Colony girls 3rd, boys 4th at Colony Invitational

GOVERNMENT PEAK — A great battle between Buccaneers, Grizzlies, Moose, Knights, Kardinals, Rams, Seahawks and Stars took place at the recreation area here this weekend during the Colony Invitational ski meet.

After two days of racing, the lady Knights edged the lady Moose by a total of less than two minutes in the combined team times for a third-place finish. The margin was wider on the boys’ side, but still rather narrow, as the Knights beat the Moose by about 7 minutes by the end of the weekend, finishing fourth.

The Kenai Kardinals took both varsity team titles. Soldotna Stars took second in the girls’ division and third in the boys’, beat out by the Grace Christian Grizzlies in the boys’ race.

Colony High School head coach Mark Strabel said Region III teams were mostly just glad to get in a two-day racing event before the borough, region and state championship meets coming up.

“This is the first real race series that we’ve had the whole season,” Strabel said.

The borough meet is just two weeks away, followed by the regional meet the next weekend and the state championship Feb. 19-21.

A Seward Invitational meet scheduled for next weekend has already been cancelled due to poor conditions and the fact that many athletes will be participating in the Besh Cup racing series to try and qualify for the U.S. Juniors team, Strabel said.

Those issues, as well as the illnesses and injuries that pull athletes out of races every year, are some reasons why the results of this weekend’s race are only partially indicative of what’s to come in the next month. The Colony team, for example, was missing top skiers Dawson Knopp and Greta Jenkins, who were resting from national qualifiers and races this weekend, and at least two of Palmer’s top skiers were hit with colds this week.

In their absence, others have stepped up, however.

For the boys, junior Dakota Peterson-Thompson came in first for the Knights and ninth overall with a combined time of 37:14.

The gap between Peterson-Thompson and Knopp, Strabel said, is decreasing, little by little.

“Dakota’s been chipping away, getting better every year,” he said.

Palmer’s Josiah Alverts was close behind, with less than nine seconds between him and his green spandex-clad competitor over the two days.

“I started out a little in front of him, then he passed me, then I caught him again, I think on the second loop, and then he caught me right at the finish,” Alverts said of Saturday’s 7.5-kilometer skate race.

Alverts was recovering from a cold, though, so with a little rest, he’s hoping to reach top 10 at the regional meet.

One of Palmer’s top female skiers, Ruby Woodings, also performed what she deemed less than her best in Friday’s classic race due to illness, but felt good enough for a fifth-place finish in the Saturday skate.

“It was pretty good, but (the snow) was powder so it was a little slow,” she said.

Woodings finished seventh overall, behind teammate Rya Berrigan, who finished fourth overall and was the first Valley finisher in the two-day standings.

The winning lady Knight, junior Jordyn Block, said conditions and kick wax were “great” for the classic race, but found Saturday’s 5k a bit more challenging, for the same reasons Woodings did.

“It was good, it was a hard race because of all the new snow,” Block said of the freestyle event.

Block placed fifth overall, 11 seconds behind Berrigan, and she — like Woodings, Alverts and Peterson-Thompson — is looking for another top-10 finish at the regional meet.

Where they finish within that top 10, however, is up in the air, for several reasons. In addition to sudden injuries, varying conditions and the mental component of individual racing, Palmer head coach Mike Evans pointed out that getting sick, really, is a hazard of the sport that everyone faces.

“We’re not making any excuses, everybody’s dealing with colds and illnesses at this time of the season,” he said.

“I think as coaches, if we can level the playing field…and just let it be ‘the best athlete wins,’ we would do that,” Evans continued, “but that's not the nature of our sport.”

But when or if that illness, injury, or bad day strikes, there should be someone to fill in the gaps.

“I’m really, really excited about girls JV and just how far they’ve come this year,” Strabel said. “They’ve really stepped up and I think this race has shown them what they’ve done.”

Coach Evans, too, is anxious to see how his younger skiers improve in the coming seasons.

The borough and Region III championships will both be held at Government Peak Recreation Area. The state championship will be held at Kincaid Park in Anchorage.

Contact Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.

Colony Invitational

Friday-Saturday, Government Peak

Girls combined team results:

1. Kenai 2:15:47; 2. Soldotna 2:21:15; 3. Colony 2:21:16; 4. Palmer 2:23:01; 5. Homer 2:27:36; 6. Grace 2:52:01.

Boys combined team results:

1. Kenai 2:24:45; 2. Grace 2:27:33; 3. Soldonta 2:28:47; 4. Colony 2:33:37; 5. Palmer 2:40:46.

Girls individual combined results:

1. S. Fox, Sol 30:47.06; 2. A. Gibson, Ken 32:00; 3. H. Pothast, Sol 32:50; 4. R. Berrigan, Pal 33:44; 5. J. Block, Col 33:55; 6. A. Bergholtz, Ken 34:01; 7. R. Woodings, Pal 34.15; 8. L. Olsen, Col 34:27; 9. A. Daigle, Hom 35:26; 10. C. Geraghty, Col 35:29; 11. R. Norris, Val 35:59; 12. M. Salzetti, Ken 36:16; 13. S. Wolf, Hom 36:23; 14. A. Taylor, Pal 36:52; 15. K. Cooper, Ken 36:55; 16. S. Allen, Val 37:29; 17. K. Nyquist, Ken 37:33; 18. M. Alexson, Hom 37:40; 19. L. Tsao-Wu 37:58; 20. R. Ellert, Hom 38:03; 21. E. Bingham, Pal 38:07; 22. J. Kopsack, Col 38:29; 23. A. Kopsack, Col 38:33; 24. K. Athuer, Sol 38:38; 25. S. Feige, Pal 39:05; 26. J. Bethel, Col 39:27; 27. R. Youngblood, Pal 38:48; 28. L. Floyd, Ken 40:39; 29. M. Chythlock, Sol 41:00; 30. S. Link, Sol 44:01; 31. K. Keeney, Val 46:04; 32. N. Moore, Gra 46:33; 33. A. Jarvis, Gra 46:42; 34. M. Vantrease, Hom 48:18; 35. V. Demarzo, Gra 48:39.

Boys individual combined results:

1. T. Fritzel, Gra 33:35; 2. T. Cooper, Ken 34:29; 3. J.Pothast, Sol 35:15; 4. K. Danielson, Ken 36:01; 5. J. Cosegrove, Gra 36:27; 6. J. Theisen, Ken 36:34; 7. L. Micheal, Sol 36:44; 8. C. Hand, Pal 37:12; 9. D. Peterson-Thompson, Col 37:14; 10. J. Alverts, Pal 37:25; 11. J. Butler, Ken 37:37; 12. G. Birch, Col 37:58; 13. K. Vinson, Sol 38:21; 14. T. Best, Sol 38:24; 15. T. Mumford, Gra 38:11; 16. T. Farring, Col 38:55; 17. W. Brown, Gra 38:56; 18. L. Seims, Was 39:18; 19. J. Davis, Hom 40:17; 20. A. Downing, Sol 41:12; 21. B. Mordue-Swalling, Pal 41:31; 22. L. Floyd, Ken 41;49; 23. S. Stasak, Sol 42:14; 24. E. Ickes, Was 42:18; 25. T. Sheldon, Gra 42:51; 26. G. Birch, Col 43:04; 27. T. Scholz, Hom 43:31; 28. C. Kincaid, Sol 43:37; 29. H. Parks, Hom 43:53; 30. E. Isaacson, Gra 44:43; 31. P. Michael, Ken 45:32; 32. S. Riopelle, Pal 46:10; 33. S. Haney, Pal 46:22; 34. E. Kempf, Ken 48:40;