SEWARD – The first time Luke Jager raced Mount Marathon, as a 10-year-old in 2010, things did not go awesome.
Jager recalls that he had only been on the mountain once before the race and didn't really pay close attention on that visit. So on race day, he momentarily got lost on the descent. And while that was terrifying at the time, Jager laughs about it now.
"I got horrifically lost, and I thought I was going to die up there,'' he said. "I made it out, and somehow I decided to do it again.''
Jager has since been on the mountain many times in training and races, and Saturday his experience, course knowledge and fitness earned him his first boys junior title.
Jager, 15, of Anchorage, clocked 27 minutes, 39 seconds on the trip halfway up the 3,022-foot peak and back to the finish downtown. That marked his personal best by 2:03, and allowed him to top the field by 84 seconds.
"Pretty sweet,'' Jager said.
Riana Boonstra, 14, of Kenai, seized her first girls title, crossing in 32:38 to slash an astounding 5:08 off her previous best and win by 82 seconds.
Both champs come from strong Mount Marathon stock.
Boonstra's father, former Olympic Nordic skier Todd, is a four-time men's champion at Mount Marathon, and her mother, Kelli Jo, was once a women's runner-up. Jager's mom, Amy Johns, once finished fourth at Mount Marathon, and his dad, Jim, once finished 15th.
Jager, wearing his "good luck'' stars and stripes socks on Independence Day in the 88th edition of the race, assumed the lead when runners hit the mountain and stretched his advantage on the climb. That followed his race plan – earn a cushion by working the uphill hard because he says downhill is not his strength. It helped, Jager said, that the mountain was in great condition on an overcast morning that followed some sprinkles overnight.
"There was enough moisture, it was pretty grippy,'' Jager said.
Boonstra said she trained much harder than last year, when she finished fifth, and spent training time this year on the mountain with her dad.
"It was pretty helpful,'' she said. "He showed me different (routes) to take. Good experience.''
Boonstra's victory followed a record six consecutive junior girls wins by Allie Ostrander, her teammate at Kenai Central. Ostrander, the girls race record-holder (28:54, last year), aged out of the junior division after her victory last year, when she became the first girl to beat all the boys in the coed race.
"She's a big influence,'' Boonstra said of Ostrander. "She always motivates us to do our best.''
Boonstra made a sacrifice of sorts in her training – eating salmon, of which she is not a fan.
"We make her eat it,'' father Todd said with a laugh. "She hates it, but it's so good for you.''
Fintan Nakada, 16, of Anchorage, finished runner-up among boys in 29:03, an improvement of 4:03 over his 12th-place finish last year. Hamish Wolfe, 16, of Anchorage, took third in 29:45. Eagle River's Charlie Latimer, 15, took fourth in 30:00 and Eagle River's Roan Hall, 17, finished fifth in 30:02.
Molly Gellert, 15, of Anchorage, moved up one spot from last year to take second among girls in 34:00, improving her personal best by 4:10. Ruby Lindquist, 15, of Moose Pass, runner-up in 2014, claimed third in 34:12, topping her previous best by 2:26.
Hannah Booher, 17, of Chugiak, took fourth in 34:54 and Annie Connelly, 17, of Chugiak finished fifth in 36:00.
Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr
Girls Top 20
1) Riana Boonstra, 32:38; 2) Molly Gellert, 34:00; 3) Ruby Lindquist, 34:12; 4) Hannah Booher, 34:54; 5) Annie Connelly, 36:00; 6) Briahna Gerlach, 36:30; 7) Clare Cook, 36:33; 8) Hannah Brown, 36:41; 9) Heidi Booher, 36:55; 10) Alyson Kopsack, 37:42; 11) Brook Wedin, 38:35; 12. Kaylee Heck, 39:12; 13) Sadie Lindquist, 39:29; 14) Alejandra Legate, 39:29; 15) Kellie Arthur, 40:06; 16) Jania Tumey, 40:37; 17) Sadie Benter, 41:26; 18) Ivy Eski, 41:34; 19) Adrianna Proffitt, 41:46; 20) Ruth Cvancara, 41:48.
Boys Top 20
1. Luke Jager, 27:39; 2) Fintan Nakada, 29:03; 3) Hamish Wolfe, 29:45; 4) Charlie Latimer, 30:00; 5) Roan Hall, 30:02; 6) Kelemen Legate, 30:11; 7) David Spencer, 30:17; 8) Derek Steele, 30:36; 9) William Mans, 31:06; 10) Nicholas Carl, 31:22; 11) Luke Fritzel, 31:39; 12) Canyon McCallister, 31:44; 13) Jack Martensen, 31:54; 14) Max Beiergrohslein, 32:02; 15) Dax Cvancara, 32:11; 16) John Cosgrave, 32:34; 17) Ben Martensen, 32:50; 18) Karl Danielson, 33:11; 19) Shane Piscoya-Shella, 33:24; 20) Paxson Berry, Moose Pass 33:34.
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