Palmer runners excel at Dimond Invite

Sept. 10, 2006

By DARRELL L. BREESE/ Frontiersman

ANCHORAGE - Palmer High cross-country running coach Norm Rousey was faced with a dilemma Saturday.

Should he let the talented, but young group of runners compete in the varsity race at the Adidas Dimond Lynx Kincaid XC Invitational or let them test their abilities against other first year runners in the freshman race?

Rousey chose the latter, meaning the Moose would not have a full team of seven runners to compete in the varsity race. The decision came as good news for Jacquie Lutz and Kevin Smith.

Instead of laboring in the main pack, chasing down the race leaders, Lutz and Smith entered the open race and emerged as front-runners.

Lutz set the stage for a big day for the Palmer runners with her second-place finish in the 5-K race around the Mize Loop at Kincaid Park.

She finished in 21 minutes and 5 seconds.

&#8220It really felt great to be able to run at the front of the pack for a change,” Lutz said. &#8220But it was different. I'm used to chasing people and not being the one being chased.”

Like Lutz, Smith took full advantage to showcase his abilities in the boys open race

&#8220A runner from Homer took off really fast and led for the first half of the race,” Smith said. &#8220But then he slowed down, and I was able to catch him.”

Smith then focused on putting some space between him and the rest of the field, eventually finishing in 18:19, a full 10 seconds better than the second-place finisher.

&#8220It's different running up front,” Smith said after the race. &#8220I think I like it.”

After witnessing strong finishes from his two top runners, Rousey was confident he made the right decision.

&#8220It gave them a chance to shine,” Rousey said. &#8220Jacquie and Kevin really preformed well today. I'm excited.”

He was not the only one who was excited, the entire Palmer team decided to stay through both the varsity races and the community race just to see Lutz and Smith receive their awards.

The girl's varsity race was expected to be a showdown between the defending state and meet champion West Valley High School and West Anchorage, but when the Wolfpack's Crystal Pitney suffered an injury while leading, with less than a kilometer to go things change.

Juneau freshman Leah Francis and the Crimson Bears stole the show. Francis ran the second fastest time ever on the Kincaid Park Mize Loop race course, finishing in 18:21, just ahead of West's Shoshana Keegan.

Colony senior Johanna Doner and sister Heidi Doner, a freshman, were the top Valley runners in the girl's race finishing 22nd and 25th overall.

Kodiak sophomore Trevor Dunbar equaled the sophomore record on the course held by former Kodiak runner Chris Mortensen, finishing in 15:58. He led the Bears to the boys team title.

Wasilla's Jimmy Sliwa was the top valley runner in the varsity races, out kicking Ryan Hanley of Dimond over the final 100 meters. Hanley emerged from the trails with a slight lead over Sliwa, only to lose by a step at the finish line.

&#8220It's all adrenaline pushing you over the sprint,” Sliwa said of having the strength to sprint after a grueling race. &#8220I just dug deep and gave it everything I had to beat him.”

Sliwa finished fourth overall, crossing the line one second ahead of Hanley, with a time of 16:47. The time was the fastest he had run this season.

Valley runners take to the trails again Wednesday at Colony High School for the annual Mat-Su Borough Championships race.

Contact Darrell L. Breese at 352-2267 or at darrell.breese@

frontiersman.com.