Local runners a week away from region championships

PALMER — As the prep cross-country season hits the homestretch of 2012, Colony junior Boaz Sessom used a late push on the homestretch of the Colony High Trails to win the boys’ class of the Mat-Su Borough Championships at Colony High Thursday afternoon.

Sessom, running in second place, darted out of the trees and passed front-runner Chris Osiensky of Palmer during the final short stretch to the finish line en route to winning the individual title.

“I just tried to stay with the lead pack,” said Sessom, who crossed the finish line with a time of 8 minutes, 10.3 seconds in the 2.5-kilometer race. “I started my kick in seventh place and just went from there. I started passing them on my kick and got more and more confident.”

Sessom, who finished 10th in the 5-K Colony Invitational less than two weeks ago, edged Osiensky, the 2012 Colony Invitational champion, by a mere 1.1 seconds. Colony head coach Mark Strabel said he wasn’t surprised to see Sessom have success Thursday.

“On a course like this and the distance, yeah,” Strabel said. “He’s more of a shorter distance guy. He’s got some real wheels on him. He’s really fast. I knew he could crank it out today.”

Sessom is a junior, but Stabel said Sessom is a runner who is still learning.

“He’s still a raw talent,” Strabel said. “He’s learning. Last year was his first year running, and he learned a lot. He came out for track and learned a whole lot. Now he’s starting to apply it, learning a little bit more here and there about learning to run out front.”

With that said, Strabel is excited about Sessom’s potential during the final two weeks of the season. Sessom said his goal during the upcoming Region III Championships in Seward next week is to run in the top 10 and earn a ticket to the state meet.

Strabel said Sessom can certainly meet those goals.

“I’d even say he could be top 15 at state,” Strabel said.

Sessom was one of a trio of Colony top-5 finishers to help the Knights win the boys’ team title. Brandon Schafer (8:13) finished third and Lyon Kopsack (8:14) followed in fourth.

“It’s nice to have the two other guys, Brandon and Lyon, too. The three always work together really well,” Strabel said.

Osiensky — who has finished first at the Colony Invite, eighth at the Palmer Invitational and second in a Region III preview meet in Seward during the last two weeks — clocked a time of 8:11 on Thursday. Osiensky has clocked the eighth-fastest time in a 5-K in Alaska this year and the third-fastest in the region. As he, his teammates and Valley competitors have worked through a busy stretch that’s included three meets in the last six days, Osiensky has worked to find the balance between running hard and running smart.

“Basically, we’re just trying to build up to this next week and start tapering off for regions,” Osiensky said. “We’ve been putting a lot of hard work every day.”

Osiensky finished second with a time of 17:09 on Tuesday in Seward at the preregional race. Palmer, Colony, Wasilla, Seward and Nikiski all participated in the meet. Osiensky said it was nice to have a chance to run on the trail that will be the home of the Region III Championships Sept. 22.

“It was really nice, I liked it,” Osiensky said.

Osiensky and Sean Hermann each posted top-5 finishes for the Moose, but Palmer finished third in the team standings, one point behind Wasilla. The Warriors, powered by five runners in the top 14, finished second with 54 points.

Brendon Lee (sixth) and Shannon Carpenter (ninth) were both in the top 10.

The Warriors placed all five of their scoring runners in the top 10 and four of the five in the top 5 to win the girls team title with 24 points.

Colony’s Audrey Michaelson continued her stellar run through her senior season, sprinting to a win in the girls’ class. Michaelson — who finished first in the Colony Invite and Seward preregional meet and second in the Palmer Invite in the last two weeks — used a time of 9:06 to win Thursday.

Peggy Mathis led the Warriors to the finish line with a runner-up finish. Mariah Burroughs, Jenna Ford and Riley Burroughs finished in third, fourth and fifth respectively. Alysha Devine was 10th.

In addition to Michaelson, Makenzie Thompson (sixth), Bailey Meier (seventh), Tracie Haan (ninth) and Samantha Victor (11th) all finished in the top 11 for the Knights, who were second in the team standings.

Samantha Contreras led the third-place Moose with an eight-place finish. Megin Southwick was 16th for Palmer.

Wasilla head coach Gary Howell said he treated the week with two meets as a way to train his athletes for regions and give his runners the chance to experience the course that will be used for the region meet. Howell said the Warriors have been battling sickness, and he decided not to have his team run in a meet last weekend to try to keep his athletes healthy.

“We’ve been really sick. We couldn’t have fielded a full varsity team on either team because of a flu bug,” Howell said.

The Wasilla girls are aiming for their third straight region title and second straight state crown this year. Howell said the Warriors, both girls and boys, are not quite where he’d like them to be at this point in the season.

“We’ve got to do some more hill work and strength training to be ready for the end of the season,” Howell said. “We’re a week behind where I’d like to be right now. It’s a race to see if we can get fit, or if the end of the season comes first.”

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Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

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Mat-Su Borough Championships

Thursday, Colony

Boys team scores:

1. Colony 23; 2. Wasilla 54; 3. Palmer 55; 4. Susitna Valley 120.

Boys individual results:

1. B. Sessom, Col 8:10; 2. C. Osiensky, Pal 8:11; 3. B. Schafer, Col 8:13; 4. L. Kopsack, Col 8:14; 5. S. Hermann, Pal 8:19; 6. B. Lee, Was 8:26; 7. D. Sinnett, Col 8:26; 8. L. Reed, Col 8:31; 9. S. Carpenter, Was 8:37; 10. K. Lucas, Col 8:37; 11. J. Gentz, Pal 8:38; 12. B. Carricaburu, Was 8:50; 13. K. Frick, Was 8:50; 14. R. Steiner, Was 8:51; 15. T. Murray, Col 8:59; 16. J. Link, Col 9:01; 17. C. Pulver, Was 9:02; 18. B. Atkinson, Col 9:03; 19. Z. Zmuda, Col 9:06; 20. A. Kinne, Hou 9:06; 21. T. Marshall, Was 9:08; 22. R. Kavalok, Pal 9:15; 23. P. Kelly, Was 9:18; 24. E. Kinne, Hou 9:18; 25. B. Mahan, Pal 9:21; 26. L. Seims, Was 9:23; 27. C. Jensen, Pal 9:27; 28. D. Banse, Pal 9:31; 29. D. Brown, Was 9:32; 30. N. Harrison, Col 9:32; 31. H. Colberg, Col 9:33; 32. B. Kavalok, Pal 9:33; 33. C. Susky, SV 9:38; 34. R. Abbott, Was 9:39; 35. L. Wright, Pal 9:46; 36. N. McKimson, Was 9:46; 37. E. Grazulis, Col 9:47; 38. K. Greathouse, Was 9:48; 39. W. Goulding, Was 9:48; 40. L. Jones, Col 9:50; 41. Z. Marsh, Pal 9:56; 42. C. Canner, Col 9:56; 43. J. Allen, Col 9:57; 44. A. Tellier, SV 10:01; 45. M. Wieliczkielicz, Was 10:02; 46. R. Lozanoff, Col 10:02; 47. Z. Grace, Hou 10:02; 48. A. Nelson, Col 10:04; 49. R. Diotte, Col 10:08; 50. S. Haley, Col 10:17; 51. S. Adams, Col 10:19; 52. C. Olsen, Col 10:19; 53. C. Chastain, Col 10:27; 54. W. Wall, Was 10:28; 55. D. Gumminger, Col 10:40; 56. J. Sanders, Pal 10:41; 57. B. Swalling, Pal 10:42; 58. B. McKimson, Was 10:43; 59. G. Birch, Col 10:53; 60. J. Timmers, SV 10:54; 61. A. Gardner, Hou 11:09; 62. S. Riopelle, Pal 11:16; 63. Z. Blair, Col 11:20; 64. S. Larue, Pal 11:23; 65. B. Ingersoll, Was 11:42; 66. N. Helton, SV 12:01; 56. E. Haines, SV 13:31.

Girls team scores:

1. Wasilla 24; 2. Colony 34; 3. Palmer 85; 4. Susitna Valley 104.

Girls individual results:

1. A. Michaelson, Col 9:06; 2. P. Mathis, Was 9:12; 3. M. Burroughs, Was 9:18; 4. J. Ford, Was 9:27; 5. R. Burroughs, Was 9:32; 6. M. Thompson, Col 9:40; 7. B. Meier, Col 9:55; 8. S. Contreras, Pal 10:01; 9. T. Haan, Col 10:13; 10. A. Devine, Was 10:19; 11. S. Victor, Col 10:20; 12. J. Kopsack, Col 10:28; 13. D. Ingersoll, Was 10:36; 14. T. Spaic, Col 10:36; 15. A. Pell, Was 10:45; 16. M. Southwick Pal 10:47; 17. S. Lush, SV 10:53; 18. R. Diotte, Col 11:01; 19. M. Osiensky, Pal 11:08; 20. A. Hasse, Was 11:08.9; 21. S. Schmidt, Was 11:16; 22. B. Hartley, SV 11:17; 23. J. Yerbich, Col 11:20; 24. A. Loper, SV 11:22; 25. D. Cummings, Pal 11:29; 26. M. Lundin, Pal 11:30; 27. E. Fichtner, Was 11:33; 28. K. Peck, Col 11:34; 29. S. Jurasek, SV 11:36; 30. W. Nagel, Col 11:46; 31. A. Qualls, Pal 11:46; 32. R. Spaulding, SV 11:47; 33. A. Goyette, Col 11:59; 34. S. Stone, Pal 12:03; 35. K. Lindeman, Was 12:09; 36. J. Schwantes, Col 12:26; 37. V. Sigurdson-Contreras, Pal 12:29; 38. A. Murray, Pal 12:35; 39. L. Olsen, Col 12:36; 40. H. Spargo, Was 12:38; 41. A. Hawthorne, Col 12:40; 42. C. Forrest, Pal 13:22; 43. S. Drover, SV 13:27; 44. K. Hales, SV 13:27; 45. H. Clark, Was 13:34; 46. L. Crosslin, Hou 13:54; 47. S. Pralle, Col 14:14; 48. K. McPhail, 14:14.

Seward Preregional

Tuesday, Seward

Girls individual results:

1. A. Michaelson, Col 19:13; 2. P. Mathis, Was 19:31; 3. M. Burroughs, Was 19:40; 4. R. Burroughs, Was 19:57; 5. M. Thompson, Col 19:58; 6. J. Ford, Was 20:12; 7. M. Ringgenberg, Was 20:58; 8. B. Meier, Col 21:02; 9. S. Contreras, Pal 21:13; 10. L. Dyer, Sew 21:15; 11. A. Devine, Was 21:38; 12. T. Haan, Col 21:44; 13. A. Pfieffenberger, Sew 21:49; 14. S. Victor, Col 21:57; 15. D. Ingersoll, Was 22:09; 16. A. Pell, Was 22:28; 17. J. Kopsack, Col 22:37; 18. A. Hasse, Was 22:38; 19. T. Spaic, Col 23:27; 20. S. Schmidt, Was 23:38; 21. M. Southwick, Pal 24:12; 22. L. Kromrey, Sew 24:20; 23. W. Nagel, Col 24:30; 24. D. Cummings, Pal 24:33; 25. E. Fichtner, Was 25:11; 26. A. Qualls, Pal 25:28; 27. M. Lundin, Pal 25:35; 28. H. Clark, Was 25:38; 29. A. Goyette, Col 25:52; 30. K. Linderman, Was 25:52; 31. V. Sigurdson, Pal 25:58; 32. S. Stone, Pal 25:59; 33. B. Estes, Sew 26:19; 34. J. Schwantes, Col 26:45; 35. K. Munday, Was 26:52; 36. A. Hawthorne, Col 27:31; 37. L. Kromery, Sew 27:43; 38. E. Brockman, Sew 27:43; 39. A. Atwod, Sew 28:32; 40. K. Knotek, Sew 29:53; 41. R. McKnight, Sew 29:53; 42. M. Acovak, Sew 30:07; 43. K. McPhail, Col 30:16; 44. H. Michaelson, Col 31:32; 45. S. Pralle, Col 33:27; 46. R. Colton, Nik 35:23.

Boys individual results:

1. M. Knotek, Sew 16:49; 2. C. Osiensky, Pal 17:06; 3. M. Moore, Sew 17:13; 4. L. Kopsack, Col 17:25; 5. B. Sessom, Col 17:31; 6. B. Schafer, Col 17:33; 7. S. Hermann, Pal 17:42; 8. M. Marshall, Sew 17:44; 9. B. Lee, Was 17:55; 10. L. Reed, Col 17:58; 11. S. Carpenter, Was 18:05; 12. K. Lucas, Col 18:12; 13. J. Gents, Pal 18:13; 14. B. Carricaburu, Was 18:21; 15. R. Steiner, Was 18:40; 16. K. Frick, Was 18:40; 17. B. Atkinson, Col 18:42; 18. T. Berry, Sew 18:43; 19. P. Berry, Sew 18:44; 20. B. Moore, Sew 18:53; 21. C. Pulver, Was 18:56; 22. T. Murray, Col 18:59; 23. J. Link, Col 19:03; 24. Z. Zmuda, Col 19:05; 25. K. Ivy, Sew 19:09; 26. N. McKimson, Was 19:19; 27. P. Kelly, Was 19:20; 28. D. Brown, Was 19:25; 29. R. Abbott, Was 19:34; 30. S. Brewi, Sew 19:37; 31. D. Gillespie, Sew 19:41; 32. N. Zweifel, Sew 19:41; 33. C. Jensen, Pal 19:42; 34. N. Harrison, Col 19:46; 35. R. Kavalok, Pal 19:47; 36. T. Marshall, Was 19:53; 37. W. Goulding, Was 19:57; 38. J. Kingsland, Sew 19:58; 39. H. Colberg, Col 19:59; 40. L. Seims, Was 20:02; 41. E. Grazulis, Col 20:09; 42. K. Greathouse, Was 20:12; 43. B. Mahn, Pal 20:16; 44. T. Zweifel, Sew 20:16; 45. A. Nelson, Col 20:18; 46. I. Bingham, Pal 20:20; 47. J. Buchanan, Sew 20:25; 48. B. Lespron, Sew 20:29; 49. C. Danner, Col 20:33; 50. R. Diotte, Col 20:40; 51. J. Allen, Col 20:41; 52. L. Jones, Col 20:58; 53. J. Swanson, Sew 20:58; 54. C. Olsen, Col 21:04; 55. J. Wallace, Nik 21:09; 56. R. Lozanoff, Col 21:10; 57. B. Kavalok, Pal 21:10; 58. M. Wieliczielics, Was 21:12; 59. M. Hollinger, Nik 21:18; 60. S. Stauble, Sew 21:25; 61. P. Mow, Sew 21:30; 62. Z. Marsh, Pal 21:33; 63. D. Banse, Pal 21:34; 64. H. Beard, Sew 21:38; 65. B. McKimson, Was 22:07; 66. L. Wright, Pal 22:10; 67. J. Sanders, Pal 22:14; 68. S. Adams, Col 22:18; 69. C. Chastain, Col 22:19; 70. L. Lindberg, Sew 23:20; 71. B. Murdue-Swalling, Pal 23:50; 72. A. Blair, Col 24:29; 73. M. Hollinger, Nik 25:17; 74. K. Cooper, Nik 25:38; 75. B. Ingersoll, Was 25:54; 76. P. Hinton, Sew 27:58; 77. G. Plush, Sew 36:54; 78. J. Dotomain, Sew 38:00.