YOUTH MOVEMENT: Prep running teams young throughout the Valley

PALMER — Much like most of the teams across the Valley, the Palmer girls are young this season. But Moose cross-country running head coach John Bishop is thrilled with their potential.

Bishop said his top 5 runners, when everyone is healthy, will all be underclassmen. But Bishop believes his girls’ squad will contend for one of the region’s three automatic berths to the state tournament.

“It’s pretty amazing. I’ve never seen it in my 10 years of coaching,” Bishop said recently. “The potential of this team I haven’t seen at Palmer High before.”

Palmer welcomed back a terrific sophomore class that includes Sophia Nowers, Nina Kalytiak, Lydia Ortiz and Zoe Copp.

Nowers finished 12th in the Region III Championships as a freshman, and Kalytiak and Ortiz followed, placing 17th and 19th at the region meet last year. Ortiz and Kalytiak opened the season finishing third and fifth at the Colony Invite, and Copp was 13th.

Palmer also added a new freshman, Sophie Wright, who earned a victory in the Colony Invite, her high school debut.

“She was a complete surprise,” Bishop said. “It’s a blessing for us. We’re really happy to get her here.”

Overall, Bishop said he’s excited about the potential.

“We’re really excited about what this year could bring,” Bishop said.

Palmer finished third in the Region III girls’ standings last year, and advanced to state.

Senior Lev Robertson leads the way for the Moose on the boys’ side, Bishop said. Bishop also noted Amiqaq MacLean and Connor Owens.

“We’ve got a good, three or four strong guys up front,” Bishop said.

Colony Knights

Both the Colony boys and girls squads advanced to state last season with runner-up finishes in the Region III Championships. But the Knights have some holes to fill this season.

“We’re kind of in a rebuild on both sides,” Colony co-head coach Norm Rousey said earlier this week.

The Knights are not at full strength, and are working to fill the void left by graduation. But Rousey sees the potential. He was pleased with what he saw during the Tsalteshi Invitational last week in Soldotna.

“We’re optimistic for sure, especially with some of the performances I’ve seen. We just need to fire on all cylinders on the right day,” Rousey said.

Senior Jill Bowker is Colony’s top returner on either side. Bowker finished third in the region meet last year.

“She’s our senior leader,” Rousey said.

On the boys’ side, the Knights have sophomore Gavin Block, who finished fifth in regions last year. Block led all Valley runners with a seventh-place finish in the Tsalteshi.

“I was really impressed with Gavin,” Rousey said.

Block broke the 17-minute barrier for just the second time in his career, and set a personal record with a time of 16 minutes, 42 seconds during the race in Soldotna. Rousey said freshman Lane Meier also impressed on the boys side, cracking the top 20 with a time of 17:05 and a 19th-place finish.

Wasilla Warriors

For the past few seasons, Wasilla head coach Leslie Varys said she’s had the same feeling heading into the prep cross-country season. And it didn’t change this year.

“I’m really excited about our boys,” Varys said.

The Wasilla boys return the top runner, sophomore Hunter Hayes, from a squad that finished third in regions and advanced to state last year. Hayes, also a wrestler at WHS, led the Warriors with a fourth-place finish at the region meet last year.

“Hunter is coming off a very successful summer wrestling season. He has his overall fitness and strength, but it’s just about switching him over into pure running mode,” Varys said.

Varys is also excited about senior Taft Steiner.

“He’s been fighting for that (varsity) spot and is doing amazing this year,” Varys said.

The Warriors also have sophomore Hudson Horwath. Varys said Horwath put in a lot of miles over the summer and has been gunning for a varsity spot.

The Warriors have about 35 runners in the program, but only five on the girls’ side, Varys said.

“We’re really struggling to build up that girls team,” Varys said.

Varys said Carissa Vasquez and Brynn Steiner are among the small group on the squad.

*** Editor’s note: See a future edition of the Frontiersman for more on the Valley’s Division II cross-country running teams, Houston and Redington.