Local teams get one more run before region meet

WASILLA — Mother Nature has not been kind to any high school athlete in Southcentral Alaska this spring.

In the Valley, local track and field squads are among the teams hit the hardest, so far, by the late-season snowfall. With less than two weeks left in the regular season, and less than 24 hours before each team’s lineups were do for the upcoming Region III Championships, Valley teams came together Monday afternoon for the Last Chance Qualifier.

“It’s nice to know we got a good meet in,” Wasilla coach Leslie Varys said. “Who knows what the weather’s going to be like this weekend?”

Nikiski High School is slated to host the Region III Championships for both the 3A and 4A classes Friday and Saturday in Nikiski. Chatter around the track Monday afternoon included rumors of snow still being shoveled from Nikiski’s track. But considering how it’s been this spring, that’s probably par for the course. Wild winter-like weather in the spring has blown through the spring sports schedules in tornado-like fashion. Events from a far south as Homer to as far north as Fairbanks have been canceled throughout the seasons due to snow. Palmer High typically hosts multiple meets per year, including the decades old Palmer Relays. But the school’s athletic facilities upgrades are not complete, and the school could not host any track meets this year.

Local programs have been able to take advantage of Anchorage’s indoor facility, The Dome. But there has been little opportunity to run on the outdoor track, and the state championships are only 17 days away.

“You always want more practice. Maybe your times are good? The Dome helps with that, but when you switch to outside, you want to make sure you can practice your full lineups,” Varies said.

Local teams have yet to run in an outdoor meet that includes preliminary events on the first day and championship round on the second, the format of the region and state meets. And then there’s purely the opportunity to practice.

“It’s been odd. Even just getting out onto the track, having to get the snow cleared to have practice,” Varys said. “There are tons of workouts we’d like to do, but we have to get creative. How can you fit 30 kids on two treadmills? Or you invade the Menard Sports (Center). You can’t always do that work that needs to be done at the beginning of the season.”

Monday’s meet was quickly put together, thanks to a cooperative effort among the local schools. Local teams were slated to go to Anchorage Saturday for a meet. But weekend snow buried that plan. Saturday afternoon, Wasilla High officials and coaches met with the idea of staging something Monday, the day before lineups for the region championships were due.

Palmer High chipped in, bringing its timing equipment and hurdles for the event.

In addition to giving the athletes a taste of outdoor competition, with the region meet only days away, it also gave local athletes one last chance to qualify for the region meet.

Valley athletes also took advantage of the meet to improve their times.

Colony senior Audrey Michaelson won the 400-meter dash, with a mark of 58.56 seconds, which now ranks as a state best. Wasilla’s Mariah Burroughs (2:26.94 in the 800) and Jenna Ford (5:31:30 in the 1,600) ran season-best times en route to first-place finishes.

Houston senior Charlie Buzby posted a pair of season-bests in the 100 (11.81) and the 200 (23.91). He finished first in both races.

Palmer senior Connor Looney joined the season’s 6-foot club in the high jump. Looney is now only one of two Region III-4A athletes to hit that mark this season.

Last Chance Qualifier

Monday, Wasilla High School

Girls individual results:

100 meters — 1, Mathis, Peggy, Wasilla, 13.18. 2, Blake, Taylor, Palmer, 14.53. 3, Neuman, Maekayla, Wasilla, 14.99. 4, Bowen, Destiny, Wasilla, 15.16. 5, May-Thomas, Chanel, Houston, 15.24. 6, Kutzner, Lauren, Houston, 15.68. 7, Garcia, Jasmine, Palmer, 16.35.

200 — 1, Devine, Alysha, Wasilla, 27.71. 2, Fichtner, Erin, Wasilla, 31.15. 3, Neuman, Maekayla, Wasilla, 31.26. 4, May-Thomas, Chanel, Houston, 31.36. 5, Herrera, Megan, Wasilla, 32.48. 6, Kutzner, Lauren, Houston, 32.68. 7, Renk, Olga, Palmer, 32.71.

400 — 1, Michaelson, Audrey, Colony, 58.56. 2, Mathis, Peggy, Wasilla, 1:00.30. 3, Devine, Alysha, Wasilla, 1:02.42. 4, Burroughs, Mariah, Wasilla, 1:04.17. 5, Ingersoll, Danika, Wasilla, 1:05.54. 6, Thompson, Makenzie, Colony, 1:05.81. 7, Wells, Savannah, Houston, 1:09.99. 8, Minturn, Sarah, Palmer, 1:11.11. 9, Fichtner, Erin, Wasilla, 1:11.69.

800 — 1, Burroughs, Mariah, Wasilla, 2:26.94. 2, Southwick, Megin, Palmer, 2:34.00. 3, Haan, Tracie, Colony, 2:35.54. 4, Thompson, Makenzie, Colony, 2:37.27. 5, Osiensky, Molly, Palmer, 2:38.59. 6, Ringgenberg, Mandi, Wasilla, 2:39.39. 7, Spaic, Tatjana, Colony, 2:43.56. 8, Pell, Amber, Wasilla, 2:46.10. 9, Meier, Bailey, Colony, 2:48.30. 10, Minturn, Sarah, Palmer, 2:48.74. 11, Meyerhofer, M.E., Colony, 2:49.19. 12, Diotte, Rebekah, Colony, 2:56.37. 13, Kopsack, Jocelyn, Colony, 3:03.40. 14, Lundin, Morgan, Palmer, 3:08.81.

1,600 — 1, Ford, Jenna, Wasilla, 5:31.30. 2, Burroughs, Riley, Wasilla, 5:41.41. 3, Thompson, Makenzie, Colony, 5:48.91. 4, Michaelson, Audrey, Colony, 5:49.05. 5, Bohman, Hana, Palmer, 5:49.48. 6, Contraras, Sami, Palmer, 5:51.52. 7, Spaic, Tatjana, Colony, 5:59.98. 8, Kopsack, Jocelyn, Colony, 6:02.49. 9, Meyerhofer, M.E., Colony, 6:02.53. 10, Meier, Bailey, Colony, 6:13.47. 11, Diotte, Rebekah, Colony, 6:16.79. 12, Munday, Kayla, Wasilla, 6:59.10. 12, Lundin, Morgan, Palmer, 6:59.10.

3,200 — 1, Contraras, Sami, Palmer, 12:28.27. 2, Bohman, Hana, Palmer, 12:37.80. 3, Wells, Savannah, Houston, 14:37.86.

100 hurdles — 1, Lujan, Cassidy, Palmer, 19.07. 2, Spargo, Hope, Wasilla, 19.88.

High jump — 1, Renk, Olga, Palmer, 4-04. 2, Kausal, Alexandria, Palmer, 4-02. 3, McRee, Mady, Wasilla, 4-00.

Long jump — 1, Neuman, Maekayla, Wasilla, 12-03.50. 2, Lujan, Cassidy, Palmer, 11-10.75, 3, Kausal, Alexandria, Palmer, 11-00.25. 4, Bowen, Destiny, Wasilla, 10-11.25. 5, May-Thomas, Chanel, Houston, 10-06.50.

Triple jump — 1, Wells, Savannah, Houston, 31-08.75. 2, Devine, Alysha, Wasilla, 30-03. 3, Spargo, Hope, Wasilla, 27-05.75. 4, Kausal, Alexandria, Palmer, 26-09.50. 5, Fichtner, Erin, Wasilla, 24-05.25.

Shot put — 1, Blake, Taylor, Palmer, 38-02. 2, DePriest, Leya, Palmer, 27-10. 3, Renk, Olga, Palmer, 27-08. 4, Tuisaula, Sylvia, Wasilla, 27-07.50. 5, Meili, Miranda, Palmer, 26-06.25. 6, Buresh, Sammy, Palmer, 26-04.50. 7, Smylie, Alicia, Palmer, 24-00.50. 8, Zehnder, Alexis, Wasilla, 20-01.50. 9, Wilkerson, Kaila, Houston, 18-04.25.

Discus — 1, DePriest, Leya, Palmer, 79-11. 2, Meili, Miranda, Palmer, 76-09. 3, Buresh, Sammy, Palmer, 70-05.50. 4, Tuisaula, Sylvia, Wasilla, 66-05. 5, Smylie, Alicia, Palmer, 63-09. 6, Renk, Olga, Palmer, 53-11. 7, Zehnder, Alexis, Wasilla, 53-07. 8, Wilkerson, Kaila, Houston, 47-00.

Boys individual results:

100 meters — 1, Buzby, Charlie, Houston, 11.81. 2, Nisbett, James, Palmer, 12.08. 3, Ward, Charles, Wasilla, 12.39. 4, Delay, Daniel, Palmer, 12.43. 5, Layton, Jared, Palmer, 12.68. 6, Kavalok, Brandon, Palmer, 12.82. 7, Doty, Christopher, Palmer, 12.89. 8, Adams, Daniel, Palmer, 13.42. 9, Hinther, Christopher, Palmer, 14.10.

200 — 1, Buzby, Charlie, Houston, 23.91. 2, Nisbett, James, Palmer, 24.65. 3, Delay, Daniel, Palmer, 25.44. 4, Ward, Charles, Wasilla, 26.07. 5, Kavalok, Brandon, Palmer, 26.42. 6, Doty, Christopher, Palmer, 26.59. 7, Layton, Jared, Palmer, 26.62. 8, Griffith, Dustin, Houston, 26.89. 9, Donithan, Matt, Palmer, 28.39. 10, Hinther, Christopher, Palmer, 28.89.

400 — 1, Schafer, Brandon, Colony, 53.91. 2, Bilafer, Daniel, Colony, 54.11. 3, McCoy, Kenneth, Colony, 54.42. 4, Sessom, Christian, Colony, 55.46. 5, Wolfe, Josh, Wasilla, 55.76. 6, Kavalok, Brandon, Palmer, 56.15. 7, Wescott, Coultin, Wasilla, 56.18. 8, Thomas, Matt, Wasilla, 56.49. 9, Gentz, Justin, Wasilla, 57.47. 10, Lyman, William, Palmer, 58.65. 11, Donithan, Matt, Palmer, 1:00.14. 12, Styers, Lane, Houston, 1:00.89. 13, Western, Jonathan, Palmer, 1:01.82.

800 — 1, Schafer, Brandon, Colony, 2:08.86. 2, Sinnett, Darien, Colony, 2:10.70. 3, Pulver, Colton, Wasilla, 2:11.82. 4, Lee, Brendon, Wasilla, 2:13.85. 5, Wolfe, Josh, Wasilla, 2:14.15. 6, Kleewein, Kruz, Houston, 2:16.24. 7, Bilafer, Daniel, Colony, 2:20.14. 8, Kavalok, Ryan, Palmer, 2:22.01. 9, Styers, Lane, Houston, 2:30.58. 10, Donithan, Matt, Palmer, 2:31.55. 11, Western, Jonathan, Palmer, 2:32.17. 12, Hermann, Sean, Palmer, 2:39.55. 13, Klina, Josh, Palmer, 2:42.15.

1,600 — 1, Sessom, Christian, Colony, 4:48.81. 2, Sinnett, Darien, Colony, 4:50.80. 3, Kopsack, Lyon, Colony, 4:52.83. 4, Lee, Brendon, Wasilla, 4:55.39. 5, Osiensky, Chris, Palmer, 4:56.52. 6, Marshall, Ty, Wasilla, 5:05.78. 7, Greathouse, Karl, Wasilla, 5:22.84. 8, Kavalok, Ryan, Palmer, 5:30.50. 9, Gumminger, Dylan, Colony, 5:33.47. 10, Hermann, Sean, Palmer, 5:41.92. 11, Klina, Josh, Palmer, 5:50.91.

3,200 — 1, Osiensky, Chris, Palmer, 10:48.83. 2, Marshall, Ty, Wasilla, 11:09.22. 3, Pulver, Colton, Wasilla, 11:34.87. 4, Kleewein, Kruz, Houston, 11:50.00. 5, Greathouse, Karl, Wasilla, 12:05.75. 6, Gardner, Andrew, Houston, 12:20.49. 7, Grace, Zach, Houston, 12:23.81.

110 hurdles — 1, Hockmuth, Elijah, Houston, 17.57. 2, Wantenabe, Shouya, Palmer, 19.21. 3, Bayne, Ben, Houston, 22.76.

300 hurdles — 1, Bayne, Ben, Houston, 44.30. 2. Wantenabe, Kohei, Palmer, 48.08. 3, McCoy, Kenneth, Colony, 50.64. 4, Southwick, Brady, Palmer, 52.12. 5, Hockmuth, Elijah, Houston, 56.33.

High jump — 1, Looney, Connor, Palmer, 6-00. 2, Horton, Kevin, Wasilla, 5-04. 3, Thomas, Matt, Wasilla, 4-10.

Long jump — 1, Adams, Daniel, Palmer, 18-01.25. 2, Thomas, Matt, Wasilla, 16-08.50. 3, Griffith, Dustin, Houston, 16-05.25. 4, Lyman, William, Palmer, 16-04. 5, Long, Cody, Wasilla, 16-02. 6, Andrist, Hunter, Colony, 15-09.75. 7, Shepard, Michael (Keith), Colony, 15-09.50. 8, Baird, Jeff, Houston, 15-01. 9, Horton, evin, Wasilla, 14-05.25.

Triple jump — 1, Rilatos, Mitchell, Wasilla, 38-01.50. 2, Barron, Matt, Houston, 37-09.75. 3, Adams, Daniel, Palmer, 37-08.75. 4, Southwick, Brady, Palmer, 34-09. 5, Wolfe, Josh, Wasilla, 34-03.75. 6, Andrist, Hunter, Colony, 33-05. 7, Thomas, Matt, Wasilla, 33-01.50. 8, Grace, Zach, Houston, 31-10. 9, Baird, Jeff, Houston, 28-08.

Shot put — 1, Harren, William, Wasilla, 46-11.50. 2, Niekamp, Hayden, Palmer, 44-07.50. 3, Looney, Connor, Palmer, 40-09.50. 4, Dedrick, Cody, Wasilla, 37-05.50. 5, Davis, Tim, Houston, 33-10. 6, Kincannon, Ryan, Wasilla, 32-02. 7, Busness, Kurt, Wasilla, 29-00. 8, Buldoc, Aaron, Houston, 28-01.50. 9, Leuthold, Nathaniel, Palmer, 27-09. 10, Saechao, Lai, Houston, 25-11.

Discus — 1, Harren, William, Wasilla, 117-10. 2, Niekamp, Hayden, Palmer, 104-04. 3, Davis, Tim, Houston, 98-06. 4, Saechao, Lai, Houston, 87-07. 5, Kincannon, Ryan, Wasilla, 82-01. 6, Ward, Charles, Wasilla, 79-10. 7, Busness, Kurt, Wasilla, 77-08. 8, Buldoc, Aaron, Houston, 71-08. 9, Leuthold, Nathaniel, Palmer, 62-00. 10, Sponsler, Stephen, Wasilla, 49-11.