41 Valley athletes to compete

ANCHORAGE — Forty-one Mat-Su Valley athletes have an opportunity to compete in the ASAA/First National Bank of Alaska 2015 Track and Field State Championships at Dimond High School this weekend.

Of those 41 athletes, 20 are from Colony, 10 from Wasilla and seven from Palmer.

Chief among the Knights are Chase Stephens and Brandon Nicholson, both of whom qualified for the state championships in four events. Stephens is ranked first in the girls’ high jump, long jump, triple jump and 100-meter hurdles, and Nicholson is seeded first in the high and triple jumps, second in the 400 and third in the long jump.

Stephens will face former state champion Ceil Dunleavy of Wasilla in the high jump today after her narrow victory over Dunleavy at the region championships last weekend.

Warrior Riley Burroughs is Wasilla’s running standout, ranked fourth in the girls’ 800-, 1600- and 3,200-meter runs with times of 2:26.1, 5:22.9 and 11:36.7, respectively. Sylvia Tuisaula, too, is expected to place well for the red-and-white, as she is ranked first in the shot put and fifth in the discus throw. (Her brother Wendell also qualified for state and is ranked fifth in the discus.)

Although the Knights have placed the most individual athletes of the Valley teams in the running for state, they’re tied with the Moose for relay teams.

In the 3,200-meter relay, Palmer’s Ruby Woodings, Amy Baxter, Naomi Graham and Rya Berrigan will face Colony’s Coleen Geraghty, Elisabeth Bowker, Cathelyne Powers and Jordyn Block.

Woodings and Berrigan also qualified individually in the 400-meter run, as did Baxter in the 300-meter hurdles. Powers qualified for the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs, and Block qualified for the 800.

Houston’s Ashley Bales, Bailey Murr, Chanel May-Thomas and Lauren Kutzner will represent the Valley in the girls’ 4x800 of the 123A (small schools) competition. May-Thomas is also ranked second in the long jump for small schools.

On the boys’ side, Knights Tyler Daniel, Tracen Knopp, Vincent Sanderson and Dakota Peterson-Thompson alone will represent the Valley in the 4x800 relay. Knopp and Peterson-Thompson also qualified for the 3,200-meter run.

Similar to the Knights’ 4x8 team, Moose Chase Ferris, Matthew Daniels, Tyler Spatz and Jeff Glynn will be the lone Valley representatives in the boys’ 1,600-meter relay. Ferris also qualified in the 200-meter dash.

Perhaps the most exciting relay to watch, however, will be the boys’ 4x100, in which Colony’s Hunter Harwood, Steven Bilafer, Jacob Davis and Heita Kitagawa will go head-to-head with Palmer rivals Ferris, Nick Daniels, Spatz and Jared Layton in the final showdown of the season. The Moose have seed time of 45.24 seconds, whereas the Knights’ sit seeded at 45.38.

The race between Harwood and Layton in the 100-meter dash will also be one to watch, as Harwood is ranked first and Layton second in the state. Harwood is also ranked first in the 200.

Other individual qualifiers for Colony include: Jill Bowker, 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs; Anna Condio, long jump; Maria Cucullu, high and triple jumps; Katelyn Foster, discus; Kristina Tennesen, discus and shot put; Julia Wendling, 300 hurdles; Alex Alvarado, shot put; Melvin Charles-White, 300 hurdles; Heita Kitagawa, 100-meter dash; Isaiah Tira, 110 hurdles; Asa Walling, discus.

Other individual qualifiers for Wasilla include: Demi Glenn, shot put; Sara Schindler, discus; Andrea Wagner, long and triple jumps; Ben Frick, discus; Quincy Fuller, 800- and 1,600-meter runs; Justin Lee, long and triple jumps.

Other individual qualifiers for Palmer are Sami Contraras, 3,200-meter run, and Alicia Smylie, shot put.

Nine alternates will also be available for the 4A competition.

Kimberly Quincy and John Koenaman will represent Houston in the girls’ and boys’ shot put of the 123A competition, and Xoue Bynum will run the 100.