24. Miquela Baksis, Valdez, 33:18.