Randall, Hamilton take freestyle titles at US Cross Country Ski Championships

Randall, Hamilton take cross country sprint titles

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Olympian Kikkan Randall led from start to finish to claim the gold medal Saturday in the women’s freestyle sprint, the first of four events in the 2010 U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships.

Simi Hamilton, who competed last season for Middlebury College, won the men’s event, edging Mike Hinkley, who trains with Alaska Pacific University.

Randall, skiing on her hometown course at Anchorage’s Kincaid Park, edged Rebecca Dussault, an eight-time national champion. Laura Valaas was third.

In the men’s event, Hamilton caught and passed Hinkley on the final approach to the finish line, a winding curve that leads to a straightaway in the stadium. Hamilton’s time on the 1.7-kilometer course was 2:53.8. Garrott Kuzy finished third.