Wasilla runners end drought

JEREMIAH BARTZ/ Frontiersman sports editor

HOMER - Last Friday the Wasilla Warriors did something they had not done in 22 years - win a cross-country meet.

The Warriors boys' squad finished with 42 total points, and won the Homer Invitational. The Wasilla girls' squad placed second with 56 points.

The last team title for the Wasilla cross-country squad came in 1983.

The Warrior cross-country running program has struggled with numbers the last several years. They've struggled with the number of runners they could place in events. They've even struggled with the number of runners they could place on the roster. Wasilla had just 18 total runners on its squad as recent as two years ago. But now there are 40 student-athletes on the Warrior roster. And notable finishes like this are huge for a young Warrior running team, head coach Kristila Gardner said.

"I can't even imagine what this is going to do for their confidence," Gardner said. "Their confidence level is up. This is fun for them, and they're good at it."

Wasilla is young, but the Warriors are also showing depth. The boys squad placed a trio of runners in the top six, and four in the top 10. Jimmy Sliwa was the top Warrior, finishing third with a time of 16 minutes and 30 seconds. John Pahkla was fifth at 16:42 and Steven Watcher placed sixth at 16:46.

Jessica Gross finished eighth to lead the Warrior girls.

Elle Fuller (14th), Ema Olson (15th) and Holly Peterson (19th) finished in the top 20.

Palmer sophomore Jake Parisien won the boys' race, and led the Moose to a fourth-place finish in the standings. Parisien's time of 16:05 was 22 seconds faster than second-place Patrick Lybrand, of Soldotna High School.

Kate Fitzgerald scored a third-place finish to lead the Moose girls to the third-spot in the team standings.