Colony girls run to second-place finish in state meet

PALMER — Little could have knocked the smile off of Mark Doner’s face Saturday afternoon.

The longtime Colony High School running coach was absolutely beaming after his Knights ran to a second-place finish in the girls team standings of the ASAA/First National Bank Cross Country Running Championships at the Michael Janecek Running Trails at Palmer High School.

“We exceeded my cautious expectations, but met my dream,” Doner said with a smile, just prior to the start of the 4A boys race. “We lived up to the dream that I had, that we’d be up there in the top two.”

With two runners in the top-10, West Anchorage claimed the team title with 56 total points. Colony finished second with 93, despite not having a runner in the top 10.

Once again, Colony scored with consistency, placing two in the top-15, five in the top-32 and all seven of its runners among the best 51 in the state.

“I’m very pleased,” Doner said. “They ran so tough, ran with great poise. They didn’t get sucked out too fast. The just ran very mature.”

Doner said the Knights also peaked at the end of the race, and used a strong second half of the 5-kilometer course to record their times.

“It all comes down to the last lap and a half,” Doner said.

Freshman Alyssa Hutchins, the Knights’ top runner in the event, epitomized that, using a late surge to muscle past Soldotna’s Melanie Smith during the final few yards of the race.

“She’s beaten me the last two times we’ve raced,” Hutchins said of Smith. “She’s really nice though. She always helps me on the track, cheering me on, saying ‘let’s go get those girls’.”

Smith led Hutchins for the first two laps, but Hutchins was able to catch the Soldotna runner late in the third lap.

Hutchins finished 13th with a time of 19:50 and fellow Knight Sydney Stewart was just two seconds and finished 15th.

“Sydney was actually further back and pushed her way through,” Doner said.

Abby Jahn finished 23rd for Colony at 20:11, and Colony’s Caitlin Skvorc and Maria Wick finished less than a second apart to place 31st and 32nd respectively.

Heidi Doner (20:43) was 43rd for CHS, and Taylor Stewart (21:01) was 51st.

Mark Doner said all benefited by strong runs during the final mile of the race.

“They did fantastic,” he said. “to apply yourself in that second half. That’s what you have to do.”

The Wasilla Warriors, who also were one of four Region III teams to qualify, finished 10th in the team standings.

Alison Kelley placed 26th to lead Wasilla with a time of 20:15. Brooke Nelson (33rd, 20:28) and Rachel Kennedy (48th, 20:57) also placed in the top-50 for WHS.

Juneau-Douglas’ Leah Francis used a time of 18:41 to win her third straight state title.

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

ASAA/First National Bank State Cross Country Running Championships

4A Girls

Saturday, Palmer

Team scores:

1. West Anchorage 56, 2. Colony 93, 3. Service 103, 4. Juenau-Douglas 140, 5. West Valley 150, 6. South Anchorage 154, 7. Soldotna 155, 8. Lathrop 176, 9. Kodiak 181, 10. Wasilla 185, 11. Dimond 245.

1. Francis, Leah, Juneau, 18:41.3; 2. Mucha, Bree, Soldotna, 19:03.2; 3. Kennedy, Esther, Service, 19:06.6; 4. O'Guinn, Ivy, Skyview, 19:10.7; 5. Ivanoff, Chloe, Kodiak, 19:14.9; 6. Edic, Heather, Lathrop, 19:17.0; 7. Luch, Letitia, West, 19:31.2; 8. Kroloff, Emma, Service, 19:36.5; 9. McPhetres, Kryston, Chugiak, 19:39.1; 10. Luch, Marcelyn, West, 19:42.9; 11. Liotta, Annie, West, 19:44.1; 12. Nees, Rosika, Service, 19:46.8; 13. Hutchins, Alyssa, Colony, 19:50.9; 14. Smith, Melanie, Soldotna, 19:51.2; 15. Stewart, Sydney, Colony, 19:52.5; 16. Gerik, Danielle, West, 19:55.5; 17. King, Kristen, Eagle River High, 20:00.5; 18. Schmitz, Christi, North Pole, 20:01.8; 19. Culver, Katie, South Anchorage, 20:05.1; 20. Bethea, Jaymi, Kodiak, 20:07.7; 21. Bick, Susan, Bartlett, 20:07.9; 22. Rorabaugh, Marisa, West Valley, 20:10.2; 23. Jahn, Abby, Colony, 20:11.4; 24. Ostrander, Taylor, Kenai, 20:14.9; 25. Luch, Delia, West, 20:15.2; 26. Kelley, Alison, Wasilla, 20:15.7; 27. Jackson, Karissa, Juneau, 20:16.2; 28. Stone, Sydney, Lathrop, 20:19.1; 29. Boyer, Hannah, West Valley, 20:23.6; 30. Gale, Bonnie, South Anchorage, 20:24.4; 31. Skvorc, Caitlin, Colony, 20:25.0; 32. Wick, Maria, Colony, 20:25.9; 33. Nelson, Brooke, Wasilla, 20:28.5; 34. Browning, Sid, Juneau, 20:31.4; 35. Edic, Megan, Lathrop, 20:33.9; 36. Wilson, Lauren, Dimond, 20:35.5; 37. Simpson, Malia, West Valley, 20:36.5; 38. Vania, Merielle, South Anchorage, 20:36.8; 39. Teslow, Kayla, West Valley, 20:38.8; 40. Watkins, Molly, Kenai, 20:41.2; 41. Ord, Annika, Juneau, 20:41.6; 42. Merkes, Maranda, Soldotna, 20:42.1; 43. Doner, Heidi, Colony, 20:43.7; 44. Castle, Samantha, Dimond, 20:47.4; 45. Smith, Allie, Kodiak, 20:50.4; 46. Ortiz, Molly, Ketchikan, 20:52.8; 47. Muller-Stubblefield, Krystal, Service, 20:53.5; 48. Kennedy, Rachel, Wasilla, 20:57.2; 49. Yanoshek, Kelly, South Anchorage, 20:58.6; 50. Lee, Heather, South Anchorage, 20:59.8; 51. Stewart, Taylor, Colony, 21:01.8; 52. Miner, Robin, Service, 21:02.4; 53. Stramp, Robin, Dimond, 21:03.1; 54. Rorabaugh, Eliza, West Valley, 21:04.9; 55. Miner, Kendra, Wasilla, 21:10.5; 56. Backstrum, Kate, South Anchorage, 21:11.1; 57. Mucha, Kailey, Soldotna, 21:11.8; 58. Callahan, Molly, West Valley, 21:12.7; 59. Bialka, Katie, Wasilla, 21:14.4; 60. Boger, Wendy, West Valley, 21:16.7; 61. Greaves, Shelayne, Ketchikan, 21:18.6; 62. Dineen, Jordan, South Anchorage, 21:19.9; 63. Fitzgerald, Kimberly, Lathrop, 21:32.4; 64. Jarvis, Sarah, Service, 21:37.4; 65. Thibodeau, Elisha, Juneau, 21:38.2; 66. Walton, Sarah, Soldotna, 21:40.2; 67. Ripley, Emily, Wasilla, 21:41.3; 68. Larson, Molly, West, 21:41.6; 69. Hoffman, Rachel, Wasilla, 21:42.9; 70. Roe, Christy, Kodiak, 21:44.2; 71. Egle, Amelia, Kodiak, 21:44.6; 72. Hippe, Brittany, Dimond, 21:44.9; 73. Ottoson-McKeen, Alice, Juneau, 21:48.7; 74. Briscoe, Aubrey, Juneau, 21:50.0; 75. Ruckhaus, Thea, Lathrop, 21:51.2; 76. Hamlin, Mikayla, Lathrop, 21:52.3; 77. Haight, Samantha, Kodiak, 22:01.4; 78. Wiepking-Brown, Sophie, West, 22:02.1; 79. Freistone, Sarah, Dimond, 22:05.0; 80. Maile, Kalyssa, Dimond, 22:06.3; 81. Fried, Jenni, Kodiak, 22:07.2; 82. Wyatt, Shannon, Soldotna, 22:12.4; 83. Jensen, Jenna, Soldotna, 22:19.1; 84. Thomas, Chairel, Ketchikan, 22:38.5; 85. Spencer, Nikki, Lathrop, 22:53.7; 86. Halloran, Madison, Service, 23:13.4; 87. Todd, Jessica, Dimond, 23:15.3.