Knights enjoy top-5 finishes in team standings at state meet

ANCHORAGE — It was a good weekend on the trails for the Colony Knights cross-country skiing squad, their best in years at a state meet.

Colony placed third overall in the boys team standings, fifth overall on the girls side, and featured a pair of top-10 individual finishers during the ASAA/First National Bank Nordic Skiing State Championships Thursday through Saturday at Kincaid Park in Anchorage.

"They're incredible. I mean all the athletes, not just the ones here at state. All of them have just been incredible this year and it's fun to see it," longtime Colony head coach Mark Strabel said. "The kids have stepped up."

Colony’s team finishes are its best in recent memory. Colony’s last top-5 finish in the boys standings was fifth in 2016, and the girls last top-10 finish was seventh in 2019.

"One thing we strive for is that we hope at the end of the season, you're better than you were at the beginning of the season. It goes for our slowest skier to our fastest skier. We want you to get better and I think all of our skiers have done that tremendously. It's cool to see that and be a part of it," Strabel said.

Coby Marvin led the Knights, placing fifth overall in the boys individual standings.

Marvin posted a two-day total time of 33 minutes, 26.3 seconds. Marvin was 13th in the 5-kilometer freestyle on Friday, with a time of 13:21. He was fourth in the 7.5-K classic on Thursday with a time of 20:05.

“It’s exciting,” Marvin said.

Weston Sensabaugh led the Knights in the boys freestyle with a fourth-place finish and time of 12:54. Gabriel Black was 10th in the classic for the Knights, with a time of 20:30.

"We have a really good team," Marvin said.

Sensabaugh was 13th overall for the Colony boys and Black was 14th overall.

Elliott Sensabaugh placed seventh overall to lead the Colony girls with a two-day total time of 39:44. She was 10th in the 5-K freestyle, with a time of 15:57, and fifth in the classic with a time of 23:47.

Isela Austin was also 18th overall for the Colony girls.

Amelia Parker was 29th overall to lead the Palmer girls. London Lee was 33rd for the Moose boys.

Contact the Frontiersman at sports@frontiersman.com.