The Soldotna girls and boys swept the Region 3/Division I track and field titles Friday and Saturday at Wasilla High School.
The SoHi girls scored 205 points to run away with the title. Palmer was runner-up with 113.5. The Stars boys scored 135 points while Wasilla was runner-up with 108 points.
The Soldotna boys piled up points in the relays on the way to the title, winning the 400-meter relay and 1,600 relay and finishing second in the 800 relay.
Avery Reid, Trenton O’Reagan, Zachary Burns and Eli Cravens won the 400 relay in 44.76 seconds, while Burns, Jeren Nash, Leigh Tacey II and Nathanael Johnson won the 1,600 relay in 3:36.28.
All top finishers in the relays and individual events automatically qualify for state.
Johnson also won the 400 in 52.08 and the 800 in 2:03.99. He also was second in the triple jump.
Dylan Dahlgren made sure SoHi got points in the weights, taking first in the discus at 136-10 and second in the shot put at 47-10.
O’Reagan won the long jump at 20-6.75 and also got second in the 100 at 11.49 and second in the 200 at 23.35.
Austin Adlam took the 110 hurdles for Soldotna at 45.06.
Relays also powered the Soldotna girls, as they won all four relays. Sonia Montague, Gracie Bras, Hosanna VanHout and Kaytlin McAnelly won the 400 relay in 54.44; the same four won the 800 relay in 1:55.98; Jordan Strausbaugh, Ellie Burns, Erika Arthur and Drysta Crosby-Schneider won the 1,600 relay in 4:16.78; and Burns, VanHout, Strausbaugh and Arthur won the 3,200 relay in 11:06.75.
Crosby-Schneider completed a huge day for the Stars by winning the 400 in 1:01.04, the long jump at 15 feet, 7.75 inches, and the triple jump in 34—4.
Soldotna also got top spots from Emma Brantley in the 100 hurdles and Kaytlin McAnelly in the 300 hurdles.
In the Region 3/Division II meet, the Grace Christian girls and Anchorage Christian boys won team titles.
For the girls, Seward was third, Homer was fourth, Kenai was fifth and Nikiski was sixth. For the boys, Seward was third, Kenai was fourth and Homer was fifth.
Earning automatic state berths by winning events for peninsula boys were Kenai’s Maison Dunham with a 51.93 in the 400, Seward’s Trey Ingalls with a 45.30 in the 300 hurdles, Kenai’s Aiden Arness with a 44—5.5 in the shot put, Seward’s Tommy Cronin with a 5—8 in the high jump, Cronin with a 18—8.25 in the long jump and Cronin with a 39—6 in the triple jump.
Another performance of note on the boys side was Tristian Merchant of ACS running the 3,200 in 8:56.86.
On the girls side, Nikiski’s 800 relay and Homer’s 1,600 relay won to earn automatic berths. For Nikiski, Bailey Epperheimer, Sidney Epperheimer, Savannah Stock and Rylee Ellis ran 1:54.25, while Brooke Miller, Laura Inama, Gracie Gummer and Adelyn McCorison ran 4:23.99 for Homer.
Other automatic qualifiers are Homer’s Laura Inama with a 48.64 in the 300 hurdles, Kenai’s Denali Bernard with a 30—0 in the shot put, Nikiski’s Bailey Epperheimer with a 4—6 in the high jump and Inama with a 16—3.75 in the long jump.
At the Region 2 meet at Susitna Valley High School on Friday and Saturday, the Rams swept the team titles. The Ninilchik girls were fourth, the Ninilchik boys were second and Cook Inlet Academy was fourth.
Taking top spots to earn state berths were Cook Inlet Academy’s Isaac Johnson with an 11.97 in the 100 and 24.83 in the 200, Ninilchik’s Cody Blossom with a 1:12.60 in the 300 hurdles, and Ninilchik’s 800 relay of Carter Lemons, Blake Lemons, Blossom and Bryan DeWitt with a 2:20.88.
