The Homer girls and Soldotna boys got off to a promising start at the state Nordic ski meet Thursday at Kincaid Park in Anchorage.
The Mariners girls and Kenai Central girls are locked in a tight battle for the Division II team crown.
Homer put together a team time of 1 hour, 11 minutes and 19 seconds, in the 5-kilometer freestyle, while Kenai lurked at 1:11:28. The Mariners are 10th overall, while the Kards are 12th.
Skiers from the two schools also are battling it out for the top individual at the Division II level.
Homer senior Autumn Daigle had the top time at Division II in the 5K, stopping the clock at 16:11 for 20th overall. Kenai freshman Jayna Boonstra was right behind, though, finishing at 16:24 for 23rd overall.
Also for the Mariners, Zoe Stonorov was 40th in 17:21, Brita Restad was 65th in 18:34 and Aiyana Cline was 73rd at 19:12.
For the Kardinals, Leah Fallon was 53rd at 18:07, Julia Anderson was 59th at 18:20 and Summer Foster was 66th at 18:35.
The Soldotna boys also got off to strong start, led by senior Bradley Walters.
Soldotna is sixth in the boys team race, notable because the Stars did not win the Region III meet but are ahead of every Region III team at state. The trick will be holding off Palmer. Soldotna had a team time of 1:18:48 after the 7.5-kilometer freestyle races, while Palmer was right behind at 1:19:08.
Walters said going into the meet his goal was top 20 in both individual races. He started out right by taking 15th with a time of 18:43. Also for the Stars, Quinn Cox was 31st in 19:49, Jack Harris was 34th in 19:54 and Foster Boze was 45th in 20:20.
The Soldotna girls were in ninth after the first day with a time of 1:09:06, good for best on the peninsula. The Stars also are not that far off of the top Region III team — Palmer at 1:08:45.
Soldotna did it with a cluster of skiers crossing the line — Erika Arthur in 31st at 17:00, Jordan Ruffner in 32nd at 17:01; Katie Delker in 33rd at 17:03 and Cameron Blackwell in 50th at 18:01.
The Kenai boys will have some work to do if they want to catch Division II juggernaut Grace Christian. Grace has a team time of 1:20:50, while the Kards are at 1:25:59.
Cole Fritzel leads the Division II pack with his time of 19:18, while Kenai’s top skier, Tyler Hippchen, finished 40th in 20:11. Also for the Kards, Joshua Foster was 62nd in 21:31, Nathan Haakenson was 66th at 21:48 and Sorin Sorensen was 75th at 22:28.
The Homer boys were led by Garrett Briscoe in 88th at 24:09. For Seward, Lucy Hankins was the top girl at 19:43 for 76th, while Cody Bryden was the top boy in 74th at 22:28.
The meet continues today at Kincaid with a boys 10-kilometer mass start race in the classic technique, followed by a girls 7.5-kilometer event.
Saturday, the meet wraps with the mixed technique relays — going classic-classic-freestyle-freestyle. The girls do 4-by-3K at 11 a.m., while the boys do 4-by-5K at 1 p.m.
State Nordic ski meet
Thursday at Kincaid Park, Anchorage
GIRLS
Team scores: 1. Service, 59 minutes, 32 seconds; 2. West Valley, 1:00:07; 3. West, 1:01:22; 4. Chugiak, 1:05:31; 5. Dimond, 1:06:20; 6. Eagle River, 1:06:47; 7. South, 1:07:17; 8. Palmer, 1:08:45; 9. Soldotna, 1:09:06; 10. Homer, 1:11:19; 11. Colony, 1:11:24; 12. Kenai, 1:11:28; 13. Grace, 1:13:19; 14. Lathrop, 1:20:28; 15. Bartlett, 1:28:31.
Individual 5-kilometer freestyle finishers
1. Kendall Kramer, WV, 13:50; 2. Maggie Druckenmiller, WV, 14:27; 3. Adrianna Proffitt, Chu, 14:29; 4. Ivy Eski, Wes, 14:32; 5. Tatum Witter, Ser, 14:36; 6. Garvee Tobin, Ser, 14:54; 7. Marit Flora, Ser, 14:56; 8. Meredith Schwartz, Ser, 15:05; 9. Sammy Legate, Wes, 15:20; 10. Abigail Haas, Lat, 15:30.
Peninsula finishers
20. Autumn Daigle, Hom, 16:11; 23. Jayna Boonstra, Ken, 16:24; 31. Erika Arthur, Sol, 17:00; 32. Jordan Ruffner, Sol, 17:01; 33. Katie Delker, 17:03; 40. Zoe Stonorov, Hom, 17:21; 50. Cameron Blackwell, Sol, 18:01; 53. Leah Fallon, Ken, 18:07; 59. Julia Anderson, Ken, 18:20; 65. Brita Restad, Hom, 18:34; 66. Summer Foster, Ken, 18:35; 70. Gabriella Tews, Ken, 18:59; 73. Aiyana Cline, Hom, 19:12; 74. Jordan Strausbaugh, Sol, 19:22; 76. Lucy Hankins, Sew, 19:43; 78. Carson Dement, Sol, 19:45; 82. Anya Danielson, Ken, 20:03; 83. Kara Super, Hom, 20:36; 86. Eryn Field, Hom, 21:24.
BOYS
Team scores: 1. Service, 1:11:59; 2. West Valley, 1:12:20; 3. West, 1:14:22; 4. Chugiak, 1:14:42; 5. Dimond, 1:16:16; 6. Soldotna, 1:18:48; 7. Palmer, 1:19:08; 8. Lathrop, 1:19:47; 9. South, 1:20:15; 10. Colony, 1:20:22; 11. Grace, 1:20:50; 12. East, 1:23:56; 13. Kenai, 1:25:59; 14. Eagle River, 1:29:27.
Individual 7.5-kilometer results
1. Alexander Maurer, Ser, 17:08; 2. Eric Difolco, WV, 17:23; 3. Michael Earnhart, Chu, 17:38; 4. Peter Hinds, Dim, 17:56; 5. Aaron Maves, Wes, 18:05; 6. Joseph Walling, Pal, 18:08; 7. Aaron Power, Ser, 18:12; 8. Luke Buth, WV, 18:14; 9. Joel Power, Ser, 18:14; 10. Josh Baurick, WV, 18:19.
Peninsula finishers
15. Bradley Walters, Sol, 18:43; 31. Quinn Cox, Sol, 19:49; 34. Jack Harris, Sol, 19:54; 40. Tyler Hippchen, Ken, 20:11; 45. Foster Boze, Sol, 20:20; 50. Ryder Geisler, Sol, 20:26; 62. Joshua Foster, Ken, 21:31; 66. Nathan Haakenson, Ken, 21:48; 69. David Grinestaff, Sol, 22:00; 74. Cody Bryden, Sew, 22:28; 75. Sorin Sorensen, Ken, 22:28; 78. Tucker Mueller, Ken, 22:37; 80. Johann Carranza, Ken, 22:51; 85. Clay Petersen, Sew, 23:23; 88. Garrett Briscoe, Hom, 24:09; 90. Seamus McDonough, Hom, 24:43.
