Colony boys win cross-country running state title

As Colony co-head coach Norm Rousey waited along the trail during the final lap of the Division I boys race, he expected to see the Knights’ top runner, Matthew Rongitsch, at or near the lead.

And Rongitsch didn’t disappoint, running in first for the final lap of the race.

But then came a bit of a pleasant surprise. Zac Cheyette, another Colony senior, was the next runner to pop out of the trees. And Colony junior Tobias Buchanan followed.

“I had to look. Is that Colony?,” Rousey said after the race. “And then another one comes down.”

Rongitsch, Cheyette and Buchanan all held their positions and made history, becoming the first teammates to sweep the top three spots of a Division I boys race during the ASAA/First National Bank Cross-Country Running Championships Saturday at Bartlett High School in Anchorage.

“We worked so hard for this,” Cheyette said. “We weren’t expecting 1-2-3, but we knew we had to pull something out of the bag for this one. It was exciting to see everyone run so well.”

Rongitsch won his first state cross-country running title with a time of 16 minutes, 13 seconds. Cheyette followed with his runner-up finish and time of 16:29. Buchanan edged South Anchorage junior Blaise Boyer at the finish line to clock a time of 16:39 and secure the top-three sweep for the Knights.

Colony finished with 43 total points to win its first boys cross-country running team title since 1998.

“I knew as long as the (fourth and fifth runners) do even average, it should be ok mathematically,” Rousey said.

Colony’s fourth runner, senior Jayden Rice, also grabbed a top-20 finish, placing 20th with a time of 17:27. Sophomore Coby Marvin was 26th at 17:31.

Colony finished 26 points ahead of runner-up South Anchorage in the standings. It’s the fifth title in school history for the Colony boys, who also won it all in 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1998.

Rongitsch is Colony’s first individual state cross-country champ since former Colony running star Eric Strabel won gold in 1999. Rongitsch, who was locked in a battle with West Valley senior Shane Fisher midway through, said he didn’t really have a definitive strategy for Saturday.

“I usually just go by feel, honestly,” he said. “(Fisher) was on me the whole time. There was a lot of good pacing there. He really helped me keep moving. After that it was an, all I can give type of thing.”

Rongitsch made his biggest strides during the second mile of the race, and at points led by more than 20 seconds, according to updates from the public address announcer. This was Rongitsch’s first season of cross-country running in Alaska, after moving from North Dakota with his family in January.

“We knew he was going to be a fast asset,” Cheyette said of his new teammate. “He’s really what pushed our team from a competing team to a team that could dominate.”

Rousey said the addition of Rongitsch certainly made Colony’s potential exciting.

“When you get a No. 1 like that, that’s when you start to have a vision,” Rousey said. “But we had to get probably halfway through the season before we thought this could be real.”

Colony dominated the Region III Championships, sweeping the top three in the same order as state, and placing five runners in the top eight.

“As a team we were going for at least regions, that was our main goal,” Rongitsch said.

Cheyette said the Knights had thought about the top-3 sweep in regions.

“We were so excited to get 1-2-3 at regions. Here coming into state, we didn’t even think about it. To be able to say we did that just blew our mind,” Cheyette said.

Cheyette said his goal Saturday was a top-five finish.

“I didn’t expect to squeeze into the top two, but maybe I was dreaming a little bit,” Cheyette said. “I couldn’t dream of anything better than coming in 1-2-3 with my teammates. To win as a team, I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”

Junior Ella Hopkins led Colony in the Division I girls race with a 10th-place finish and time of 20:17.

“It wasn’t my best (race), but it was still fun,” Hopkins said. “There are some really great competitors out there.”

Freshman Morgan Ainsworth (20:35) was 13th for the Colony girls.

Junior Fischer Adams (17:12) led the Palmer boys with a 13th-place finish. Junior Aceton Edgerton led the Wasilla boys with a time of 18:00. Freshman Alder Deal (22:43) led the Palmer girls and freshman Kinley Bruno (22:50) led the Wasilla girls.

Redington junior Mya Campbell earned a top-10 finish to lead Valley runners in the Division II races. Campbell was eighth with a time of 21:46 in the DII girls race.

Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at editor@frontiersman.com.