STANDING OUT

PALMER — As the crowd of runners moved down the trail Saturday afternoon, it wasn’t hard to spot the Wasilla Warriors.

Sporting bright neon yellow jerseys, the Warriors stood out in the field like flashes of light in the darkness. It also didn’t hurt that the Warriors spent much of the race at the front of the pack.

Four Warriors finished among the top-6 to give Wasilla the lopsided victory in the girls’ class of the Colony Invitational at Colony High School on Saturday.

“Our girls’ team ran really well,” Wasilla head coach Gary Howell said after the event.

The victory gave the Warriors their fourth team title of the season in as many meets, and their third while wearing their golden gear.

While Howell may not be campaigning for what he calls “hyper yellow” to be added to Wasilla’s list of school colors, the WHS running coach said his team has been attracting some attention because of the new garb.

“We want to make some noise with the jerseys as well as our speed,” Howell joked. “We were trying to get some attention. I think it worked.”

Howell said when Wasilla High was set to order new uniforms, Skinny Raven, a running apparel store in Anchorage, had an interesting offer.

“Skinny Raven hooked us up with a really good deal,” Howell said. “(They said) if you’re willing to go with hyper yellow, we’ll get you a good price.”

The new jerseys are more than just a bargain for Howell and the Warriors.

“The kids love them,” Howell said. “The parents love them. You know where Wasilla is a quarter-mile away.”

Less than a quarter-mile proved to make a difference in the girls’ race. Kenny Lake’s Kailey Wilson used a late surge to sprint past Wasilla sophomore Jenna Ford during the final stretch to win the individual title. Wilson, the two-time defending 1-2-3A state champion, crossed the finish line at 19 minutes and 8.3 seconds, just eight-tenths of a second faster than Ford.

“With 100 meters left, Kailey took her,” Howell said.

Despite Ford finishing less than a second short of her third individual win of the season, Howell was thrilled with the sophomores performance during the 5-kilometer run.

“I thought Jenna ran the best race I’ve ever seen her run,” Howell said. “She ran exactly to the game plan. It was really nice to see her run like a mature racer.”

Ford stayed on Wilson’s heels for two-thirds of the race. She trailed Wilson by about four seconds at the halfway point. But that was all according to plan, Howell said.

“Jenna never had the lead until less than a mile left, which is just what we wanted,” Howell said. “We told her to stay behind for the first three kilometers, take the lead and hopefully burn Kailey out.”

Ford executed the plan, but Wilson had just enough in the tank during the final 100-meter kick.

Freshman Mariah Burroughs, junior Morgan Dampier and sophomore Mandi Ringgenberg also finished in the top-6 for Wasilla. Burroughs used a time of 19:54 to finish in fourth for the Warriors. She was also Wasilla’s No. 2 runner for the second straight week. Dampier (20:00) and Ringgenberg (20:03) followed at fifth and sixth respectively. Junior Jessica Pahkala was 11th for Wasilla and Alice Strick, who slid into the varsity lineup this week, was 23rd for the Warriors.

Colony sophomore Audrey Michaelson led the Knights with a third-place finish and Makenzie Thompson was ninth for Wasilla.

A pair of Juneau-Douglas runners, Sage Thibodeau and Zach Bursell, set the pace during the boys’ race, finishing first and second respectively. But two Valley athletes ran their way into the top five.

Wasilla junior Noah Ripley finished fourth to lead the Warriors to a second-place finish in the team standings. Palmer junior Mason Minturn was fifth and led the Moose to a third-place finish.

After the race, Minturn said he was fairly confident he could break into the top-5 of a race that included runners from a field of 11 teams. He was also happy with his time of 17:18.

“That’s fine with me,” Minturn said.

Minturn and Chris Osiensky each posted top-10 finishes for Palmer. Osiensky was ninth for the Moose.

“We’re practicing real hard,” Minturn said of the Moose. “Everyone’s making improvements. We’re just hoping we all keep dropping times.”

Ripley was the first of six Warriors to finish in the top 15. Junior Josh Pahkala (eighth), junior Simon Fischer (11th), junior Keith Thompson (12th), freshman Anthony Keller (13th) and Michael Johnston (15th) also finished in the top 15.

Senior Tanner Enloe led the Knights with a 14th-place finish.

For results and team scores, visit frontiersman.com/sports.

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

Colony Invitational

Saturday, Colony High School

Boys team scores:

1. Juneau-Douglas 33; 2. Wasilla 48; 3. Palmer 108; 4. Colony 111; 5. West Anchorage 117; 6. Bartlett 129; 7. North Pole 162; 8. Barrow 237.

Boys individual results:

1. S. Thibodeau, Jun 16:38.4; 2. Z. Bursell, Jun 16:56; 3. S. Wheeler, West 17:02; 4. N. Ripley, Was 17:03; 5. M. Minturn, Pal 17:18; 6. J. Miller, Jun 17:29; 7. T. Norvelli, Jun 17:30; 8. J. Pahkala, Was 17:35; 9. C. Osiensky, Pal 17:36; 10. G. DeWilde, NP 17:37; 11. S. Fischer, Was 17:38; 12. K. Thompson, Was 17:44; 13. A. Keller, Was 17:47; 14. T. Enloe, Col 17:48; 15. M. Johnston, Was 17:50; 16. S. Butler, Bar 18:02; 17. A. Bunton, Jun 18:03; 18. I. Andrews, Jun 18:03; 19. R. Tennyson, Dill 18:16; 20. A. Musgrove, Glen 18:17; 21. A. Tenne, Bar 18:17; 22. A. Meyerhofer, Col 18:20; 23. G. Kenney, Val 18:22; 24. R. Tracy, Was 18:23; 25. K. Peterson, West 18:24.

Other Valley finishers:

26. N. Gumminger, Col 18:30; E. Brayton, Col 18:34; 30. A. Liebing, al 18:48; 32. B. Atkinson, Col 18:50; 35. D. Sinnett, Col 19:02; 36. C. White, Pal 19:02; 37. B. Muniz, Pal 19:07; 42. S. Hermann, Pal 19:35; 46. S. Forrest, Pal 19:42.

Girls team scores:

1. Wasilla 22; 2. West Anchorage 49; 3. Juneau-Dougals 85; 4. Colony 91; 5. North Pole 127; 6. Bartlett 146; 7. Barrow 189.

Girls individual results:

1. K. Wilson, KL 19:08.3; 2. J. Ford, Was 19:09.1; 3. A. Michaelson, Col 19:38; 4. M. Burroughs, Was 19:54; 5. M. Dampier, Was 20:00; 6. M. Ringgenberg, Was 20:03; 7. R. Roelle, West 20:17; 8. K. Weddleton, West 20:53; 9. M. Thompson, Col 20:57; 10. T. Wygant, KL 21:04; 11. J. Pahkala, Was 21:13; 12. C. Beaugard, West 21:14; 13. M. Weimer, West 21:20; 14. S. Browning, Jun 21:29; 15. K. Schmitz, NP 21:31; 16. M. Miller, Jun 21:36; 17. J. Whiteman, West 21:36; 18. L. burger-Pothier, Jun 21:37; 19. K. Maslen, Glen 21:45; 20. R. Pierce, West 21:45; 21. M. Conrow, NP 21:46; 22. A. Tomone, Jun 21:49; 23. A. Strick, Was 21:57; 24. J. Lisac, Dil 22:03; 25. S. Lamb, Bar 22:10.

Other Valley finishers:

26. B. Meier, Col 22:21; 29. M. Wright, Was 22:28; 34. A. Saxon, Col 23:21; 35. R. Diotte, Col 23:22.