Colony skier wins Region III title

WASILLA — With two weeks to go before the state meet, Colony skier Mason Wick is hitting his stride.

Wick, a senior, won the boys’ 7.5-kilometer cross country ski race Saturday to claim his first Region III overall championship at Valdez High School.

“He had a really good weekend,” Colony ski coach Mark Strabel said Saturday afternoon from Valdez.

Behind Wick’s strong showing, the Colony boys placed second overall in the two-day meet, a key tune-up heading toward state. Colony’s girls team got a seventh-place overall finish from sophomore Heidi Doner to take third in the girls’ competition.

Wick was tied for second following Friday’s 10-K classic race, four seconds back of Cook Inlet Academy’s Lars Arneson. But Wick had no equal Saturday in the freestyle race, beating Arneson by 13 seconds to claim the title.

Soldotna’s boys and girls teams swept the meet, which Strabel said was held in cold, windy conditions — something cross country skiers are getting used to this winter.

“For the most part, everybody has pretty much adjusted to the cold and the wind by now,” Strabel said.

Soldotna sophomore Kailey Mucha won the girls’ overall title for the Stars, which had the top three female performers at the meet.

Palmer’s Davis Dunlap finished sixth for the Moose, which finished fourth in both the boys and girls team races. Kimberly Del Frate was Palmer’s top female skier in ninth place.

Susitna Valley didn’t bring a full team, but still got a strong finish from junior Ian Mannix, who was eighth overall.

Wasilla’s boys team was seventh, while the Warrior girls placed eighth. Baruch Chamberlain was Wasilla’s top boys’ in 24th overall, while Kiersten Wilber placed 33rd for the girls’ team.

Area skiers and coaches have just one meet left — next week’s Mat-Su Borough Championships at Susitna Valley — to fine-tune both technique and line-ups heading into state meet, slated for two weeks from now at Kincaid Park in Anchorage.

Teams can only bring six skiers to state on each squad, and Strabel said the region meet was a good chance for coaches to evaluate athletes in order to determine which skiers will be making the trip to the big dance.

“It gives us a good idea from a coaching standpoint who we need to take to state, who can race multiple days in a row,” he said.

Between now and the Borough races, Strabel said coaches will be making lots of last-second tweaks in order to field the strongest possible teams.

“We’re probably going to spend this whole week looking at it,” Strabel said.

Region III Cross Country Ski Meet

Friday-Saturday

Valdez High School

Boys

Team combined results — 1. Soldotna, 3 hours, 23 minutes, 16 seconds; 2. Homer, 3:33:38; 3. Colony, 3:40:06; 4. Palmer, 3:49:17; 5. Kenai Central, 3:51:34; 6. Seward, 3:57:03; 7. Valdez, 4:02:31; 8. Wasilla, 4:05:25; 9. Skyview, 4:45:10

Individual results (combined 10K classic and 7.5K freestyle) — 1. Mason Wick, Col, 59 minutes, 29 seconds; 2. Lars Arneson, CIA, 59:38; 3. Ryan Sanders, SoHi, 1:00:01; 4. Aaron Chase, SoHi, 1:00:37; 5. Tommy Honer, Sky, 1:00:40; 6. Davis Dunlap, Pal, 1:01:36; 7. Jordan Merkes, SoHi, 1:02:39; 8. Ian Mannix, SuV, 1:02:54; 9. Will Anderson, Hom, 1:03:41; 10. Gus Beck, Hom, 1:03:49. Other Mat-Su finishers: 11. Robby Wise, Col, 1:03:56; 12. Corbyn Jahn, Col, 1:05:47; 13. Dave Gray, Col, 1:06:06; 14. Jonny Mastroyanis, Col, 1:06:08; 21. Kevin Smith, Pal, 1:06:56; 22. Danny Lange, Col, 1:06:59; 24. Baruch Chamberlain, Was, 1:07:09; 25. Wylie Mangelsdorf, Pal, 1:07:09; 26. Sean Boyden, Col, 1:07:23; 27. Lauri Husa, Pal, 1:07:28; 29. Ryan Cunningham, Pal, 1:08:35; 31. Leif Johnson, Was, 1:08:57; 39. Jacob Simon, Pal, 1:11:21; 42. Elias Hold, SuV, 1:13:03; 49. Tucker Minnick, Was, 1:22:55; 50. Keith Pulver, Was, 1:34:11; 51. Steven Chapman, Was, 1:36:53.

Girls

Team combined results — 1. Soldotna, 3:23:16; 2. Homer, 3:33:38; 3. Colony, 3:40:06; 4. Palmer, 3:49:17; 5. Kenai Central, 3:51:34; 6. Seward, 3:57:03; 7. Valdez, 4:02:31; 8. Wasilla, 4:05:25; 9. Skyview, 4:45:10

Individual results (combined 7.5K classic and 5K freestyle) — 1. Kailey Mucha, SoHi, 47:02; 2. Jasmine Clock, SoHi, 49:47; 3. Mandy Smith, SoHi, 51:50; 4. Becca Ford, Ken, 52:15; 5. Jaclyn Arndt, Hom, 52:18; 6. Gillian Beran Maryott, Hom, 53:10; 7. Heidi Doner, Col, 53:27; 8. Claire Laukitis, Hom, 53:40; 9. Kimberly Del Frate, Pal, 53:44; 10. Kaite Miller, Hom, 54:30. Other Mat-Su finishers: 12. Caitlin Skvorc, Col, 55:39; 15. Sydney Stewart, Col, 55:55; 16. Heather Kelahan, Col, 56:00; 20. Ellen VanGorder, Col, 56:28; 22. Amanda Del Frate, Pal, 57:55; 24. Katie Gonski, 58:28; 25. Claire Woodings, Pal, 58:31; 27. Dottie Hoople, Pal, 59:10; 29. Abby Jahn, Col, 59:24; 30. Laura Whitmore, Pal, 59:44; 33. Kiersten Wilber, Was, 1:00:17; 36. Shannon Stough, Pal, 1:00:36; 37. Valerie Schleich, Was, 1:01:45; 38. Jessica Odegard, Pal, 1:02:01; 39. Stephanie Flores, Was, 1:02:09; 43. Katherine Parker, Was, 1:03:24; 44. Cori Schleich, Was, 1:03:26; 53. Mirijam Muench, Was, 1:09:27; 56. Amanda Beam, Was, 1:12:14