Warrior girls aim for 4-peat

WASILLA — With one four-peat in the bag, the Wasilla Warriors have their eyes on the next.

Wasilla, which captured its fourth straight Region III girls’ championship last week in Seward, will run for its fourth straight 4A girls title when the ASAA/First National Bank State Cross-Country Running Championships get underway Saturday at Bartlett High School in Anchorage.

After the region meet last Saturday, senior Mariah Burroughs, who celebrated her fourth region title of her four-year varsity career, was already excited about her team’s chance to compete for the state four-peat.

“It’s so amazing. I’m looking forward to seeing how we do,” Burroughs said by cellphone from Seward last Saturday. “I’m scared, nervous, excited; ready to jump right in it.”

A team title for the Warriors Saturday would be historic. Only one other program, West Valley (1985-1988), has captured four straight 4A girls titles since ASAA created multiple classifications in 1985.

Three-time defending state champion Wasilla, Cook Inlet Conference champion West Anchorage, Mid-Alaska Conference champion Lathrop and Region III runner-up Soldotna are all expected to be in the top tier of the team standings.

Wasilla placed four runners in the top 9 and all five scoring athletes in the top 18 of the region meet last week. Freshman Alex Mathis ran to a runner-up finish. Burroughs (fourth), junior Peggy Mathis (fifth), junior Riley Burroughs (ninth) and sophomore Danika Ingersoll (18th) also finished in the top 18.

The road to the fourth straight Region III title wasn’t easy for the Warriors. Wasilla graduated three scoring runners (Jenna Ford, Mandi Ringgenberg and Alysha Devine) from the 2012 title-winning team. Wasilla’s two top veterans (Mariah Burroughs and Peggy Mathis) also missed significant time due to injury during the 2013 season.

“For Mariah and Peggy to come back so strong was really nice,” Wasilla head coach Leslie Varys said after the region meet last week.

Varys said as Burroughs and Mathis continue to get faster and stronger following the midseason injuries, their work will continue to help Wasilla in the team standings.

The state meet begins with the boys’ 123A race at noon and follows with the boys’ 4A reace at 12:45 p.m. The girls’ 123A race is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. and the girls’ 4A race caps the championships at 2:15 p.m.

Colony qualified both the boys and girls teams for the championships. For more on the Knights, see the Oct. 1 edition of the Frontiersman or frontiersman.com/sports.

A young runner will lead the Palmer Moose into the state meet. Freshman Ruby Woodings, who placed sixth in the Region III girls' race, is one of three Moose running Saturday. Samantha Contreras and Hayden Foster also qualified for PHS.