Young runners push Moose

PALMER — Palmer senior Wylie Mangelsdorf sprinted his way to an individual win during the Mat-Su Borough Championships at Houston High School on Tuesday, but it was the efforts of a few of Mangelsdorf’s younger teammates who helped seal the Borough boys’ team title for the Moose.

Sophomore Mason Minturn finished third and freshman Wyatt Peltier placed fifth to help Palmer finish with 29 total points.

And sophomore Joe Day’s 15th-place finish broke a tie in the team standings to give the Moose the Borough crown.

“He had a very good run. I was really impressed,” Palmer coach Darin Markwardt said of Day, whose finish proved to settle the tie between Palmer and Wasilla in the team standings.

Wasilla also finished with 29 total points in the boys race, but Palmer’s sixth-place runner, Day, finished three spots ahead of Wasilla’s sixth runner, the deciding factor to settle ties in cross country running.

Markwardt said he was very pleased with the run of Minturn, who has consistently been one of the top three boys in the Valley this season. And Markwardt said Peltier used a late burst to vault his way into the top-five.

“Wyatt ran the race of his life,” Markwardt said. “He was around 10th place with about 800 meters left. He just gave an incredible effort and started passing people. He’s really the guy who got us at least a tie.”

Overall, in addition to the standout senior the Moose have in Mangelsdorf, Palmer is thrilled with the progression of its underclassmen, Markwardt said.

“The sophomores and freshmen are fantastic,” Markwardt said. “They have the potential to be among the top runners in the state.”

Peirs LeFrance finished ninth and Brice Munoz was 17th for the Moose.

“Brice really stepped up,” Markwardt said.

Seniors Drew Ford and Alden Lee posted second- and fourth-place finishes, respectively, to help the Warriors also finish with 29 points. Keith Thompson (sixth), Noah Ripley (seventh) and Jaron Christensen (10th) also finished in the top-10.

Wasilla head coach Gary Howell said the Warriors were without one of their top runners, sophomore Michael Johnston, but he was happy his team ran with the Moose.

“Palmer has beat us in every meet so far this year,” Howell said. “To tie them is really good.”

Senior Dylan Crawford led the third-place Colony Knights with an eighth-place finish.

Both Wasilla and Colony placed five runners in the top-10 of the girls race, but the Warriors won the girls’ Borough team title with 25 total points.

Freshman Jenna Ford finished first for Wasilla, and captured her fifth individual victory of the 2009 season.

Mandi Ringenberg, a fellow ninth-grader, was third.

Howell said he was impressed with Ringenberg’s ability to test Colony’s top runner, sophomore Alyssa Hutchins, during the race.

“I wanted to see how close she could stay to Alyssa,” Howell said. “(Mandi) shouldered up on her for 2 of the 2.25 miles.”

Hutchins finished second to lead the Knights.

Brooke Nelson (sixth), Keri Clump (seventh) and Cori Schleich (eighth) also finished in the top-10 for Wasilla. Sydney Stewart (fourth), Abby Jahn (fifth), Caitlin Skvorc (ninth) and Tessa Laughlin (10th) were in the top-10 for Colony.

On Saturday, Wasilla will host an invitational at Crevasse Moraine, a system of trails located off Loma Prieta Drive outside of Palmer. The event, which includes varsity and open races for both boys and girls, will be sort of a preview of the upcoming Region III Cross Country Championships, which are also hosted by Wasilla at Crevasse Moraine.

“It’ll give us a good look at the course and an opportunity to race,” Howell said.

Palmer, Wasilla, Grace Christian and Anchorage Christian are among the complete teams slated to compete in the event. A handful of athletes from Kenai Peninsula schools are also expected to attend, Howell said.

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

Mat-Su Borough Championships

Tuesday, Houston High School

Boys team scores:

1. Palmer 29, 2. Wasilla 29, 3. Colony 93, 4. Houston 103.

Boys individual results (top-10):

1. Wylie Mangelsdorf, Pal; 2. Drew Ford, Was; 3. Mason Minturn, Pal; 4. Alden Lee, Was; 5. Wyatt Peltier, Pal; 6. Keith Thompson, Was; 7. Noah Ripley, Was; 8. Dylan Crawford, Col; 9. Piers LaFrance, Pal; 10. Jaron Christensen, Was.

Girls team scores:

1. Wasilla 25, 2. Colony 30, 3. Palmer 122, 4. Houston 222.

Girls individual results (top-10):

1. Jenna Ford, Was; 2. Alyssa Hutchins, Col; 3. Mandi Ringenberg, Was; 4. Sydney Stewart, Col; 5. Abby Jahn, Col; 6. Brooke Nelson, Was; 7. Keri Clump, Was; 8. Cori Schleich, Was; 9. Caitlin Skvorc, Col; 10. Tessa Laughlin, Col.

** Editor’s note: Official times were unavailable as of press time.