MAKING THEIR MARK

PALMER — Wasilla head coach Gary Howell thought his girls track and field team had the potential to do something special during the Northern Lights Conference Championships this weekend.

Howell had a hunch his Warriors could place in any given event, and maybe even make some school history along the way.

The Warriors just may have gone beyond what Howell thought was possible.

Wasilla scored at least one point in every event and ran away with the 2010 NLC title to give the Warriors their first girls track and field conference championship in school history.

“To actually be able to perform over two days, one day in poor weather, shows the high level of focus of these athletes,” Howell said. “They were running out of their minds. I hope it holds through state, give Dimond a run for their money.”

Dimond is considered the top team from Anchorage’s Cook Inlet Conference.

Wasilla finished with 159 total points during two days of competition at Palmer High School, well ahead of second-place Kenai’s 79. Colony finished third in the team standings.

The Warriors won four events and were the runner-up in seven others. But the biggest key, Howell said, was the number of third-, fourth-, fifth- and sixth-place marks that allowed the Warriors to score a point in all 16 events.

“(It’s) rare to say the least,” Howell said.

Even the most seasoned of track veterans who helped organize the event hadn’t heard of something like that in a championship meet, Howell said.

Wasilla freshman Dajanae Harris used a record-breaking run in the 100 and a victory in the long jump to help the Warriors win their first team title in franchise history. Harris dashed through 100 meters in 12.73 seconds to beat the prior mark of 12.80, set by former Colony standout Hallie Huggins in 2005.

“I knew she had that speed,” Howell said.

Harris had already posted a time faster than 12.80 this season. She ran a 12.79 at the Skyview Invitational. Knowing that, Howell told Harris to lean across the finish line regardless of how close the competition was.

“She was ready to rock,” Howell said.

Led by Harris, Wasilla swept the top three spots in the 100. Morgan Dampier was second and Cory Schleich finished third.

Harris was not the only Warriors to break a conference record on Saturday. Dampier, destroyed the existing mark in the 800. The sophomore standout recorded a 2:15.06, well ahead of the prior mark of 2:18.5 set by a Grace Christian runner in 1999. Howell said he’s not surprised Dampier ran a 2:15, but he didn’t expect it on Saturday at Palmer, where headwinds greeted runners throughout the afternoon.

Harris and Dampier also led Wasilla to a win in the 800-meter relay. The duo combined with Schleich and Gladys Nickerson to record a time of 1:48.06.

Howell also noted the work of Schleich, who picked up a pair of third-place finishes in addition to her work with the Wasilla relay squads.

“She was picking up points all over the place for us,” Howell said.

Freshman Jenna Ford notched a pair of top-three finishes and helped the Warriors finish second in the 3,200 relay. Ford battled with Skyview senior Ivy O’Guinn in both the 1,600 and 3,200.

Ford and O’Guinn ran with each other for the bulk of both races, but each time O’Guinn was able to use a final push at the end to win both races.

During the 3,200 final on Friday, O’Guinn ran just behind Ford during the first six of eight laps around the Palmer High School track. Midway through the seventh lap, O’Guinn passed Ford and was able to build a 15-second lead by the time the Skyview senior crossed the finish line.

“That was my plan,” O’Guinn said. “I knew she was going to start out really strong. I wanted to pace myself with her.”

O’Guinn said she didn’t wait for a particular lap to pass Ford, who held the state’s top time in the two-mile before the race. She just waited until she felt good enough to make her move.

The plan worked so well, O’Guinn repeated it on Saturday during the 1,600. This time she used a burst during the third of four laps to grab the win.

Howell was also excited about the work of his athletes during the field events, the throwers in particular. Senior Jillian Troisi posted career bests in both the shot put (33-2 1/4) and discus (95-1) to place second and fifth respectively. Freshman Alexis Imoe also posted a personal best, throwing a 32-10 1/2 in the shot put. Imoe was fourth.

Junior Alice Oksoktaruk finished second in the triple jump, third in the long jump and fourth in the high jump for the Warriors. Kiera Rust was fourth in the triple jump.

Junior Shellina Irwin led Colony to a third-place finish in the team standings with a win in the shot put. Irwin entered the meet with the state’s best throw of 35-10 3/4 and came close to that with a 35-6 1/2. Senior Siobhan Johansen also won an event for the Knights, finishing first in the triple jump. Johansen used a mark of 33-5 1/2 to edge Oksokturak.

Johansen’s sister, Gaynor, was fourth in the discus. Laura Maresh was second in the long jump, while Taylor Stewart finished third in the high jump.

Senior Danielle Barney led eighth-place Houston with a second-place finish in the discus.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Northern Lights Conference Championships

Friday-Saturday, Palmer High School

Girls team scores:

1. Wasilla 152, 2. Kenai 76, 3. Kodiak 71, 3. (tie) Colony 71, 5. Soldotna 52, 6. Skyview 48, 7. Palmer 39, 8. Houston 21.

Girls individual results:

100 meters — 1. D. Harris, Was 12.73; 2. M. Dampier, Was 12.98; 3. C. Schleich, Was 13.52; 4. S. Oliver, Kod 13.53; 5. T. Holen, Hou 13.80; 6. J. Nolden, Sol 13.82.

200 — 1. L. Flanagan, Ken 25.99; 2. D. Harris, Was 26.11; 3. C. Schleich, Was 27.78; 4. S. Ernest, Kod 28.09; 5. P. Cooper, Sky 28.10; 6. T. Holen, Hou 28.79.

400 — 1. L. Flanagan, Ken 58.03; 2. M. Dampier, Was 59.64; 3. B. Beeson, Ken 1:00.24; 4. S. Ernest, Kod 1:01.97; 5. B. Mucha, Sol 1:02.05; 6. P. Cooper, Sky 1:04.29.

800 — 1. M. Dampier, Was 2:15.06; 2. I. O’Guinn, Sky 2:17.31; 3. K. Mucha, Ken 2:27.32; 4. C. Ivanoff, Kod 2:27.69; 5. A. Michaelson, Col 2:28.42; 6. J. Bethea, Kod 2:29.14.

1,600 — 1. I. O’Guinn, Sky 5:15.97; 2. J. Bethea, Kod 5:23.5; 3. J. Ford, Was 5:26.13; 4. C. Ivanoff, Kod 5:35.99; 5. A. Michaelson, Col 5:38.17; 6. M. Rinngenberg, Was 5:44.26.

3,200 — 1. I. O’Guinn, Sky 11:13.16; 2. J. Ford, Was 11:28.21; 3. C. Ivanoff, Kod 11:44.04; 4. A. Michaelson, Col 12:11.07; 5. S. Stewart, Col 12:12.97; 6. M. Smith, Sol 12:16.31.

100 hurdles — 1. S. Oliver, Kod 16.67; 2. S. DeVito, Ken 16.85; 3. K. Rust, Was 17.27; 4. M. Nuernberg, Pal 17.34; 5. L. Sandahl, Ken 17.96; 6. S. Hull, Ken 17.63.

300 hurdles — 1. M. Ulen, Sol 47.66; 2. S. DeVito, Ken 47.69; 3. S. Johansen, Col 51.06; 4. E. Hollers, Sky 51.70; 5. R. Kennedy, Was 51.76; 6. M. Wensley, Ken 52.83.

400 relay — 1. Palmer (M. Nuernberg, T. Blake, J. VanHoomissen, S. Houchen) 52.95; 2. Soldotna 53.39; 3. Kenai 53.84; 4. Kodiak 54.67; 5. Wasilla 54.82; 6. Colony 56.71.

800 relay — 1. Wasilla (D. Harris, C. Schleich, G. Nickerson, M. Dampier) 1:48.06; 2. Kenai 1:49.26; 3. Palmer 1:52.03; 4. Soldotna 1:53.25; 5. Hosuton 1:55.77; 6. Skyview 1:58.42.

1,600 relay — 1. Kenai (L. Sandahl, S. DeVito, B. Beeson, L. Flanagan) 4:12.02; 2. Palmer 4:18.50; 3. Kodiak 4:27.11; 4. Wasilla 4:34.29; 5. Skyview 5:13.83.

3,200 relay — 1. Kodiak 9:59.58; 2. Wasilla 10:08.89; 3. Soldotna 10:19.56; 4. Colony 10:33.48; 5. Palmer 10:41.84; 6. Skyview 12:42.44.

High jump — 1. M. Ulen, Sol 4-10; 2. S. James, Hou 4-8; 3. T. Stewart, Col 4-8; 4. K. Smith, Pal 4-6; 5. A. Oksoktaruk, Was 4-6; 6. K. Rust, Was 4-4.

Long jump — 1. D. Harris, Was 16-1; 2. L. Maresh, Col 15-6.25; 3. A. Oksoktaruk, Was 15-6; 4. S. Houchen, Pal 15-1.5; 5. C. Penrod, Sky 14-11.5; 6. T. Stewart, Col 14-3.

Triple jump — 1. S. Johansen, Col 33-5.5; 2. A. Oksoktaruk, Was 33-4; 3. T. Stewart, Col 32-8.75; 4. S. Houchen, Pal 15-1.5; 5. C. Penrod, Sky 14-11.5; 6. T. Stewart, Col 14-3.

Shot put — 1. S. Irwin, Col 35-6.5; 2. J. Troisi, Was 33-2.5; 3. S. Oliver, Kod 33-1; 4. A. Imoe, Was 32-10.5; 5. M. Nuernberg, Pal 32-3.25; 6. E. LaMere, Pal 32-2.5.

Discus — 1. J. Duke, Sol 106-7; 2. D. Barney, Hou 102-9.75; 3. M. Parham, 100-7; 4. G. Johansen, Col 95-11.75; 5. J. Troisi, Was 95-1; 6. S. Irwin, Col 94-.05.