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PALMER — Palmer cross-country running head coach Chris Osiensky had high expectations for his girls’ squad in the Region III Championships last week.
And rightfully so.
Palmer returned everyone from a squad that finished as the runner-up in regions. The 2017 Region III girls champ, Kenai Central, is now a Division II program. And Palmer’s 2018 squad also features the addition of Katey Houser, a standout freshman.
But Osiensky remained cautious.
“I knew we were the favorites heading in,” Osiensky said. “I didn’t want to any type of fear in them.”
Osiensky told his athletes to run their race, and the Moose earned the program’s first Region III girls’ title in 29 years.
“It’s a pretty big deal,” Osiensky said.
Now the Moose can shift their focus to the ASAA/First National Bank Cross-Country Running State Championships, which start Saturday at noon at Bartlett High School in Anchorage.
Palmer is currently ranked fifth in the Division I girls’ class, according to athletic.net, an online database for cross-country running and track and field results. The rankings to into account the season record for each runner in the state.
Osiensky said his goal for the Moose in the state meet is fairly simple.
“My goal as a coach is to improve upon the state ranking,” Osiensky said. “Top 3 would be amazing.”
The Division I girls’ class also features a pair of Valley runners, Houser and Wasilla senior Allison VanPelt, who are ranked among the top 6 in the state.
Houser edged VanPelt to win the Region III girls’ individual title last week in Soldotna.
“It was pretty nerve-racking as a coach to watch,” Osiensky said. “(Katey) ran that race super well.”
Palmer and Colony, which finished third in regions, earned automatic berths to the state meet. Lydia Ortiz (fourth), Sophie Wright (fifth) and Sophia Nowers (sixth) also placed in the top 6 for the Moose. Lydia Bushey (seventh) and Sofija Spaic (eighth) led Colony with top-10 finishes. VanPelt qualified as an individual with her runner-up finish.
The Colony boys also qualified for state with a second-place finish in the Region III team standings.
Lane Meier won the Region III boys’ individual title, to lead the Knights. Colony’s Gavin Block finished fifth.
A trio of Moose qualified as individuals. Connor Owens (third), Amiqaq McLean (eighth) and Mike Reem (15th) each finished in the top 15. Hunter Hayes (ninth) and Landon Hayes (10th) qualified for Wasilla.
The Division II girls race is slated for Saturday at noon at Bartlett. The Division I girls (12:45 p.m.), Division II boys (1:30 p.m.) and Division I boys (2:15 p.m.) races follow.
Contact Frontiersman editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.
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