UAA lands Colony track and field standout

PALMER — As Brandon Nicholson prepared to make the leap to the next level, the Colony High School track and field standout had at least two possible places to land.

Both were in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

UAA and Concordia University in Portland, Oregon.

In the end, to Nicholson, home is where his heart is.

Last week, Nicholson signed his National Letter of Intent to attend UAA and compete for the Division II Seawolves track and field program.

“I went and visited Concordia, but I chose UAA. Location had a big deal to do with it,” Nicholson said. “I’m still in love with Alaska.”

Nicholson, the two-time 4A boys’ defending state champion in the triple jump, said former Colony standout Chase Stephens, a freshman on the Concordia track team, recommended him to the Concordia coaching staff.

“It felt really good,” Nicholson said of the recommendation. “It was nice for her to do that for me.”

Nicholson said other schools were considered, but UAA and Concordia were clearly the top two choices. Ultimately, Nicholson said, UAA had what he was looking for.

There’s location. UAA is close to home.

UAA fits his academic goals. Nicholson said he hopes to study nursing in the future.

And there’s the opportunity to compete for a nationally competitive Division II track and field team.

Nicholson has been a standout in the triple jump, high jump and long jump during his time with the Knights.

In addition to his two state titles in the triple jump, Nicholson has also won three Northern Lights Conference championships in the event. Last spring during the ASAA state meet, Nicholson hit a mark of 46 feet, 2 inches, which broke a 23-year-old state record. Joel Mahaffey, of Soldotna, set the prior mark of 45-10.75 in 1993.

“I was super excited to break that last year,” Nicholson said.

But Nicholson — who calls the triple jump his favorite event — wants to continue to get do better. He’d like to hit 47 feet this year.

“I want to do better than what I’ve already done,” Nicholson said.

Nicholson, who finished second in regions and fourth in state in the long jump last year, also wants to hit 22 feet in the long jump. Nicholson is also a three-time defending region champion in the high jump. His personal best in the high jump is 6-4, a mark obtained his sophomore year.

Nicholson said he’s participated in track and field since elementary school. He also starting playing basketball at a young age, but had to make a tough decision as a senior.

“I quit basketball this year to train for a few months before the track season started,” Nicholson said. “It was a really tough decision. I took me a while to decide what I wanted to do. I chose to quit basketball, but it worked out.”

Nicholson is one of a pair of Colony athletes to commit to UAA athletics last week. Colony senior Tracen Knopp inked his letter of intent to join the UAA Nordic ski squad. For more on Knopp, see an upcoming edition of the Frontiersman.

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