THE FIRST LEG

PALMER — For much of the race Tuesday evening, Audrey Michaelson waited for her opportunity, and with about 100 meters left in the 2.4-Kilometer course, the Colony sophomore made her move.

Michaelson sprinted by a pair of runners down the final stretch and finished second in the Colony Twilight cross country race at Colony High School on Tuesday.

“I was just kind of watching them from behind,” Michaelson said after her run. “I just decided I’d find somebody and stick with them, and see how I could do at the end.”

Michaelson ran in a pack that included Wasilla junior Morgan Dampier and Kodiak’s Jaymi Bethea. Dampier was just ahead of Bethea midway through and remained at the lead of the small pack as the trio hit the final stretch.

But then Michaelson found another gear.

“I kind of forgot how bad I was feeling and just decided to kick it and try to get as close to Jenna (Ford) as I could,” Michaelson said.

Ford, the defending Region III champion, cruised to a first-place finish in the first event of the year, clocking a time of 9 minutes and 38.5 seconds. By trying to close in on Ford, Michaelson managed to finish as the runner-up with a time of 9:46.8, and lead the group of three runners who each crossed the finish line during a two-second span.

Bethea (9:47.7) edged Dampier (9:48.3) by sixth-tenths of a second.

Less than a second also decided the boys’ race. Kodiak’s James Osowoski needed a push during the final meters to edge Wasilla junior Noah Ripley.

Osowksi passed Ripley during the sprint to the finish to grab a tie of 8:13.8, three-tenths of a second ahead of Ripley.

“I was right with him for about half of it. I sped up a bit and got ahead of him, but he passed me right at the end,” Ripley said.

Wasilla swept the team titles of the event, that included teams from Colony, Palmer, Houston and Kodiak.

Mariah Burroughs also netted a top-five finish for Wasilla, placing fifth in the girls race. Wasilla’s Josh Pahkala was third in the boys’ run.

Tanner Enloe led the Colony boys with a ninth place finish, Andy Gocke was 10th for Houston and Mason Minturn finished a team-high 11th for Palmer.

Hana Bohman led Palmer with an 11th-place finish in the girls’ race.

The Colony Twilight has also became an unofficial memorial for Howell Powder, a former Valley running and ski enthusiast who died in a motorcycle accident in 2009.

“He’s a great guy who did so much for running and skiing. He’s responsible for so much,” Wasilla head coach Gary Howell said. “He was a real big advocate for cross country running.”

After Powder’s death, Howell and Colony head coach Mark Strabel, the organizer of the Twilight, decided to honor Powder during the annual race. With that, a new tradition for the race was born. All the runners wear tie-dyed T-shirts during the event.

“Howie always wore tie-dye,” Howell said. “It’s kind of a fun deal. Howie was all about just being fun.”

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

Colony Twilight Race

Tuesday, Colony High School

Boys’ team results:

1. Wasilla 42:54; 2. Kodiak 43:10; 3. Colony 45:37; 4. Palmer 47:18.

Girls’ team results:

1. Wasilla 49:52; 2. Kodiak 52:36; 3. Palmer 56:26; 4. Colony 57:04.

Combined team results:

1. Wasilla 92:46; 2. Kodiak 95:46; 3. Colony 102:45; 4. Palmer 103:44.

Boys’ individual results (top-50):

1. James Osowski, Kodiak, 8:13.8; 2. Noah Ripley, Wasilla, 8:14.1; 3. Josh Pahkala, Wasilla, 8:20.3; 4. Jordan Fogle, Kodiak, 8:31.3; 5. Nathan Deer, Kodiak, 8:31.7; 6. Simon Fischer, Wasilla, 8:36.7; 7. Caleb Nymeyer, Kodiak, 8:39.9; 8. Keith Thompson, Wasilla, 8:40.2; 9. Tanner Enloe, Colony, 8:40.6; 10. Andy Gocke, Houston, 8:55.1; 11. Mason, Minturn, Palmer, 8:58.7; 12. Abe Meyerhofer, Colony, 8:59.3; 13. Ryan Tracy, Wasilla, 9:03.5; 14. Chris Osiensky, Palmer, 9:09.4; 15. Derrek Deal, Kodiak, 9:14.1; 16. Scott Walker, Kodiak, 9:15.3; 17. Brandon Schafer, Colony; 9:15.9; 18. Nathan Gumminger, Colony, 9:20.0; 19. Trevor Murray, Colony, 9:21.2; 20. David Castonguay, Kodiak, 9:28.5; 21. Anthony Oliver, Wasilla, 9:31.5; 22. Kyle Polis, Wasilla, 9:31.8; 23. David Peterson, Kodiak, 9:32.5; 24. Andrew Liebing, Palmer, 9:32.8; 25. Lee Cruz-Bondurant, Kodiak, 9:37.0; 26. Eli Brayton, Colony 9:40.2; 27. Brice Muniz, Palmer 9:42.1; 28. John McDonald, Kodiak 9:42.9; 29. Alex Fuller, Wasilla 9:43.8; 30. Cole Christiansen, Kodiak 9:44.6; 31. Richard Abbott, Wasilla 9:46.2; 32. Richard Abbott, Wasilla 9:46.2; 33. Brenden Lee, Wasilla, 9:52.0; 34. Stewart Forrest, palmer, 9:55.5; 35. Jerry Fetta, Houston, 10:00.0; 36. Connor Mattson, Wasilla, 10:00.5; 37. Garrett Elder, Houston, 10:01.3; 38. Jacob Buck, Colony, 10:03.5; 39. Garth Hulbert, Colony, 10:03.9; 40. Sean Hermann, Palmer, 10:04.3; 41. Jamison Richey, Houston, 10:07.0; 42. Jason Murak, Colony, 10:08.0; 43. AJ Gentz, Palmer, 10:08.7; 44. Chris Campbell, Wasilla, 10:09.0; 45. Kevin Horton, Wasilla, 10:18.5; 46. Trace Harris, Colony, 10:20; 47. Luke Wright, Pamer, 10:21.0; 48. Erik Grazulis, Colony, 10:21.9; 49. Chris Olsen, Colony, 10:24.1; 50. Dylan Gumminger, Colony, 10:27.7.

Girls’ individual results (top-49): 1. Jenna Ford, Wasilla, 9:38.5; 2. Audrey Michaelson, Colony, 9:46.8; 3. Jaymi Bethea, Kodiak, 9:47.7; 4. Morgan Dampier, Wasilla, 9:48.3; 5. Mariah Borroughs, Wasilla, 9:53.4; 6. Sarah Ng, Kodiak, 10:11.1; 7. Mandi Rinngenberg, Wasilla, 10:15.0; 8. Jessica Pahkala, Wasilla, 10:17.6; 9. Katie Strong, Kodiak, 10:24.3; 10. Cori Schleich, Wasilla, 10:30.8; 11. Makenzie Thompson, Colony, 10:46.7; 12. Hana Bohman, Palmer, 10:51.9; 13. Morgan Lundt, Palmer, 10:54.6; 14. Gretchen Winter, Palmer, 10:57.4; 15. Allie Smith, Kodiak, 10:59.3; 16. Mandi Wright, Wasilla, 11:06.1; 17. Alice Strick, Wasilla, 11:09.2; 18. McKenzie Barnett, Kodiak, 11:14.0; 19. Haley Young, Wasilla, 11:20.5; 20. Kari Millstein, Kodiak, 11:31.2; 21. Sonia Cortez, Kodiak, 11:33.1; 22. Sam Haight, Kodiak, 11:44.3; 23. Jessie Marman, Wasilla, 11:44.8; 24. Deanna Cummings, Palmer, 11:50.0; 25. Hannah Smith, Palmer, 11:53.0; 26. Tiffany Boylond, Kodiak, 11:53.3; 27. Tracie Haan, Colony, 11:54.5; 28. Bailey Meier, Colony, 11:57.0; 29. Leah Harris, Kodiak, 12:15.5; 30. Mary Johns, Palmer, 12:16.3; 31. Anne Woodings, Palmer, 12:17.4; 32. Darby Salmon, Palmer, 12:22.6; 33. Jessica Emmerson, Kodiak, 12:38.1; 34. Meghan Riopelle, Colony, 12:43.2; 35. Hailee Warner, Kodiak, 12:48.4; 36. Isabel Castro, Kodiak, 12:49.2; 37. Madison Moir, Kodiak, 12:51.6; 38. Hope Spargo, Wasilla, 13:00.6; 39. Amanda Blott, Kodiak, 13:12.6; 40. Holly Valley, Kodiak, 13:24.9; 41. Marah Bjomn, Kodiak, 13:26.5; 42. Hannah Fish, Kodiak, 13:30.7; 43. Abby Jahn, Colony, 13:36.7; 44. Desiree Ferguson, Wasilla, 13:38.8; 45. Ashley Henning, Kodiak, 14:19.5; 46. Hannah Dunbar, Koidiak, 14:32.5; 47. Kendra McPhail, Colony, 15:23.6; 48. Krista Stricklan, Colony, 15:29.2; 49. Helen Michaelson, Colony, 15:29.6.