Valley runners ready to compete in state meet

WASILLA — For the second straight year, the Valley will feature four teams and a region champion during the state cross-country meet.

Wasilla sophomore Hunter Hayes leads a cast of Valley athletes set to compete in the ASAA/First National Bank State Cross-Country Championships, slated for Saturday afternoon at Bartlett High School.

Last week, Hayes used a time of 17 minutes, 52 seconds in the Region III Division I boys’ race to earn his first conference title. Hayes became the first Wasilla runner to earn a boys region title since former star Chris Gilbert did it in 1988. Hayes also led Wasilla to its first team title since 1985.

“I’m excited. I think this is not only a confidence boost, but his fitness continues to improve,” Wasilla head coach Leslie Varys said of Hayes and his region title. “I’m excited to see how he’s going to run against the other regions at state as well.”

With the region title, the Wasilla boys are among four Valley teams that earned automatic bids to the state meet. The Warriors edged Region III rival Soldotna by just two points to earn the program’s first championship in 32 years. The Palmer girls, and Colony boys and girls also used top-3 finishes in the Region III team standings to earn a spot in the state meet’s field.

Palmer finished as the region runner-up in the Division I girls standings. Kenai Central placed four runners in the top 5, and won the girls title with 21 points. Palmer was second with 57. Sophia Nowers was the first of four Moose to place in the top 10, posting a sixth-place finish.

Senior Jill Bowker led Colony to a third-place finish in the team standings. Bowker led all Valley runners in the Division I girls race, placing fourth.

“I just want to run my hardest, hold nothing back,” Bowker said of competing at state, the final meet of her career.

The Colony boys also qualified with a third-place finishing the region’s Division I boys standings. Gavin Block led Colony with a fourth-place finish at regions.

The ASAA state meet begins Saturday at noon with the Division II boys race. The Division I boys race follows at 12:45 p.m. The Division II and Division I girls races follow at 1:30 p.m. and 2:15 p.m.

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