Knights show up, show out for home invite

PALMER — Kenai Peninsula athletes may have dominated at the Colony Track and Field Invitational this weekend, but the Knights are clearly the top dogs in the Valley this year.

“Kenai is really strong this year,” said Colony head boys’ team coach Tom Lincoln. “We’re competitive but we’re not the real strong powerhouses like Kenai and Kodiak.”

The Kardinals crushed the Knights in Kenai two weeks ago, scoring almost twice as many points as the Valley boys’ team, which tied with Anchorage Christian School for second place. But Colony has a big team on both sides, and though they may not have the Kenai and Kodiak depth of five or six athletes in a single event, Lincoln said, they have their stars.

In the pit, sophomore Brandon Nicholson has consistently jumped to top finishes in the long jump and triple jump.

He also won the high jump Friday with a finish height of 6 feet.

“He’s a big asset for us in the field event,” Lincoln said.

For distance running, Colony has a slew of cross country runners and returning track athletes in their arsenal, including sophomore Tracen Knopp and junior Tyler Daniel. Knopp and Daniel did well in the 800- and 3,200-meter races Friday, and another Colony runner won the 1600. Dakota Peterson-Thompson also did well in the 800.

Another big Knightly threat to the Kardinals is the boys’ 800-meter relay team, three of whom also compete in the 400-meter relay.

One is Heita Kitagawa, an exchange student from Japan. Kitagawa is an experienced athlete, participating in cross country, Nordic skiing and track both at home and here in the states. He’s used to running the 100 and 200 sprints and the 400 relay, but this weekend marked only the second time he ran the 800 relay.

“This time we did it perfect,” Kitagawa said.

Junior Hunter Hardwood also has experience on the relay teams and in individual sprints, claiming second in the 100-meter dash and first in the 200 this weekend (which he hadn’t raced this season until now).

Steven Bilafer, also a junior, is another contributor to the two relay teams, bringing two years of experience just missing the cutoff for state — twice now, he’s been left out of state competition in the 110 hurdles by one spot.

Last year, the 800-meter relay team was just as close, being kept out of the championship by one spot.

The way they see it, only a few Moose stand in their way.

“Palmer is the team to beat,” Bilafer said.

The Palmer relay teams beat Colony’s by 1.72 seconds for the win in the 800 relay, and 0.74 seconds in the 400 relay. The fact that the teams were not in the same heat may have had some effect on the end result, but the Knights know they’ll be head to head eventually.

“It’ll be good,” said senior Jacob Davis, the other member of the 800 relay team.

Colony sprinter Jacob Black also contributed to the 400 relay team.

On the girls’ side this weekend, Chase Stevens once again claimed wins in the 100-meter hurdles and the triple jump for the Lady Knights. Colony girls’ head coach Becky Piatt said Stevens, a junior, is one of a few key players to watch at the region championship.

“We’re definitely going to be relying on our more seasoned kids to score points and do well,” Piatt said.

That includes senior Peggy Mathis, who has placed in four events at the state championship every year of her high school career. Due in part to an injury she sustained at the Big C Relays in Anchorage in mid-April, she hasn’t performed quite as well as she’d hoped to this season. Still she managed a second-place finish to Anchorage Christian’s Tanner Ealum in the 100 this weekend, with a time of 13.25.

Mathis said she doesn’t know quite what to expect at regions and state this year, but is focusing on honing her skills in as many events as possible.

“I’m trying to get in as much of a variety of events to put on my stats as possible,” she said.

As a college-bound student-athlete, Mathis hopes to compete in the decathlon for UAA next year, though nothing has been set in stone. But she’s given the high jump a try and even competed in shot put this season, and so far, so good.

Speaking of shot put, Kristina Tennesen has been gaining points for the Knights on the field, winning the shot put and placing third in the girls’ discus this weekend.

Distance runners Jill Bowker and Cathelyne Powers also claimed top spots in the 3,200 Friday.

But the Knights are not the only forces to be reckoned with. The Warriors have Chase Hammer, who performed well in the 400 Friday, and Colton Pulver, who did well in the 3,200 Friday. Woman Warrior Riley Boroughs also did well in the 3,200.

The Moose, too, have cross country runners and skiers Ruby Woodings and Rya Berrigan, both sophomores, doing well in the 400, as well as C. Ferris. Ryker Carrington was the top Valley scorer in the shot put for boys Friday.

Also, Jake Palmberg from Wasilla Lake Christian placed high in the 300-meter hurdles.

Complete results were not available Saturday night due to technical failures, but will be posted online at bit.ly/1FWCDh3.

The Valley squads will meet again once more before the region championship for the Palmer Invitational next weekend.

Contact Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.