Kenai Central’s Tyler Hippchen and Jayna Boonstra got off to a great start Saturday at the Kenai Peninsula Borough Meet outside of Homer at Lookout Mountain Recreation Area.
Homer athletic director Chris Perk said in an email after the event that the plan is to have a two-day borough meet. The first day was Saturday’s 5-kilometer freestyle in Homer. Next weekend, the plan is for a classic race at Tsalteshi Trails just outside of Soldotna.
Hippchen skied the course at Lookout in 16 minutes, 6 seconds, to assure he will go to Tsalteshi with the lead. Kenai’s Jack Laker was second at 16:20, while Soldotna’s Quinn Cox was third at 16:32.
The Kenai boys also head into the weekend with the lead over Soldotna. The Kards have a team time of 1:08:01 while Soldotna has a team time of 1:11:40.
Boonstra will have an even bigger lead headed to the weekend. She finished the race at 18:00, while Soldotna’s Erika Arthur was at 19:12 and SoHi’s Katie Delker was at 19:27.
The Stars lead the battle for the team crown. SoHi has a time of 1:20:41, while Kenai is at 1:23:14 and Homer is at 1:27:56.
The Kenai boys also had Gregory Fallon (fourth) and Ben Boersma (seventh) in the top 10. For Soldotna, Foster Boze (fifth), Dylan Hogue (eighth) and Carter Cannava (ninth) also made the top 10.
Cody Bryden paced Seward by finishing sixth, while Seamus McDonough was 10th to pace Homer.
Jordan Ruffner (fourth) and Jordan Strausbaugh (eighth) also made the top 10 for the Soldotna girls, while Summer Foster (seventh), Emily Moss (ninth) and Leah Fallon (10th) made the top 10 for the Kards.
Ireland Styvar led Homer in fifth, while Zoe Stonorov was right behind in sixth.
Kenai Peninsula Borough Ski Meet
Day 1
Saturday
at Lookout Mountain Recreation Area
BOYS
Team scores: 1. Kenai, 1:08:01; 2. Soldotna, 1:11:14.
5K freestyle results — 1. Tyler Hippchen, Ken, 16:06; 2. Jack Laker, Kenai, 16:20; 3. Quinn Cox, Sol, 16:32; 4. Gregory Fallon, Ken, 17:08; 5. Foster Boze, Sol, 17:24; 6. Cody Bryden, Sew, 18:21; 7. Ben Boersma, Ken, 18:27; 8. Dylan Hogue, Sol, 18:28; 9. Carter Cannava, Sol, 18:48; 10. Seamus McDonough, Hom 19:14; 11. Trenton Boots, Sol, 19:20; 12. Andrew Cox, Sol, 19:36; 13. Aloshia Cross, Sew, 19:58; 14. Nathan Haakenson, Ken, 20:00; 15. Nathan Pitka, Sol, 21:17; 16. Zane Pellegrom, Ken, 22:09; 17. Trevor Guernsey, Sew, 22:34; 18. Matthew Grzybowski, Ken, 23:13.
GIRLS
Team scores: 1. Soldotna, 1:20:41; 2. Kenai, 1:23:14; 3. Homer, 1:27:56.
5K freestyle results — 1. Jayna Boonstra, Ken, 18:00; 2. Erika Arthur, Sol, 19:12; 3. Katie Delker, Sol, 19:27; 4. Jordan Ruffner, Sol, 20:25; 5. Ireland Styvar, Hom, 20:35; 6. Zoe Stonorov, Hom, 21:23; 7. Summer Foster, Ken, 21:32; 8. Jordan Strausbaugh, Sol, 21:35; 9. Emily Moss, Ken, 21:35; 10. Leah Fallon, Ken, 22:08; 11. Eryn Field, Hom, 22:47; 12. Gabriella Tews, Ken, 23:08; 13. Frida Renner, Hom, 23:08; 14. Sonora Martin, Sol, 23:53; 15. Kara Super, Hom, 26:10; 16. Emmy Reese, Sol, 26:29; 17. Elena Badajos, Hom, 27:04.
