The Soldotna cross-country team got its season started at the Colony Invitational on Saturday, with the girls finishing second and the boys finishing third.
Division II powerhouse Grace Christian swept the girls and boys titles. On the girls side, the Grizzlies scored 29 points while Soldotna was next with 53, Colony was third with 69 and Wasilla was fourth with 76.
On the boys side, Grace Christian won with 42 points while Wasilla had 46, Soldotna had 57 and Colony had 78. Last season, the Warriors broke Kodiak’s string of 15 straight Region 3 titles at the Division I level, while the Stars were second at regions just two points behind the Warriors.
Wasilla’s Allison VanPelt won the girls race handily in 19 minutes, 35 seconds, with Grace’s Mazzy Jackson taking second at 20:25.
Tanis Lorring paced Soldotna in fourth at 21:47, while Erika Arthur was ninth at 22:34, Ellie Burns was 10th at 22:42, Cameron Blackwell was 13th at 23:08, Victoria Denison was 17th at 23:52 and Haley Buckbee was 22nd at 26:13.
Grace Christian’s Gabe Martin nabbed the boys victory in 17 minutes, 9 seconds, with Colony’s Gavin Block next at 17:27.
Bradley Walters led the Stars by finishing fourth at 17:37. Also for Soldotna, Lance Chilton was seventh at 18:33, Jack Harris was 10th at 18:46, Zachary Burns was 18th at 19:06, Anchor Musgrave was 22nd at 19:43, Nathanael Johnson was 24th at 20:02 and Quinn Cox was 27th at 22:07.
Homer, Kodiak split dual meet
The Homer and Kodiak cross-country teams split a dual meet Saturday at Fort Abercrombie in Kodiak.
The Mariners had spent the week in Kodiak doing things like trail running, trail building, mountain climbing and running intervals. They ended it with the first meet in 20 years without former head coach Marcus Dunbar, who retired. Ashley Mortenson, who assisted Dunbar that past five years, is the new head coach.
Kodiak won the boys meet 15-0, because Homer did not have enough runners to field a team. Paul Winegeart of Kodiak won the race in 18:04. Homer’s Clayton Beachy led his team by finishing third at 19:46, though Beachy was officially an unattached runner because he did not have enough practices to compete.
Homer won the girls dual meet 17-41. The Mariners took the top three slots in the girls race, with Brooke Miller winning at 21:42, Katia Holmes taking second at 22:21 and Fiona Patton taking third at 22:34.
Boys
Kodiak 15, Homer 0
1. Paul Winegeart, Kod, 18:04; 2. Riley Birbilas, Kod, 19:33; 3. Rafael Bitanga, Kod, 19:37; 4. Clayton Beachy, una, 19:46; 5. Corbin Mattingly, Hom, 20:00; 6. Youji Seto, Kod, 20:11; 7. Colt Hubert, Kod, 20:15; 8. Keith Bruce, Kod, 20:25; 9. Jared Bolton, Kod, 20:40; 10. Braxton Gruner, una, 21:38; 11. Josh Nummer, Kod, 21:47; 12. Jackson Roberts, Kod, 21:53; 13. Julian Costello, Kod, 21:55; 14. Tristan Klier, Kod, 22:11; 15. Matthew Wald, 23:06; 16. Jeremiah Stewart, Kod, 23:21; 17. Sam Godsey, Kod, 23:59; 18. Josiah Overbeek, Kod, 24:03; 19. Joshua Alonzo, Kod, 24:12; 20. Hunter Patton, Hom, 26:20; 21. Caleb Griffin, Kod, 28:29; 22. Solomon Himelbloom, Kod, 29:58.
Girls
Homer 17, Kodiak 41
1. Brooke Miller, Hom, 21:42; 2. Katia Holmes, Hom, 22:21; 3. Fiona Patton, Hom, 22:34; 4. Malina Fagan, Kod, 22:48; 5. Sienna Carey, Hom, 23:53; 6. Kaylin Anderson, Hom, 24:14; 7. Francie Eufemio, Kod, 24:30; 8. Shine Carey, Hom, 25:25; 9. Emma Christiansen, Kod, 25:48; 10. Mariah McGuire, una, 25:50; 11. Naomi Griffin, Kod, 25:54; 12. Hannah Villaroya, Kod, 26:44; 13. Haylee Overson, Hom, 27:15; 14. Katie Parnell, una, 27:15; 15. Esther Overbeek, Kod, 37:50; 16. Harmony Davidson, una, 39:18.
