It’s a sprint

PALMER — The high school track and field season in Alaska is in no way a marathon. If anything, it’s a sprint.

With only a handful of meets scheduled in less than a two-month stretch, local teams work tirelessly for any opportunity to get on the track. To cram as much opportunity into a short time, Palmer High School expanded its annual Palmer Relays to two days of competition, hosting the newly created Palmer Invitational on Friday and the Relays the following day.

“I can’t say enough about how much Palmer has helped out,” Wasilla head coach Gary Howell said.

More than 700 athletes from 17 programs competed in the one-day Palmer Invite. The meet, which lasted more than 12 hours on Friday, was added to the schedule simply to give runners, jumpers and throwers to improve on their marks before the state’s conference championships that are just two weeks away.

“If Palmer hadn’t done that we would not be competitive with the teams that got to go to The Dome,” Howell said, referring to a handful of programs in the state that have competed on a weekly basis in the Anchorage sports complex since the first week of April. “We’re light years behind them.”

In a typical spring, coaches hope to have the athletes outside in early April and then it’s a solid six or seven weeks of competition before the conference and state meets.

But this season, local tracksters were at the mercy of Mother Nature. The first event hosted in the Mat-Su Valley — the Palmer Chaos — didn’t come until April 16. That’s exactly one month before the final day of the NLC Championships and gives coaches and athletes the feeling the 2009 track and field season is even more condensed than it normally is.

“It does feel that way,” Howell said. “This whole spring has really made it feel that way because we haven’t been able to have all the little informal meets we normally have. It’s just been too nasty (outside).”

At a point this season, when the times of a few of his athletes didn’t seem to improve, Howell was worried.

“A couple weeks ago I was thinking I was screwing up the workouts because their times weren’t coming around,” Howell said. “But when it started warming up yesterday, when they could run when it wasn’t windy and rainy and nasty, their times came around.”

Running, jumping and throwing in comfortable temperatures that crept into the high 60s, Wasilla posted a Valley-best finish of third in the boys standings.

Junior John Knowles swept the throwing events to lead the Wasilla boys. Knowles pushed the shot 50 feet, 2.5 inches and flipped the discus just more than 144 feet. Knowles’ throw in the shot marked the second time this season he has eclipsed the 50-foot mark, and he’s still the only thrower in the state to meet that distance this season.

Wasilla also won a pair of relays. Michael Johnston, Keith Thompson, Wade Schirack and Taylor Owens gave the Warriors a win in the 1,600-meter relay. Johnston, Thompson, Schirack and Baruch Chamberlin finished first in the 3,200 relay.

Owens (fourth, 200), Chamberlin (fourth, 3,200), Schirack (sixth, 300 hurdles), Simon Fischer (fifth, 3,200) and Chris Lafe (third, shot put and second, discus) also finished in the top six to score team points for WHS.

Junior Matt Jaronik won a pair of events to lead Colony to a sixth-place finish in the boys standings. Jaronik, the defending state champion in the 400, won that event. He also finished first in the 200 and third in the 100.

Sophomore Anthony Bricker finished fourth in the 300 hurdles and sixth in the long jump for the Knights.

Senior David Zoerb placed fourth in both throwing events to lead Palmer to an eighth-place finish in the boys’ standings. Senior Jesse Marden was third in the discus for the Moose and senior J.D. Mitchell finished sixth in the shot put.

John Scoresby (fourth, 100) and Pat Wise (sixth, high jump) also placed for PHS.

Senior Brogan Putnam secured a pair of top-three finishes to lead Houston. Putnam was second in the 200 and third in the 400. He also helped the Hawks placed second in the 800 relay.

Sophomore Nick Nysewander-Kellard placed in both sprints to lead. Susitna Valley. He was third in the 200 and fifth in the 100.

Sophomore Laura Maresh helped lead Colony to a fourth-place finish in the girls’ standings with a win in the long jump. Maresh edged teammate Sierra Hodgson to post the longest leap in the event. Another Knight, Megan Wilson, finished third.

Junior Sydney Stewart placed in a trio of events for the Knights. Stewart was third in the 3,200, fifth in the 1,600 and sixth in the 800.

Abby Jahn (fifth, 400), Alyssa Hutchins (third, 1,600 and fifth, 3200), Siobhan Johansen (fifth, 300 hurdles), Gaynor Johansen (fifth, shot put), Katie Troxel (fourth, discus) and Racheal Huffman (fifth, discus) also placed in the top-six for the Knights.

With 58 total points, Colony finished just a point behind third-place Lathrop in the standings and three ahead of fifth-place Wasilla.

Wasilla posted a pair of relay wins en route to the fifth-place finish.

Morgan Dampier, Cori Schleich, Gladys Nickerson and Kiera Rust gave the Warriors a win in the 800 relay. Dampier, Rust, Keri Clump and Rachel Hoffman posted a victory in the 1,600 relay.

Dampier and Hoffman posted a pair of second-place finishes in the individual events. Dampier was second in the 200 and 400, while Hoffman was second both hurdles events.

Kelsey Ryneski was sixth in the shot put and Skyler Nuss finished sixth in the 100 hurdles.

Palmer posted a pair of fifth-place finishes in the relays. Sophomore Erin LaMere led the Moose with a fourth-place finish in the shot put.

Freshman Taylor Holen finished sixth to lead Houston, while senior Caitlin Hunt and freshman Bailey Stevenson finished third and fourth in the high jump to lead Susitna Valley.

Mat-Su Valley teams will hit the track again on Tuesday and Wednesday for the Mat-Su Borough Championships, a meet co-hosted by Houston and Palmer.

On Tuesday, the shot put, high jump and long jump will be held at Houston. The remainder of the events will be at Palmer on Wednesday.

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

2009 Palmer Invitational

Friday, Palmer High School

Girls team standings:

1. Kenai 85, 2. Service 63, 3. Lathrop 59, 4. Colony 58, 5. Wasilla 55, 6. Soldotna 50, 7. Anchorage Christian 39.5, 8. Grace Christian 24.5, 9. Kenny Lake 20, 10. Monroe Catholic 11, 11. Palmer 9, 11. (tie) Susitna Valley 9, 11. (tie) Houston 9, 14. Valdez 4.

Girls individual results:

100-meter — 1. A. Allen, Lat 13.17; 2. S. Ferguson, Ser 13.24; 3. L. Flanagan, Ken 13.27; 4. H. Souders, Ser 13.65; 5. B. Coulumbe, Grace 13.79; 6. T. Holen, Hou 13.97; 7. G. Serventi, Grace 14.04; 8. S. Hull, Ken 14.17; 9. M. Wilson, Col 14.19; 10. K. Sumabat, Ser 14.20.

200 — 1. L. Flanagan, Ken 26.82; 2. M. Dampier, Was 22.17; 3. S. Ferguson, Ser 27.34; 4. M. Grammer, Val 27.94; 5. S. DeVito, Ken 28.19; 6. G. Serventi, Grace 28.27; 7. H. Souders, Ser 28.54; 8. H. Johnson, Grace 28.57; 9. C. Bennett, ACS 28.74; 10. B. Beeson, Ken 28.91.

400 — 1. L. Flanagan, Ken 58.62; 2. M. Dampier, Was 1:01.16; 3. B. Beeson, Ken 1:03.21; 4. C. Reichelt, Sol 1:03.23; 5. A. Jahn, Col 1:04.23; 6. K. Fitzgerald, Lat 1:04.31; 7. R. Hanson, Lat 1:04.38; 8. G. Serventi, Grace 1:05.13; 9. T. Whitfield, Pal 1:05.39; 10. C. Bennett, ACS 1:05.61.

800 — 1. A. Zanders, Ser 2:28.75; 2. K. Wilson, KL 2:29.98; 3. N. Barrus, Ser 2:230.62; 4. L. Bennett, Mon 2:31.60; 5. R. Nees, Ser 2:33.62; 6. S. Stewart, Col 2:34.45; 7. K. Louthan, Ken 2:34.59; 8. B. Nelson, Was 2:35.26; 9. M. Wick, Col 2:35.50; 10. M. Applegate, Grace 2:35.72.

1,600 — 1. B. Mucha, Sol 5:28.60; 2. H. Edic, Lat 5:29.54; 3. A. Hutchins, Col 5:30.74; 4. K. Wilson, KL 5:32.30; 5. S. Stewart, Col 5:41.44; 6. M. Wick, Col 5:43.04; 7. M. Edic, Lat 5:44.05; 8. A. Jahn, Col 5:46.05; 9. L. Bennett, Mon 5:46.84; 10. J. Pahkala, WAS 5:48.75.

3,200 — 1. B. Mucha, Sol 11:53.26; 2. K. Wilson, KL 11:53.44; 3. S. Stewart, Col 11:58.40; 4. M. Watkins, Ken 12:02.44; 5. A. Hutchins, Col 12:14.84; 6. R. Nees, Ser 12:19.16; 7. M. Smith, Sol 12:38.61; 8. M. Wick, Col 12:39.63; 9. H. Kopp, Grace 12:48.94; 10. S. Allen, Ser 12:54.65.

100 hurdles — 1. A. Simmers, ACS 16.76; 2. R. Hoffman, Was 17.25; 3. D. DeVito, Ken 17.55; 4. S. LeClaire, Ser 17.91; 5. R. Saturnino, Ser 18.08; 6. S. Nuss, Was 18.28; 7. S. Hull, Ken 18.48; 8. M. Dupea, Grace 18.55; 9. K. Madren, ACS 18.58; 10. M. Ulen, Sol 18.79.

300 hurdles — 1. S. DeVito, Ken 48.43; 2. R. Hoffman, Was 48.78; 3. K. Louthan, Ken 50.81; 4. M. Dupea, Grace 51.38; 5. S. Johansen, Col 51.66; 6. R. Saturnino, Ser 51.78; 7. M. Ulen, Sol 52.06; 8. S. LeClaire, Ser 52.79; 9. J. Larrabee, Hou 53.56; 10. M. Wensley, Ken 53.76.

400 relay — 1. Service 52.75; 2. ACS 54.82; 3. Lathrop 55.67; 4. Soldotna 55.87; 5. Colony 55.94; 6. Wasilla 56.24; 7. Service B 57.14; 8. Wasilla B 58.84; 9. Grace 59.23; 10. Houston 1:00.91.

800 relay — 1. Wasilla (M. Dampier, C. Schleich, G. Nickerson, K. Rust) 1:53.34; 2. Kenai 1:53.94; 3. Soldotna 1:58.71; 4. ACS 1:59.03; 5. Colony 2:00.98; 6. Lathrop 2:01.75; 7. Heritage 2:02.23; 8. Grace 2:02.40; 9. Susitna Valley 2:03.03.

1,600 relay — 1. Wasilla (K. Clump, R. Hoffman, M. Dampier, K. Rust) 4:18.14; 2. Service 4:18.71; 3. Lathrop 4:22.93; 4. Grace 4:34.28; 5. Palmer 4:40.00; 6. Monroe 4:44.42; 7. Valdez 4:53.23; 8. Colony 5:13.55; 9. ACS 5:14.62.

3,200 relay — 1. Lathrop (K. Fitzgerald, S. King, R. Hanson, M. Flores) 10:14.92; 2. Grace 10:28.94; 3. Monroe 10:53.01; 4. Kenai 11:02.14; 5. Palmer 11:40.00; 6. Service 11:47.05; 7. Service B 11:52.57.

High jump — 1. M. Ulen, Sol 4-10; 2. T. Ruckhuas, Lat 4-10; 3. C. Hunt, 4-8; 4. B. Stevenson, 4-6; 4. K. Louthan, Ken 4-6; 4. K. Dahms, Pal 4-6; 4. S. Cresap, Grace 4-6; 8. L. Maresh, Col 4-4; 9. K. Smith, Pal 4-4; 10. A. Okasakturak, Was 4-2.

Long jump — 1. L. Maresh, Col 15-4; 2. S. Hodgson, Col 15-3; 3. M. Wilson, Col 14-11.75; 4. B. Coulombe, Grace 14-5.5; 5. G. Serventi, Grace 14-2.25; 5. K. Madren, ACS 14-2.25; 7. A. Hefner, Sol 14-1; 8. T. Stewart, Col 14-0.75; 9. P. Reilly, Sol 13-7.75; 10. J. Bennett, ACS 13-6.5.

Shot put — 1. A. Taylor, Ken 33-4.25; 2. J. Silva, Lat 32-11; 3. A. Simmers, ACS 31-9; 4. E. LaMere, Pal 30-0.25; 5. G. Johansen, Col 29-8.5; 6. K. Ryneski, Was 29-3; 7. B. Coulumbe, Grace 29-02; 8. K. Troxel, Col 28-09; 9. O. James, ACS 28-08; 10. J. Anderson, Her 28-06.5.

Discus — 1. A. Simmers, ACS 99-6; 2. D. Barney, Hou 98-2; 3. J. Duke, Sol 96-0; 4. K. Troxel, 93-11; 5. R. Huffman, Col 92-2; 6. J. Silva, Lat 90-7; 7. G. Johansen, Col 88-1; 8. S. Irwin, Col 88-1; 9. K. Pevan, 87-6; 10. C. Sullivan, Was 87-1.

Boys team scores:

1. Service 98.5, 2. Lathrop 90, 3. Wasilla 69, 4. Grace Christian 51.25, 5. Soldotna 44, 6. Colony 31, 7. Houston 26, 8. Palmer 25.25, 9. Kenai 25, 10. Anchorage Christian 23.25, 11. Susitna Valley 8, 12. Heritage Christian 2, 12. (tie) 2.

Boys individual results

100 meter — 1. D. Crump, Lat 11.69; 2. A. Allen, Lat 11.74; 3. M. Jaronik, Col 11.88; 4. J. Scoresby, Pal 11.92; 5. N. Nysewander-Kellard, SV 12.14; 6. T. Perry, Ser 12.26; 7. C. Nolden, Sol 12.44; 8. B. Niver, Col 12.45; 9. W. Jones, KL 12.47; 10. R. Peshel, Col 12.48.

200 — 1. M. Jaronik, Col 23.61; 2. B. Putnam, Hou 24.13; 3. N. Nysewander-Kellard, SV 24.29; 4. T. Owens, Was 24.37; 5. T. Perry, Ser 24.63; 6. C. Newman, Was 24.75; 7. P. Bennett, Sol 24.78; 8. R. Peshel, Col 24.82; 9. S. Warner, Lat 24.85; 10. A. Bricker, Col 24.90.

400 — 1. M. Jaronik, Col 51.22; 2. C. Mamikunion, Ser 52.35; 3. B. Putnam, Hou 52.52; 4. K. Karlberg, Grace 52.98; 5. C. Schneider, Sol 53.44; 6. B. Jackson, Ser 53.62; 7. R. Walgren, Ser 53.82; 8. T. Owens, Was 54.68; 9. J. Turner, 54.69; 10. P. Hanks, Her 55.35.

800 — 1. J. Lane, Ser 2:00.21; 2. B. Kiefer, Ken 2:01.00; 3. J. Kirk, Grace 2:03.41; 4. S. Talbot, Ser 2:03.83; 5. R. Walgren, Ser 2:04.29; 6. M. Almeria, Lat 2:05.33; 7. C. Phelps, Ser 2:07.28; 8. T. Enloe, Col 2:08.96; 9. N. Miller, Her 2:09.27; 10. M. Jaronik, Col 2:09.84.

1,600 — 1. J. Lane, Ser 4:30.78; 2. J. Kirk, Grace 4:31.41; 3. S. Talbot, Ser 4:37.29; 4. B. Kiefer, Ken 4:39.17; 5. T. Anderson, ACS 4:40.10; 6. M.Almeria, Lat 4:41.27; 7. T. Patterson, Hou 4:41.86; 8. C. Phelps, Ser 4:43.43; 9. T. Enloe, Col 4:51.36; 10. W. Mangelsdorf, 4:56.53.

3,200 — 1. J. Kirk, Grace 10:05.54; 2. D. Norris, Lat 10:08.01; 3. Z. Ginn, Lat 10:14.72; 4. B. Chamberlin, Was 10:23.55; 5. S. Fischer, Was 10:24.88; 6. M. Baker, ACS 10:25.11; 7. M. Bauer, Ser 10:26.96; 8. M. Bailey, Ser 10:36.86; 9. A. Reimer, Col 10:54.14; 10. N. Ripley, Was 11:00.43.

110 hurdles — 1. C. Jensen, Sol 16.56, 2. I. Lensen, Lat 16.88; 3. T. Wilson, Ser 17.11; 4. D. Hoch, ACS 18.29; 5. L. Charters, ACS 18.31; 6. D. Brandon, ACS 18.61; 7. J. Corr, Sol 18.69; 8. J. Oen, Ser 19.20; 9. J. Schlegel, Her 19.75; 10. C. Tippett, Lat 19.99.

300 hurdles — 1. C. Jensen, Sol 42.17; 2. L. Karlberg, Crace 42.41; 3. T. Wilson, Ser 43.21; 4. A. Bricker, Col 44.71; 5. I. Jensen, Lat 44.86; 6. W. Schirack, Was 44.99; 7. J. Schlegel, Her 45.19; 8. J. Corr, Sol 45.93; 9. C. Newman, Was 46.03; 10. J. Oen, Ser 46.73.

400 relay — 1. Lathrop (S. Warner, A. Allen, R. Gueda, D. Crump) 44.97; 2. Soldotna 46.79; 3. Palmer 47.59; 4. Houston 48.04; 5. Service 48.24; 6. Wasilla 48.66; 7. Susitna Valley 49.52; 8. ACS 49.97; 9. Glennallen 50.83; 10. Grace 51.12.

800 relay — 1. Lathrop (S. Warner, A. Allen, D. Crump, R. Guedea) 1:34.62; 2. Houston 1:37.04; 3. Soldotna 1:37.66; 4. Service 1:39.30; 5. Wasilla 1:40.35; 6. Grace 1:43.82; 7. Heritage 1:44.70; 8. Glennallen 1:46.10; 9. Wasilla B 1:47.44; 10. Service B 1:47.69.

1,600 relay — 1. Wasilla (M. Johnston, K. Thompson, W. Schirack, T. Owens) 3:48.14; 2. Lathrop 3:49.70; 3. ACS 3:56.52; 4. Grace 4:07.92; 5. Valdez 4:19.92.

3,200 relay — 1. Wasilla (B. Chamberlin, M. Johnston, K. Thompson, W. Schirack) 8:50.25; 2. Lathrop 8:50.64; 3. Service 8:59.33; 4. Soldotna 9:04.18; 5. Grace 9:24.29; 6. ACS 9:25.97; 7. Palmer 10:22.28.

High jump — 1. B. Jackson, Ser 6-08; 2. L. Karlberg, Grace 6-2; 3. N. Naumoff, Ken 6-0; 4. T. Spalding, Ken 5-8; 5. P. Hanks, Her 5-6; 6. C. Wuinlan, ACS 5-2; 6. P. Wise, Pal 5-2; 7. M. Curtis, Was 5-2; 8. A. Reese, Hou 5-2; 9. R. Guedea, Lat 5-2; 10. S. Ryan, ACS 5-0; 10. T. Anderson, Was 5-0.

Long jump — 1. B. Jackson, Ser 20-10.5; 2. A. Freed, Ser 18-8.5; 3. M. Sullivan, ACS 18-6; 4. A. Julien, Sol 18-4.5; 5. T. Spalding, Ken 18-3; 6. A. Bricker, Col 18-0.5; 7. R. Guedea, Lat 17-9.25; 8. V. Barnett, Lat 17-9; 9. A. Gordon, Sol 17-7.75; 10. N. Naumoff, Ken 17-7.

Shot put — 1. J. Knowles, Was 50-2.5; 2. K. Adams, Lat 45-10.75; 3. C. Lafe, Was 45-6; 4. D. Zoerb, Pal 40-6.75; 5. J. Lewis, Lat 40-3; 6. J. Mitchell, Pal 38-11; 7. C. Lindamood, Ser 38-10.75; 8. M. Sullivan, ACS 38-5.5’ 9. W. Schirack, Was 38-00; 10. C. McCaffrey, ACS 37-10.5.

Discus — 1. J. Knowles, Was 144-06; 2. C. Lafe, Was 135-01; 3. J. Marden, Pal 126-09; 4. D. Zoerb, Pal 117-00; 5. C. Lindamood, Ser 112-09; 6. T. Spalding, Ken 112-07; 7. K. Butler, Ser 11-01; 8. J. Lewis, Lat 107-4; 9. C. Scott, Col 106-00; 10. A. Richwine, ACS 100-07.