Wasilla girls aim for three-peat

PALMER — The Wasilla Warriors will shoot for their third straight Region III girls track and field team title this weekend. The Warriors certainly have the arsenal to knock down the three-peat, but they also know there’s more at state than simply winning the region meet.

“More than even winning the championship, it’s getting the team through we need to have to get the state title,” Wasilla head coach Gary Howell said on Thursday. “I’m not saying we’re looking past the region meet, we just need to try to get as many athletes through.”

Last season, Wasilla won the 4A girls title with a group of 12 athletes. Howell would love to be able to put a few more Warriors on the bus for the ride to the state championships.

That’ll depend on what happens at the region meet, which starts today at 9:30 a.m. at Palmer High School and continues Saturday.

Wasilla athletes could spend plenty of time on the podium this weekend. Warriors are currently ranked first in more than half of the individual events, and in the top four in all but four individual events.

Wasilla also boasts the top 1,600- and 3,200-meter relay teams.

Senior Morgan Dampier alone owns the Region III season best in a half-dozen events. The three-time state champion is ranked first in Region III in the 100, 200, 400, 800, 1,600 and 300 hurdles.

She’s also part of Wasilla’s 3,200-meter relay team that is ranked first.

Of course, Dampier can only compete in four different events during the championships.

Wasilla freshman Peggy Mathis is currently ranked second to Dampier in the 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1,600.

Wasilla junior Jenna Ford currently holds the top Region III time in the 3,200, an event that also includes Colony’s Audrey Michaelson, the defending state champion in the 3,200.

The 3,200 final is set for today at 2 p.m.

Palmer will bring a pair of the top girls’ relay teams to the Region III meet. The Moose are ranked first in the 400 and 800-meter relays.

Palmer senior Rachael Huffman will also be in the hunt for titles in both throwing events. Huffman is ranked second in the region in the shot put and discus. Palmer junior Taylor Blake is third in the discus.

Palmer, the runner-up in the boys team standings last year, also has a group of athletes running for titles.

Palmer currently has the top two athletes in the state in the 800. Joe Day and Mason Minturn are the only two runners in the state to break the 2-minute mark in the event this season.

Day is also part of a pair of relay teams (1,600 and 3,200) that are ranked first in Region III. Minturn also leads the region in the 3,200.

Wasilla senior Devon Teeling, the defending state champion in the shot put, is also the reigning region champ in both the discus and the shot. He has the region’s best marks in both events this season.

Houston senior Colton Buzby is among the top sprinters in the region. Buzby is currently first in the 100 and 400.

Kodiak, Kenai, Skyview, Soldotna and Homer will join Colony, Houston, Wasilla and host Palmer for the championships. Today’s field events (the boys shot put, girls discus, high jump and long jump) start today at 11 a.m. The boys and girls 3,200 finals are at 2 p.m. and the preliminary running rounds begin at 2:30 p.m.

Saturday’s field events (girls shot put, boys discus and boys and girls triple jump) starts at 9:30 a.m. The finals for the running events begin at noon.

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