Moose a threat on home track

WASILLA — A herd of home-track Moose will be looking to kick up some dust when the Region III Track and Field Championships get under way today at Palmer High School.

With a boys’ team that boasts strong athletes across the board, Palmer may have the best chance of bringing home a team title this season — if they can get past defending state champion Kodiak.

“If things work out, I would say it’s us and Kodiak for regions,” Palmer coach Dale Ewart said Thursday.

Palmer’s boys team is coming off a win in last week’s Mat-Su Borough Championships and features a well-rounded team that should place well in the sprints, distance races and jumping events.

“We have a pretty good-sized team,” Ewart said.

Senior Devin Konkler leads the sprinters, having posted the fastest times among Mat-Su athletes in the 100- and 200-yard dash this season. Konkler will be helped by John Daly, who placed second in the 200 at boroughs.

In the middle distances, senior Kevin Smith has the fastest time among all Region III athletes in the 400 and is second only to Kodiak’s Trevor Dunbar in the 800 in the entire state. Smith already has the Palmer school record in the 800, and lost to Dunbar by just half a second earlier this month in Kodiak.

“That might be a race we can get a win from Kevin in,” Ewart said.

In the distance races, UAA-bound senior Jake Parisien will challenge Dunbar in the 1,600 and 3,200, where the duo has been 1-2 in the state all season long, with the Kodiak junior getting the better of Parisien each time they’ve raced.

Palmer also has the fastest 400 relay team among Region III teams, and will likely get big points from senior Tony Guzman, who has the second-fastest time in the 110 hurdles and is the top triple jumper this season in Region III.

This weekend’s Region III meet will be used to determine which individual athletes and relay teams advance to the state meet two weeks from now in Fairbanks. The winner in each individual event automatically qualifies for state, as do the next 12 best times from the four large-schools region meets across the state.

Colony Knights

While the Moose would like to run down the Bears, they’ll also have to keep an eye on their rearview mirror for a familiar foe.

Coming off a second-place finish at the Mat-Su Borough meet, Colony will bring a deep, experienced team to Regions hoping to muscle into the top two spots.

“I think we’re going to be in the mix,” Colony coach Jeff Nelles said. “It’s going to be who steals points from who.”

Nelles said the Knights have a number of veteran athletes who are good in several events each. He said such an athlete is Brad Truax, who played quarterback for the school’s football team in the fall and now helps lead Colony’s track team.

“He’s kind of the heart and soul of the boys’ team,” Nelles said.

Truax will be among the individual contenders in the 400 and 800, one of several Colony athletes ranked high in multiple events.

That list includes sophomore Matt Jaronik, who has the second-fastest 400 time and anchors the Knights’ top-ranked 1,600 relay team; brothers Doug and Dave Gray, who are among the region’s top hurdlers; and Cody Huggins who will enter this weekend’s meet seeded third in the 1,600 and 3,200, and fourth in the 800.

Colony could also pick up points in the sprints, where Jaronik, junior Matt Swan and senior Jaron Murphy are all legitimate scoring threats. Senior Antone Zagars is also likely to be a big point-scorer, and enters the meet as the only Region III athlete to clear six feet in the high jump.

Wasilla Warriors

Wasilla’s boys team isn’t nearly as deep as its Mat-Su counterparts, but the Warriors do feature two of the top throwers in Region III in sophomore John Knowles and senior Beebo Russell.

Russell trails only Soldotna’s Ryan Shelton in the shot put, while Knowles has the third-best discus throw in the region this year.

Junior Colton Newman in the 300 hurdles and sophomore Baruch Chamberlain in the 3,200 could help add points to Wasilla’s total in the running events, where the Warriors aren’t particularly strong overall.

The Warriors may fare better in the field events, with Newman (long jump), sophomore Isiah Edwards (high jump, long jump) and junior Chance Musselman (long, triple jumps) among the better performers in the Region this season.

Houston Hawks

Houston coach Pat Egelus may end up with a new hairdo following this week’s meet.

Earlier in the season, Egelus challenged his team to get at least six athletes qualified to the state meet. With his boys 3,200 relay team among the best in the region, Egelus could be in trouble.

“If we get one of those relay teams in I could have a mullet by the end of the weekend,” Egelus said.

Houston’s 3,200 relay team of Dillon Styers, Chris Gardiner, Brogan Putnam and Chris Ashland is currently ranked fourth among Region III teams and 14th statewide. Egelus said the group has its sights set firmly on both a state berth and the school record of 8 minutes, 56 seconds set last year.

“Our relays are actually looking fairly strong,” Egelus said.

Putnam is Houston’s top individual runner this season, and will enter the meet ranked fifth in the 400. Senior Israel Morales also has a chance at making state in the shot and discus.

Contact Frontiersman sports reporter Matt Tunseth at matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com.

SCHEDULE

Region III Track and Field Championships

Today

11 a.m. — Boys shot put, girls discus, high jump, long jump

3 p.m. — Girls 3,200 meter finals

3:15 p.m. — Boys 3,200 finals

3:30 p.m. — Girls 110 hurdles prelims

3:40 p.m. — Boys 110 hurdles prelims

3:50 p.m. — Girls 100 prelims

4 p.m. — Boys 100 prelims

4:05 p.m. — Girls 400 prelims

4:10 p.m. — Boys 400 prelims

4:20 p.m. — Girls 300 hurdles prelims

4:30 p.m. — Boys 300 hurdles prelims

4:40 p.m. — Girls 800

4:50 p.m. — Boys 800

5 p.m. — Girls 200

5:10 p.m. — Boys 200

Saturday

9:30 a.m. — Triple jump, girls shot put, boys discus

11:50 a.m. — Special Olympics 4X100 relay

Noon — Girls 3,200 relay

12:10 — Boys 3,200 relay

12:20 — Girls 100 hurdles finals

12:30 — Boys 110 hurdles finals

12:40 — Girls 100 finals

12:50 — Boys 100 finals

1 p.m. — Boys 800 relay

1:10 p.m. — Girls 800 relay

1:20 p.m. — Girls 1,600 finals

1:35 — Boys 1,600 finals

1:50 p.m. — Girls 400 relay

2 p.m. — Boys 400 relay

2:10 p.m. — Girls 400 finals

2:20 p.m. — Boys 400 finals

2:30 p.m. — Girls 300 hurdles finals

2:40 pm. — Boys 300 hurdles finals

2:50 o.m. — Girls 800 finals

3 p.m. — Boys 800 finals

3:10 p.m. — Girls 200 finals

3:20 p.m. — Boys 200 finals

3:45 p.m. — Girls 1,600 relay

3:55 p.m. — Boys 1,600 relay