Palmer boys win first region ski title in 19 years

SOLDOTNA — Palmer claimed its first Region III boys cross-country ski team title in 19 years on Saturday at Tsalteshi Trails in Soldotna. Kenai was the runner-up and SoHi finished third. SoHi’s girls won the team title with Palmer finishing second and Kenai third.

“I’m incredibly proud of our guys,” said Palmer ski coach Darin Markwardt.

Winning regions has been a goal of his team for four years, he said.

“This is basically the highlight of the season,” said Palmer senior Duney Strickland.

Strickland won Friday’s three-kilometer skate event, took third in Saturday’s 10-kilometer classic event and finished third overall. Kenai’s Travis Semmens, who won the overall boys title, finished second on Friday and Palmer’s Wylie Mangelsdorf finished third.

They key to Strickland’s win in the skate race was wax.

“The wax that we had on was really fast and designed for the wet conditions,” he said.

Palmer’s Kimberly Del Frate agreed.

“The rain didn’t bug me too much and we had good wax,” she said.

Del Frate finished third on Friday and fifth overall.

Four of Palmer’s top boys are seniors. They each learned to ski their freshman year.

“We have an incredibly strong senior group,” Markwardt said. He said it was satisfying to see the progress his team has made the last four years.

“We have a good team atmosphere,” Strickland said.

Finishing second to SoHi at the 2009 region meet motivated the Moose all season.

“The only two weekends that count are regions and state,” was the message Markwardt preached to his team all season.

“Today’s performance definitely motivates us for state,” Markwardt added. Kenai Central’s Kailey Mucha skied to her fourth consecutive overall Region III title.

“Its not really hit me yet,” Kailey said shortly after finishing the 7.5 kilometer classic race Saturday. The accomplishment is sure to set later tonight, she said.

“It was really fast,” Kailey said of Saturday’s trail conditions.

The classic tracks were shallow, making the skiers work harder, said SoHi ski coach Dan Harbison.

“It was a very challenging course,” he said.

“The whole trail was double-pole the whole way,” Kailey added.

Friday was a different scene. With rain pouring down, skiers battled mushy conditions for the three-kilometer skate race.

“I came through the finish dripping, just soaked,” Semmens said.

Because of the weather, skiers left in 15-second intervals, determined by Friday’s finish, for the classic race instead of a mass start as was originally planned.

Kailey, who won Friday’s race, was first out of the gate. Her sister, Bree, was second and Del Frate was third.

“I kept looking back and asking, ‘Where is she?’” Kailey said of her sister. “With everyone chasing me, it makes me go a lot faster.”

Del Frate said she had to double-pole the whole race as above-freezing temperatures make classic wax less effective. The key to Kailey’s skiing success is her mental toughness, Kenai ski coach D’Anna Gibson said.

“She can just push herself beyond exhaustion,” she said.

The same is true for Semmens.

“He is just a natural athlete,” Gibson said. “He is mentally really tough. You can’t really teach that.”

“I just go as hard as I can,” Semmens said.

Semmens, who finished second to Strickland on Friday, said he spent the first five kilometers of Saturday’s race trying to catch him. After he passed Strickland, Semmens said he hung on for the win.

“I’m pretty happy,” Semmens said. “It makes up for last year.”

Semmens took second behind Cook Inlet Academy graduate Lars Arneson at the 2009 region meet. Strickland is more comfortable starting in the rear of the pack than in front.

“I prefer catching people,” he said. “When you start out in the front, you go pedal to the metal the whole way.”

Gibson said it feels great to see two Kenai skiers win the boys and girls overall title.

“I’m just really happy for those two.”

Five SoHi girls finished in the top 10, leading the Stars to the team title.

Those skiers included Bree, Maranda Merkes, D.Anne Martin, Jasmine Clock and Melanie Smith.

“Today, we had great races,” Harbison said. “We feel really good about that.”

Merkes finished second in the classic race and Grace Christian’s Sarah Cresap took third.

Nyquist finished second in the classic race and second overall.

“I felt like I had a pretty good race,” Nyquist said. “It’s a good way to end my senior year.”

Nyquist said Friday’s course was soft and punchy, but skiing in the rain was a cool experience.

“The course held up pretty good, though,” he said.

“If it wasn’t for our trail groomer, Bill Holt, we wouldn’t be here today,” Gibson said.