New blood reigns supreme at Crow Pass Crossing with first-time men’s and women’s race winners

The 39th annual Crow Pass Crossing race looked quite different from previous incarnations.

This year’s grueling 23-mile trail race from Girdwood to the Eagle River Nature Center on Saturday featured more brush and was missing many of the heavier hitters and notable names from the Alaska trail and mountain running scene due to injuries or conflicting schedules.

Despite the times being slower than in most years, crossing the finish line first was still every bit as gratifying and will be every bit as memorable for the winners. Anchorage’s Wesley McQuillin won the men’s race in a time of 3 hours, 48 minutes, 54 seconds, and Fairbanks’ Jenna DiFolco was champion of the women’s race with a time of 3:59:27.

“It feels like a great accomplishment,” McQuillin said. “I’ve got mad respect for all the people that have done it before in way faster times. I’m humbled by their speed and their ability. It’s an honor just to be out here.”

While he first started trail running when he was 26, this marked the 43-year-old’s first time officially competing in this race after having only ever run the course once recreationally.

His top competition for most of the race, until he was able to create some separation in the final couple miles, was none other than race director and longtime competitor Matias Saari, who is 10 years his senior and finished not too far behind with a time of 3:50:08.

“I saw Matias when I was dropping down by Raven Glacier right after I did the big push, and I figured since he helps put this race on, I knew he would know the course,” McQuillin said. “I got lost on this course before when I did it recreationally, so I felt really great that he was in front of me.”

McQuillin thought as long as he kept Saari in his sights, he was on the right path, and when he passed him, he assumed they’d just be jockeying back and forth until the finish line.

“I didn’t see after mile six or seven and I had no idea I was in first (place) and thought there was a bunch of people in front of me, so I was just out there yelling at the bears,” McQuillin said.

While he assumed bigger wildlife was nearby, the only actual encounter he had was seeing some ptarmigan and a couple eagles.

“I know there were critters out there and I heard stuff in the woods, but I was between rocking my AC/DC music and listening for critters,” McQuillin said.

The final hill leading up to the finish line was the hardest part of the race for McQuillin, and where he had to dig the deepest.

“I was told at the river crossing that I was in first, so I was just like, ‘I’ve come this far,’ but that hill will get you after 22 miles,” he said.

For DiFolco, this marked her third time running the race. In 2023, she ran the race in 3:59:42, which landed her in third place — her highest finish until this year.

On Saturday, she was not only the first woman to cross the finish line, but also the only one from her division to complete the race in under four hours. The next woman to finish the race was Shauna Severson of Eagle River with a time of 4:16:45.

“I try not to do the course beforehand because I feel like it kind of psyches me out, but this summer overall, I’ve been doing a lot more volume and going a lot longer and a lot more (vertically),” DiFolco said.

She faced some challenges during the race, falling a couple of times and rolling her ankle once, but neither setback held her back.

“My goal was to break four (hours) even though we had a bit of a course extension and I just wanted to hammer even if there was no one around me,” DiFolco said.

The final two miles were also daunting for her both mentally and physically.

“It just feels like it takes forever,” DiFolco said.

When the mass start began, it only took about a half-mile into the trail before she separated herself from the pack of women’s competitors.

“I’m not used to doing that, so I was kind of nervous to have to run with a target on my back, but I just knew I had done this before and I knew I was prepared for it,” DiFolco said. “I had to run based on feel and not stress about who is around me.”

She has been into trail running since she was a little kid doing it with her parents and was proud to come in first during a year when a lot of out-of-state competitors were participating.

“I feel like Crow Pass Crossing’s reputation precedes it,” DiFolco said. “I’ve been doing it for a long time and it’s pretty special.”

Up next for her is doing the Kesugi Ridge Trail half traverse in August and then the Equinox Marathon up in Fairbanks in September.

This year also marked the first time McQuillin has participated in the Boston Marathon. In April he finished 1,010 out of 30,000 people and felt “pretty good about that,” but winning Crow Pass Crossing was “a whole different animal.”

Up next for him is just continuing to enjoy trail running with his wife and dogs.

“I’m glad I was able to come out here and represent some local Alaska flavor,” McQuillin said.

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2024 Crow Pass Crossing

Women

1. Jenna DiFolco 3:59:27; 2. Shauna Severson 4:16:45; 3. Nowelle Spencer 4:18:26; 4. Katherine Schwerman 4:25:12; 5. Robin Welling 4:46:22; 6. Elizabeth Parry 4:56:02; 7. Kari Nielsen 5:04:59; 8. Alison Matthews 5:11:24; 9. Emily Pearson 5:17:40; 10. Sam Longacre 5:23:43; 11. Shelby Burgess 5:32:11; 12. Maria Davydenko 5:32:53; 13. Cydney Vilce 5:40:44; 14. Terina Noteboom 5:49:09; 15. Aurelie Barnel 5:51:50; 16. Svea Lunoe 5:51:50; 17. Ellie Tadych 5:57:01; 18. Brooke Martell 6:01:00; 19. Ingrid Kelly 6:06:49; 20. Stefanie Eichholz 6:07:05; 21. Kate Glover 6:08:36; 22. Theresa Soley 6:13:04; 23. Rachel Gernat 6:19:44.

Men

1. Wesley McQuillin 3:48:54; 2. Matias Saari 3:50:08; 3. Eric Vilce 3:58:48; 4. Tristan Amaral 4:00:09; 5. Joseph Nyholm 4:08:19; 6. Trever Kingsbury 4:11:02; 7. Matthew Perkins 4:15:33; 8. David Spencer 4:16:23; 9. Jake Fiske 4:19:13; 10. Michael Vander Lugt 4:22:30; 11. Seth Ayotte 4:38:43; 12. Caleb Kopp 4:39:24; 13. Chris Bitz 4:47:23; 14. Max Johnsen 4:47:34; 15. Dalton Pigman 4:48:00; 16. Tony Slatonbarker 4:49:54; 17. Ben Muse 4:53:27; 18. Ethan Copp 4:54:06; 19. Matthew Sitter 4:54:17; 20. Charles Renick 4:54:32.