Junior breaks personal mark to lead second-place Warriors

SOLDOTNA — As Josh Pahkala prepared for the Region III Championships, the Wasilla junior set a couple of goals for himself. Pahkala wanted to finish in the top 15 and try to break the 17-minute mark.

Pahkala managed to do both.

Pahkala used a time of 16 minutes and 59 seconds to score a fifth-place finish in the Region III Championships at the Tsalteshi Trails at Skyview High School in Soldotna on Saturday.

“It was kind of a breakthrough for me,” Pahkala said by cell phone after the event.

Pahkala, who broke his personal record by more than 20 seconds, led until the final mile of the 5,000-meter race. Wasilla head coach Gary Howell said he wasn’t surprised to see Pahkala at the front of the pack.

“He’s been working toward it,” Howell said. “He improves every week.”

Pahkala was one of three Warriors to finish in the top 10 and helped Wasilla finish second in the team standings. Junior Noah Ripley finished eighth with a time of 17:09 and junior Michael Johnston was 10th with a time of 17:14.

Keith Thompson (12th) and Simon Fischer (14th) also finished in the top 15.

“The boys ran outstanding,” Howell said.

Mason Minturn was the top Valley runner in the event. The Palmer junior finished fourth with a time of 16:48. Kodiak’s James Osowski won the race, leading a group of three Bears across the finish line.

See the Tuesday edition of the Frontiersman for more results.