State champs represent well in Oregon meet

WASILLA — Gary Howell has traveled with individual runners to cross-country competitions outside of Alaska before, but he’s never taken a full team south. This year, the Wasilla head coach thought his two-time defending state champion girls squad deserved the chance.

And the Warriors took advantage of the opportunity, placing fourth in the loaded Concordia/Adidas Cross-Country Classic in Portland, Ore., Saturday.

“Winning two state titles is one thing, but it was definitely impressive to come down (and finish fourth),” Howell said by cell phone from Oregon Saturday evening. “I’ve always said, there’s really no reason to travel out of state before you beat everybody in the state.”

Wasilla held a 19-point lead over runner-up West Anchorage en route to its 2011 state championship. But despite that success — two Region III titles and two state crowns in two years — it was hard for the Warriors to gauge how they’d stack up against a loaded field that included top running teams from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California and Hawaii.

“I had no idea,” Howell said. “You don’t know who’s actually going to show up to meets like that.”

Just to compare, Howell said the team that won the varsity girls high school division, was so strong, his top runner in the meet — freshman Peggy Mathis — would have been that team’s fifth.

Considering that, Howell and the Warriors are pretty happy with their finish.

“We did really well,” Howell said. “(Out of) 120-plus teams, you can’t complain.”

Mathis led the Warriors with a 15th-place finish, clocking an impressive 18:42 on the fast Concordia University course. Sophomore Mariah Burroughs finished 26th for he Warriors.

Howell also noted the work of Mandi Ringgenberg who stepped in to the lineup to replace senior Morgan Dampier, who was making one of her official college visits Saturday.

Noah Ripley led the Wasilla boys, finishing 22nd in the high school race.

Colony junior Audrey Michaelson also made the trip, and finished 20th.

Howell said the Valley athletes received great exposure during the meet.

“The big draw is to go here and let the kids run on a course known by lots of colleges. There was the college race too, so a lot of college coaches were already here,” Howell said. “A lot of coaches were approaching us afterward.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.