Warriors in a race for girls team title

PALMER — The Wasilla Warriors will be shooting for No. 2 to get No. 1.

With Kenai Central freshman phenom Allie Ostrander the odds-on favorite to run away with the girls’ Region III individual title, Wasilla head coach Gary Howell knows his team’s title hopes may ride on the Warriors’ ability to snag the No. 2 spot in the individual standings when runners hit the Michael Janecek Trails for the Region III Championships at Palmer High on Saturday.

Powered by Ostrander, the Kenai Kardinals have come out of nowhere and are suddenly a team to beat in Region III. Ostrander and teammate Bailey Beeson have spent virtually all of 2011 running at the front of the pack. But Howell knows his Warriors — the defending region and state champions — still have a great chance.

Howell has even done the math. Assuming Ostrander does finish first, Howell said if the Warriors can place runners at No. 2 and 3, Wasilla could be set to place another banner in the Wasilla High gymnasium.

“I laid it all out for them. I said if you guys run a 2 and a 3 and they get 1 and 4, it’s even,” Howell said.

Cross-country scoring would then give both teams five total points, and Howell said he feels the Warriors have much more depth with the remainder of his scoring runners.

While no coach wants to concede victory to another athlete, Howell said its key to set realistic goals.

“As a good coach, you want to be realistic about expectations,” Howell said.

The Warriors would like to place two runners ahead of Beeson. Likely candidates are sophomore Mariah Burroughs and freshman Peggy Mathis. Burroughs finished seventh at the Palmer Invitational, also staged at the Janecek Trails, two weeks ago. Mathis was 10th.

Howell said to beat Kenai and its low-scoring tandem of Ostrander and Beeson, he knows his top two runners have to place as closely as possible to the front.

“If we’re not within three points after our top two runners, we’re in trouble,” Howell said.

But if the Warriors can do that, Howell loves Wasilla’s chances, thanks to the team’s depth.

In addition to Burroughs, who finished third in regions as a freshman last year, and Mathis, the Warriors also have senior Jessica Pahkala, and juniors Jenna Ford and Mandi Ringgenberg.

Ringgenberg and Pahkala finished seventh and eighth, respectively, at regions last year. Ford was fifth in 2010 and the Region III champion as a freshman.

As crazy as it may sound, Howell said the Warriors could actually finish as the runner-up to Kenai during the region meet, but still win a second straight state championship. Howell said he does not want to put the cart before the horse, but knows it’s a possibility.

“We just want to focus on the region meet. We’re definitely gearing up and trying to win regionals without a doubt,” Howell said. “But it might be easier for us to win state than regions just because of our depth.”

Colony junior Audrey Michaelson could also help the Warriors’ cause Saturday, Howell said. Michaelson, the 2010 region runner-up, finished two seconds behind Beeson at the Palmer Invite.

Michaelson will lead the Knights as Colony hopes to secure one of the region’s four team berths to the state championships. The Knights will also look for strong finishes from sophomore Bailey Meier and junior Makenzie Thompson.

Sophomore Hana Bohman leads the Palmer Moose.

Palmer lost one of its top runners, junior Chris Osiensky to a season-ending injury, but coach John Bishop said he still thinks his Moose have a chance to threaten region power Kodiak’s bid for another title.

“We’d love to have Chris back, but we still think we might be alright going into regions,” Bishop said.

The Moose will boast a senior-laden lineup, led by Mason Minturn, who was fourth at the region meet last year. Minturn, who was sixth at the Palmer Invite, also posted top-4 finishes at Bartlett, Skyview and Colony this year. Last week, Minturn coasted to a win during the Mat-Su Borough Championships.

Seniors Schyler Knopp and Joe Day have also made progress this season, and have come on strong late in the year.

“Schyler has been doing awesome as the third man all year and Joe really stepped up there at boroughs,” Bishop said.

The Moose also have senior Andrew Liebing.

Kodiak is led by Cole Christiansen, the 2010 region runner-up.

Howell said he looks for his boys team to earn one of the region’s four team berths to the state championships.

“First and foremost, we want to make it to state,” Howell said. “The boys are realistically shooting for third.”

Howell said Wasilla also would like to place three runners in the top 15, but knows that might be a little more difficult.

Senior Josh Pahkala finished a team-best fifth at regions last year. Noah Ripley was eighth. The Warriors also have Brendon Lee.

Senior Abe Meyerhofer will lead the Colony boys into the region meet.

Saturday’s Region III Championships will be split into 1-2-3A and 4A races. The 4A boys race — which includes Colony, Palmer and Wasilla — is slated for 11:45 a.m., and the girls race is scheduled for 12:45 p.m.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him at twitter.com/matsu_sports.