Wasilla junior rips field

SEWARD — Wasilla head coach Gary Howell watched Noah Ripley throughout the summer as the incoming junior logged mile after mile. Howell has run with him during practice, seeing Ripley’s rapid improvement first-hand.

Howell knew Ripley was on the verge of doing something special on the cross country trail. And on Friday, Ripley broke free.

Ripley posted a time of 16 minutes and 47 seconds to win the Seward Invitational in Seward. Not only did Ripley finish as the top runner in the field, but he broke his personal record by an impressive 45 seconds.

“He ran unchained,” Howell said after his team returned to the Valley. “His fastest overall was 45 seconds slower than (that time). He came out swinging. It’s definitely exciting.”

Howell said Ripley ran his splits nearly perfectly, and actually posted a faster time on the second half of the race.

“I always like to see that,” Howell said.

Ripley also recorded the fastest time of any athlete Howell has coached during his five years as the Warrior running mentor. The list of Howell’s former athletes includes Jimmy Sliwa, who finished in the top 10 of the state championships before hitting the college running circuit.

“(Noah) has the potential to be a big hitter in the state,” Howell said.

Howell said he’s not necessarily surprised by Ripley’s recent success.

“I knew he had the potential, just from his training,” Howell said of Ripley, who also finished second in the Colony Twilight last Tuesday. “He put in a ton of miles over the summer. He’s just definitely a student of the sport.”

Ripley also helped the Warriors sweep the team titles at the Invite. The Wasilla boys’ team title was their first since a win in the Homer Invitational in 2005.

Simon Fischer and Josh Pahkala also posted top-five finishes for the Warriors, placing third and fifth respectively. Keith Thompson was seventh and Michael Johnston finished eighth.

Sophomore Jenna Ford cruised to her second win of the season, using a time of 19:09 to post the victory. Junior Morgan Dampier (fifth), sophomore Mandi Rinngenberg (seventh) and freshman Mariah Burroughs (ninth) also finished in the top-10.

Howell said a surprise in the race was Kenai Central’s Bailey Beeson, a first-year cross country runner, who placed second behind Ford.

Sophomore Audrey Michaelson, who was second in the Colony Twilight, finished fourth for the Colony girls. Tanner Enloe led the Colony boys with a sixth-place finish.

Wasilla and Colony are among five Mat-Su Valley schools slated to hit the Kenai Peninsula next weekend to compete in the Skyview Invitational Saturday in Soldotna.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Seward Invitational

Friday, at Seward

Girls’ team results:

1. Wasilla 33; 2. Kenai 72; 3. Seward 94; 4. Colony 104.

Girls’ individual results:

1. Jenna Ford, Was 19:09; 2. Bailey Beeson, Ken 19:43; 3. Bree Mucha, Sol 19:51; 4. Audrey Michaelson, Col 19:54; 5. Morgan Dampier, Was 20:09; 6. Melanie Smith, Col 20:26; 7. Mandi Rinngenberg, Was 20:27; 8. Taylor Ostrander, Ken 20:35; 9. Mariah Burroughs, Was 20:40; 10. Meranda Merkes, Sol 21:15.

Boys’ team results:

1. Wasilla 24; 2. Seward 65; 3. Kenai 87; 4. Colony 100.

Boys’ individual results:

1. Noah Ripley, Was 16:47; 2. Austin Gillespie, Sew 17:12; 3. Simon Fischer, Was 17:28; 4. Miles Kmotek, Sew 17:32; 5. Josh Pahkala, Was 17:36; 6. Tanner Enloe, Col 17:39; 7. Keith Thompson, Was 17:45; 8. Michael Johnston, Was 17:47; 9. Sebastian Strickland, Nik 17:50; 10. Brett Chase, Sew 17:59.