Knight boys win ski title

SOLDOTNA -- Colony's Ross Wise finished first in the 10-kilometer freestyle and seventh in the 7.5-k classic and led the Knight boys to a team title at the Region III cross-country skiing championships at Skyview High School last week.

Wise was also voted the top male skier in the region.

Wise finished the freestyle in just over 27 minutes to take first place, finishing more than a minute ahead of second-place Morgan Jones from Homer.

Wise finished the classic in 24 minutes and 45 seconds in much tighter competition. The top nine spots were separated by just more than three minutes.

Peter Doner and Joe Dougherty also had top-six finishes for Colony in the freestyle. Doner placed fourth and Dougherty finished sixth.

Dougherty was Colony's top skier in the classic, placing fifth.

The Palmer boys were led by John Hundley, who finished 24th in the freestyle, and Rory Egelus' 18th place finish in the classic.

The Wasilla boys were led by Trevor Thomas, who placed 34th in the freestyle.

Susitna Valley's Tazlina Mannix swept the individual titles and was named the Region III female skier of the year. Mannix won the freestyle with a time of 22:23, nearly a minute faster than second place Aleta Phelps of Homer. Mannix also edged Phelps in the classic with a time of 15:26.

Kristin Geary helped Colony finish fourth in the team standings with a 12th place finish in the freestyle and a 13th place finish in the classic.

Kate Fitzgerald led Palmer with a pair of top-10 finishes. Fitzgerald placed seventh in the freestyle and 10th in the classic.

Suzanna Caldwell led the Warrior girls with a 24th place finish in the freestyle.