Colony girls win region XC run title

KODIAK — The Colony Knights placed five runners in the top 16 of the 4A girls’ standings Saturday afternoon. But as it turned out, Colony’s sixth runner, M.E. Meyerhofer, posted the biggest finish for her team.

Meyerhofer used her 19^th-place finish to help Colony cement the girls’ team title during the Region III Cross-Country Running Championships in Kodiak.

Jill Bowker, Alex Mathis, Cathelyne Powers, Elisabeth Bowker and Colleen Geraghty each placed in the top 16 of the race. But that left Colony with 50 points, tied with Soldotna for first place in the team standings. To settle a tie, officials look to the teams’ sixth runner. Meyerhofer was 19^th, with her time of 22 minutes and 5 seconds. Colony’s seventh runner, Emily Werner, finished 23^rd.

“M.E.’s performance just shows how important those sixth and seventh runners can be, and that you always have to be prepared to give your full effort during the race, regardless of where you are in the pack,” Colony head coach Rhonda Knopp said by email over the weekend. “We placed well because each one of those girls gave their very best effort and ran smart. It really was a team effort. I am very proud.”

Bowker finished third overall for the Knights. The freshman posted a time of 20:04. Bowker was 12 seconds of the pace of runner-up Olivia Hutchings of Soldotna. Kenai standout Allie Ostrander won her fourth straight Region III title with a time of 17:48.

Mathis finished just behind Bowker, clocking a time of 20:14. Powers and Elisbeth Bowker also recorded back-to-back finishes, placing 13^th and 14^th. Powers had a time of 21:23, eight seconds ahead of Bowker. Geraghty finished at the 21:35 mark.

Knopp was named the Region III 4A Coach of the Year.

Four Valley runners placed in the top 8 of the girls race. In addition to Jill Bowker and Mathis, Palmer’s Ruby Woodings (20:40) was seventh and Wasilla’s Riley Burroughs (20:45) finished eighth.

Wasilla finished second overall in the boys’ standings. Wasilla entered the race ready to challenge region power Kodiak. Ultimately, Kodiak was the victor, placing first with 32 points. Wasilla was second with 70.

“It was disappointing,” Wasilla head coach Leslie Varys said of her team’s overall finish by cellphone Saturday evening. “We knew it was going to be difficult, hard beating someone on their home turf. It’s even more difficult when that team is Kodiak.”

Varys said the Warriors felt they needed perfect races all around to contend for the team title.

“I was a little surprised we didn’t have good races. It was pretty rainy and windy out there. It’s not an easy course,” Varys said. “Hopefully they got that out of their system.”

Quincy Fuller led the Warriors with a time of 17:41, and a sixth-place finish. Justin Gentz was ninth at 17:49.

Kodiak was paced by overall winner Levi Thomet, and his time of 16:03. Kodiak placed three runners in the top 5.

Tracen Knopp led Colony with a 11^th-place finish. The sophomore clocked a time of 17:52, finishing behind a pack of three runners who all crossed the finish line at 17:49. Dakota Peterson-Thompson was 15^th for Colony.

Palmer’s Hayden Foster and Ryan Kavalok finished 16^th and 17^th for the Moose. Foster finished just ahead of Kavalok. Both were credited with a time of 18:06.

The Colony girls and Wasilla boys teams earn automatic bids to the upcoming state meet, thanks to top 3 finishes in the team standings. Woodings and Burroughs on the girls’ side, and Knopp and Peterson-Thompson on the boys’ side also earned spots in the state meet with their top 15 finishes.

Houston’s Andrew Spencer will also run at state. Spencer finished fourth in the boys’ Region III-123A race.

2014 Region III Championships

Awards

4A

Boy athlete of the year — Levi Thomet, Kodiak

Girl athlete of the year — Allie Ostrander, Kenai

Coach of the year — Rhonda Knopp, Colony

3A

Boy athlete of the year — Michael Todd, Anchorage Christian

Girl athlete of the year — Megan Pitzman, Homer

Coach of the year — Bill Steyer, Homer

4A

Boys

Team — 1. Kodiak 32; 2. Wasilla 70; 3. Kenai 78; 4. Palmer 110; 5. Colony 103; 6. Soldotna 118.

Individual

1. Levi Thomet, Kod, 16 minutes, 03 seconds; 2. Jonah Theisen, Ken, 16:48; 3. Jordan Theisen, Ken, 17:32; 4. Keith Osowski, Kod, 17:37; 5. Michael Parnell, Kod, 17:39; 6. Quincy Fuller, Was, 17:41; 7. Aaron Swedberg, Sol, 17:46; 8. Travis Cooper, Ken 17:49; 9. Justin Gentz, Was, 17:49; 10. Jack Hannah, Kod, 17:49; 11. Tracen Knopp, Col, 17:52; 12. Levi Fried, Kod, 17:56; 13. Richie McKinney, Kod, 17:57; 14. Colton Pulver, Was, 17:58; 15. Dakota Peterson-Thompson, Col, 17:58; 16. Hadyen Foster, Pal, 18:06; 17. Ryan Kavalok, Pal, 18:06; 18. Lane Reed, Was, 18:08; 19. Tyler Daniel, Col, 18:14; 20. Cameron Jensen, Pal, 18:18; 21. Dawson Knopp, Col, 18:19; 22. Daniel Shuler, Sol, 18:23; 23. Sam Loyer, Was, 18:27; 24. Isaak Bell, Was, 18:27; 25. Anthony Rubina, Kod, 18:30; 26. Karl Greathouse, Was, 18:44; 27. Levi Michael, Sol, 18:45; 28. Johnie Burton, Pal, 18:46; 29. Josiah Alverts, Pal, 18:56; 30. Koby Vinson, Sol, 19:17; 31. Ian Ashley, Ken, 19:18; 32. Brenner Musgrave, Sol, 19:32; 33. Shane Larrow, Sol, 19:36; 34. Karl Danielson, Ken, 19:36; 35. James Butler, Ken, 19:46; 36. Josh Shuler, Sol, 19:55; 37. Robert Haan, Col, 19:58; 38. Tristan Landry, Ken, 20:03; 39. Kamber Lucas, Col, 20:28; 40. Zach Zmuda, Col, 20:34; 41. Levi Natwick, Pal, 20:36; 42. Josh Klina, Pal, 20:38

Girls

Team — 1. Colony 50; 2. Soldotna 50; 3. Kenai 57; 4. Kodiak 99; 5. Palmer 109; 6. Wasilla 130.

Individual

1. Allie Ostrander, Ken, 17:48; 2. Olivia Hutchings, Sol, 19:52; 3. Jill Bowker, Col, 20:04; 4. Alex Mathis, Col, 20:14; 5. Dani McCormick, Sol, 20:19; 6. Riana Boonstra, Ken, 20:26; 7. Ruby Woodings, Pal, 20:40; 8. Riley Burroughs, Was, 20:45; 9. Ithaca Ann Bergholtz, Ken, 20:47; 10. Daisy Nelson, Sol, 20:55; 11. Zoe Bigley, Kod, 20:56; 12. Melissa De Guzman, Kod, 21:22; 13. Cathelyne Powers, Col, 21:23; 14. Elisabeth Bowker, Col, 21:31; 15. Sadie Fox, Sol, 21:32; 16. Coleen Geraghty, Col, 21:35; 17. Addison Gibson, Ken, 21:38; 18. Molly Erickson, Sol, 21:48; 19. M.E. Meyerhofer, Col, 22:05; 20. Halaia Barnett, Kod, 22:23; 21. Samantha Contreras, Pal, 22:27; 22. Mallory Arnold, Kod, 22:36; 23. Emily Werner, Sol, 22:39; 24. Alex Bergholtz, Ken, 22:46; 25. Jordan Burroughs, Was, 22:55; 26. Rya Berrigan, Pal, 22:58; 27. Elliese Wright, Pal, 22:58; 28. Allison Qualls, Pal, 23:04; 29. Riley McLellan, Was, 23:19; 30. Kellie Arthur, Sol, 23:22; 31. Jocelyn Kopsack, Col, 23:29; 32. Amber Pell, Was, 24:07; 33. Eva Bingham, Pal, 24:17; 34. Honey Rose Macatuno, Kod, 24:24; 35. Raen Barcelon, Kod, 24:24; 36. Kayla Munday, Was, 24:26; 37. Emily Wright, Pal, 24:32; 38. Mackenzie Lindeman, Ken, 24:44; 39. Katie Cooper, Ken, 24:47; 40. Arielle Himelbloom, Kod, 26:41.

3A

Boys

Team — 1. Seward 38; 2. Grace Christian 62; 3. Homer 72; 4. Anchorage Christian 84; 5. Houston 130.

Individual

1. Michael Todd, ACS, 17:53; 2. Hunter Kratz, Sew, 17:57; 3. Michael Marshall, Sew, 18:11; 4. Andrew Spencer, Hou, 18:20; 5. Jared Brant, Hom, 18:21; 6. Trent Fritzel, Grace, 18:25; 7. Zach Hamberger, Cordova, 18:35; 8. Jordan Beachy, Hom, 18:36; 9. Daniel VanderWeide, Grace, 18:45; 10. Seth Brewi, Sew, 18:57; 11. Thomas Zweifel, Sew, 18:59; 12. Paxson Berry, Sew, 19:04; 13. Josh Miller, ACS, 19:04; 14. Nick Snow, Grace, 19:06; 15. Jacob Davis, Hom, 19:09; 16. Ethan Isaacson, Grace, 19:10; 17. Wyatt Brown, Grace, 19:21; 18. Brandon Moore, Sew, 19:23; 19. Blake Bennett, ACS, 19:24; 20. Brandon Beachy, Hom, 19:25; 21. Dylan Gillespie, Sew, 19:34; 22. Tobin Karlberg, Grace, 19:34; 23. Ben Sobek, ACS, 19:37; 24. Jaime Rios, Hom, 19:38; 25. Denver Waclawski, Hom, 19:39; 26. John Cosgrave, Grace, 19:42; 27. Jens Knutson, Hou, 19:49; 28. Timothy Stoorza, ACS, 19:54; 29. Etienne Kinne, Hou, 19:58; 30. Shaun Quinn, ACS, 20:10; 31. Luke Coverdell, ACS, 20:11; 32. Austin Brandt, Cordova, 20:17; 33. Elan Carroll, Hom, 20:49; 34. Kade Taylor, Hou, 21:01; 35. Cody Greene, Valdez, 21:53; 36. Dillon Newell, Hou, 22:02; 37. Ferdinand Sison, Cordova, 22:21; 38. Gavin Wallis, Nikiski, 22:29; 39. Wesley Colapietro, Valdez, 23:19; 40. James Hancock, Valdez, 23:52; 41. Joshua Hartman, Hou, 24:14; 42. Aaron McCollum, Nikiski, 24:35; 43. Ben Wray, Cordova, 24:39.

Girls

Team — 1. Homer 35; 2. Seward 50; 3. Grace Christian 70; 4. Anchorage Christian 92

Individual

1. Megan Pitzman, Hom, 20:30; 2. Molly Mitchell, Hom, 20:39; 3. Ruby Lindquist, Sew, 20:55; 4. Sara Hamberger, Cordova, 20:58; 5. Brook Wedin, Sew, 20:59; 6. Tessa O’Hara, ACS, 21:22; 7. Alex Mosley, Hom, 21:24; 8. Cheyenne Applegate, Grace, 21:27; 9. Alice Pfeiffenberger, Sew, 21:37; 10. Amy Hatter, Grace, 21:47; 11. Tanner Ealum, ACS, 21:56; 12. Aurora Waclawski, Hom, 22:00; 13. Ziza Shemet Pitcher, Hom, 22:01; 14. Harmony Wayner, Grace, 22:04; 15. Lauren Evarts, Hom, 22:19; 16. Ashley Guernsey, Sew, 23:08; 17. EmmaLee Moore, Sew, 23:23; 18. Allie Jarvis, Grace, 23:32; 19. Audrey Rosencrans, Hom, 23:49; 20. Katrina Wood, Grace, 23:58; 21. Josephine Braun, Sew, 24:14; 22. Elizabeth Balsan, ACS, 24:25; 23. Anna Jarvis, Grace, 24:34; 24. Iris Anderson, Sew, 24:48; 25. Courtney Mitchell, ACS, 24:57; 26. Alex Durazo, Grace, 24:58; 27. Katy Merioles, Valdez, 25:13; 28. Becca Land, ACS, 26:24; 29. Cori Pegau, Cordova, 27:39; 30. Mickey Connor, ACS, 29:22; 31. Lynelle Jones, ACS, 29:47.