Homer’s Claira Booz and Jaela Marchbanks lead Seward’s Selah Brueckner in the 3,200 meters Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the Kenai Peninsula Borough meet at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. Booz won the race. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Homer’s Claira Booz and Jaela Marchbanks lead Seward’s Selah Brueckner in the 3,200 meters Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the Kenai Peninsula Borough meet at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. Booz won the race. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna girls, boys sweep borough track meet

The Soldotna girls and boys track and field teams swept the Kenai Peninsula Borough meet Saturday at Soldotna High School in a meet hosted by Nikiski High School.

The Stars boys scored 325 points for the win, while Seward had 106, Kenai Central had 84, Nikiski had 64 and Homer had 50.

On the girls side, the Stars had 254 while the Mariners had 147, the Seahawks had 109, the Kardinals had 82, Ninilchik had 12 and the Bulldogs had 1.

The Soldotna boys won 13 of the 17 events contested, with Nikiski, Homer, Kenai and Seward each picking off one title.

Leigh Tacey II won the 100 and 400 meters for Soldotna, and also teamed with Andon Wolverton, Jared Williams and Tyce Escott to win the 400 relay.

“Leigh’s my guy right now,” Soldotna head coach Phil Leck said. “He’s our ace. He’s our best runner right now.”

Leck also is excited about the potential of that 400 relay team but said cold, windy weather has kept the squad from putting up a great time.

Wyatt Faircloth also rolled up a pair of individual wins for the Stars, taking the 110 and 300 hurdles. Tyce Escott also won the 200 for the Stars.

It’s that strength on the track that Leck is counting on to try and win the Region II/Division I title at Homer on Friday and Saturday.

“Colony’s got way more kids than we do,” Leck said. “They’re really strong in the jumps and really deep in the throws. They’re going to get a lot of points there.

“We just have to capitalize where we’re good on the track.”

The SoHi boys won the other three relays as well, with Dax Walden, Cy Garcia, William Klein and Jared Williams taking the 800 relay; Gabriel Almeida, James Innes, Elijah Jedlicki and Jeren Nash taking the 1,600 relay; and Ethan Anding, Wesley Johnson, Finnley Loop and Jedlicki winning the 3,200 relay.

Kevin Steger won the shot put for the Stars, while Walden took the long jump and Lokeni Wong took the triple jump.

The Soldotna girls captured eight events, while Homer won six and Kenai won three.

Kathryn DeBardelaben took home 800 and 1,600 titles as a freshman. Also winning individual events were Sarah Brown in the 200, Shiloh Zichko in the 400 and Laurel Johnson in the triple jump.

“Laurel Johnson had a big win in the triple jump with a PR today,” Leck said. “I was proud of that.”

Leck also said it was nice to take the top three slots in the 400, with Annie Burns in second and Sasha Brott in third.

The Stars took three of the four relays. Anaulie Sedivy, Mia Hannevold, Zichko and Brown won the 800 relay; Brott, Burns, Zichko and Sedivy won the 1,600 relay; and Tania Boonstra, Ariana Cannava, Brott and Burns won the 3,200 relay.

Leck said the Colony girls will be the favorite at regions.

“If you look at athletic.net, they probably have more potential that we do,” he said. “But we’ll be ready.”

Homer assistant coach Lucas Parsley said the meet was a pleasant surprise.

“It was a pretty tough week for a lot of the students considering we’re nearing the end of the semester and there were a lot of AP tests,” Parsley said. “A lot of kids are sick right now.

“We weren’t sure what to expect going into this, but we had a lot of kids perform really well.”

Gracie Miotke won the 100 and 300 hurdles, notching a new PR in the 100 hurdles. She also teamed with Jaelynn Kennon, Maddy Miotke and Immi Im to win the 400 relay and post Division II’s new top time in the event.

Parsley also said it was nice to see Brightly Thoning hit 4 feet, 10 inches, to win the high jump, while Maddy Miotke won the long jump.

Homer’s other two victories came from Claira Booz and Alexander VanMeter in the 3,200.

“We had a couple of kids who had never placed first in an event in their high school career win the 3,200,” Parsley said.

He said now the task is for the team to get healthy for the big region meet on the home track.

“We had sort of an incomplete team here this week, but I think we’ve got a great chance to win regions,” Parsley said of Homer’s girls team.

Kenai was led by Emma Beck, who won both the shot put and discus. Beck put up a new PR of 35—7.5 in winning the shot put.

Sophie Tapley also won the 100 for the Kardinals, while William Roberts threw 122—11 to win the discus.

Nikiski coach Billie Denison said a few freshmen once again stood out for her team. Freshman Ryder Maguire took the 1,600, while freshman Trigger McCaughey was third in the long jump despite just starting to train that event.

Denison also said Thayne Quiner finished second in the long jump and Truit McCaughey took second in the shot put, as both are looking good headed to regions.

The Nikiski coach also threw together a 400 relay of James Hemphill, Noah Douglas, Maguire and Quiner. Denison said the group took fourth and shows promise in the event.

Seward’s victory at the meet came from Olin Liljemark in the high jump. Bengimin Ambrosiani was third in the event, while Van Shank was fourth.

“We’ve got a group of high jumpers on the boys side that are pretty darn special,” Seward head coach Solomon D’ Amico said.

D’Amico said this was Shank’s second time doing the high jump and triple jump, and he also took sixth in the triple jump.

The Seward coach said other highlights for the boys were Ronan Bickling dropping under 12 seconds in the 100, Gideon Schrock taking fourth and Oliver Trobaugh taking sixth in the 800 and Noah Bird popping an 18-foot PR of 85—8 in the discus.

D’ Amico said throws coaches Gabby Troise and Cassie Enter have done a great job improving throwers like Bird and Gracie Russell, who was seventh in the discus.

Also, the coach said Robin Cronin was second in the triple jump and continues to excel in all the jumps, freshman Regan Seibert continued to show a lot of potential in the 400 by taking fourth, and Selah Brueckner and Maddie Haas also are running really well.

D’ Amico said on paper, it will be tough to win regions.

“I’m trying to impress on these kids, it’s who shows up that day and who gets lucky with injuries,” D’ Amico said. “Prepration, execution, recovery. Who had that dialed in better?”

The middle school meet was run with the high school meet Saturday and had several highlights.

Skyview’s 1,600 relay had broken a 1993 school record of Soldotna Middle School earlier this season by running 4:01.71. Saturday, the team of Noah Crabtree, Ollie Dahl, Jayden Yeager and Eli Richards broke that record again by running 4:00.93.

Seward’s Luke Elhard also broke a school record in winning the high jump in 5—8.

Finally, Kenai’s Amar’e Williams broke a school record to win the triple jump in 38—3. The old school record was from 2009 and held by Shane Spalding.

Kenai Peninsula Borough track and field meet

at Soldotna High School hosted by Nikiski

BOYS

Team scores: 1. Soldotna, 325; 2. Seward, 106; 3. Kenai, 84; 4. Nikiski, 64; 5. Homer, 50.

Unified: 1. Homer, 61; 2. Soldotna, 39.

100 meters — 1. Leigh Tacey II, Sol, 11.71 seconds; 2. Tyce Escott, Sol, 11.92; 3. Ronan Bickling, Sew, 11.99; 4. Jared Williams, Sol, 12.29; 5. Dax Walden, Sol, 12.46; 6. Lokeni Wong, Sol, 12.51.

100 unified — 1. Albert Freeman, Hom, 16.94; 2. Coen Braxling, Sol, 27.97; 3. Jacoby Moore, Sol, 34.22; 4. Lance Parkinson, Hom, 38.45.

200 — 1. Tyce Escott, Sol, 24.00; 2. Gabriel Almeida, Sol, 24.31; 3. Ronan Bickling, Sew, 24.35; 4. William Klein, Sol, 25.31; 5. James Hemphill, Nik, 25.47; 6. Demari Adams, Sol, 25.85.

400 — 1. Leigh Tacey II, Sol, 51.80; 2. Jeren Nash, Sol, 53.75; 3. Gideon Schrock, Sew, 53.83; 4. Elijah Jedlicki, Sol, 53.84; 5. Finnley Loop, Sol, 54.10; 6. Ronan Bickling, Sew, 54.83.

800 — 1. James Innes, Sol, 2:05.92; 2. Ethan Anding, Sol, 2:06.33; 3. Ryder Maguire, Nik, 2:07.34; 4. Gideon Schrock, Sew, 2:12.19; 5. Alexander VanMeter, Hom, 2:19.02; 6. Oliver Trobaugh, Sew, 2:19.55.

1,600 — 1. Ryder Maguire, Nik, 4:58.03; 2. Elijah Jedlicki, Sol, 4:59.95; 3. Noble Cassidy, Sol, 5:17.13; 4. Parker Richards, Sol, 5:18.33; 5. Alex Fink, Sew, 5:25.92; 6. Oliver Trobaugh, Sew, 5:31.85.

3,200 — 1. Alexander VanMeter, Hom, 11:05.35; 2. Noble Cassidy, Sol, 11:10.26; 3. Chase Laker, Ken, 11:16.40; 4. Isaiah Dickson, Sol, 11:45.65; 5. Zachary Altringer, Hom, 12:30.28; 6. Joel Moss, Ken, 13:19.30.

110 hurdles — 1. Wyatt Faircloth, Sol, 16.18; 2. Jeren Nash, Sol, 18.27; 3. Bengimin Ambrosiani, Sew, 18.75; 4. William Klein, Sol, 18.83; 5. Delen Byrd, Ken, 19.14; 6. Judah Brueckner, Sew, 19.60.

300 hurdles — 1. Wyatt Faircloth, Sol, 41.16; 2. Bengimin Ambrosiani, Sew, 44.25; 3. William Klein, Sol, 44.41; 4. Christian Skaggs, Sol, 46.31; 5. Delen Byrd, Ken, 47.64; 6. Matthew Krol, Ken, 48.07.

400 relay — 1. Soldotna (Leigh Tacey II, Andon Wolverton, Jared Williams, Tyce Escott), 44.31; 2. Soldotna, 47.26; 3. Seward, 47.31; 4. Nikiski, 48.63; 5. Kenai, 49.23; 6. Soldotna, 49.71.

Unified 400 relay — 1. Homer (Albert Freeman, Lance Parkinson), 1:25.44; 2. Soldotna, 1:33.47.

800 relay — 1. Soldotna (Dax Walden, Cy Garcia, William Klein, Jared Williams), 1:41.19; 2. Kenai, 1:41.56; 3. Homer, 1:45.33.

1,600 relay — 1. Soldotna (Gabriel Almeida, James Innes, Elijah Jedlicki, Jeren Nash), 3:36.74; 2. Seward, 3:47.17; 3. Soldotna, 3:49.89; 4. Kenai, 3:58.60; 5. Homer, 4:03.01.

3,200 relay — 1. Soldotna (Ethan Anding, Wesley Johnson, Finnley Loop, Elijah Jedlicki), 9:28.99; 2. Homer, 9:36.13; 3. Soldotna, 9:51.35; 4. Soldotna, 10:28.72; 5. Kenai, 10:43.24.

Shot put — 1. Kevin Steger, Sol, 46 feet, 1 inch; 2. Truit McCaughey, Nik, 44—7.5; 3. Kenai Lepule, Sol, 43—2.5; 4. Ala Tuisaula, Sol, 42—2.5; 5. Hakoa Montoya, Sol, 41—2.5; 6. James Wright, Ken, 39—8.

Unified shot put — 1. Lance Parkinson, Hom, 13—4.5; 2. Albert Freeman, Hom, 10—0; 3. Jacoby Moore, Sol, 6—8; 4. Coen Braxling, Sol, 5—9.

Discus — 1. William Roberts, Ken, 122—11; 2. Kevin Steger, Sol, 120—6; 3. Truit McCaughey, Nik, 120—3; 4. Samuel Klein, Sol, 118—10; 5. Dalton Armstrong, Sol, 112—5; 6. Dalton Goodnight, Nik, 111—1.

High jump — 1. Olin Liljemark, Sew, 5—8; 2. Hayden Hughes, Ken, 5—8; 3. Bengimin Ambrosiani, Sew, 5—6; 4. Van Shank, Sew, 5—6; 5. Thayne Quiner, Nik, 5—4; 6. Demari Adams, Sol, 5—4.

Long jump — 1. Dax Walden, Sol, 17—5; 2. Thayne Quiner, Nik, 17—3.5; 3. Trigger McCaughey, Nik, 17—3.5; 4. Robert Hayes, Ken, 17—2.5; 5. Cy Garcia, Sol, 17—2; 6. Joe Gordon, Hom, 17—1.

Unified long jump — 1. Albert Freeman, Hom, 9—3; 2. Lance Parkinson, Hom, 3—9; 3. Jacoby Moore, Sol, 2—1.

GIRLS

Team scores: 1. Soldotna, 254; 2. Homer, 147; 3. Seward, 109; 4. Kenai, 82; 5. Ninilchik, 12; 6. Nikiski, 1.

Unified: 1. Kenai Central, 30.

100 — 1. Sophie Tapley, Ken, 13.80; 2. Shiloh Zichko, Sol, 14.08; 3. Cassidy Carroll, Hom, 14.10; 4. Maddie Haas, Sew, 14.19; 5. Regan Seibert, Sew, 14.43; 6. Mia Hannevold, Sol, 14.46.

Unified 100 — 1. Pepper Noel, Ken, 21.90.

200 — 1. Sarah Brown, Sol, 27.85; 2. Immi Im, Hom, 29.60; 3. Jaelynn Kennon, Hom, 29.67; 4. Mia Hannevold, Sol, 30.29; 5. Karalyn Veihdeffer, Sol, 30.32; 6. Lia Shank, Sew, 30.34.

400 — 1. Shiloh Zichko, Sol, 1:02.85; 2. Annie Burns, Sol, 1:02.95; 3. Sasha Brott, Sol, 1:04.30; 4. Regan Seibert, Sew, 1:05.29; 5. Brightly Thoning, Hom, 1:05.43; 6. Immi Im, Hom, 1:05.81.

800 — 1. Kathryn DeBardelaben, Sol, 2:32.34; 2. Beatrix McDonough, Hom, 2:34.45; 3. Hailey Ingalls, Sew, 2:37.29; 4. Juniper Ingalls, Sew, 2:40.44; 5. Claira Booz, Hom, 2:41.22; 6. Adelyn McCorison, Nin, 2:41.65.

1,600 — 1. Kathryn DeBardelaben, Sol, 5:34:51; 2. Hailey Ingalls, Sew, 5:38.38; 3. Katie Van Buskirk, Sew, 5:51.99; 4. Juniper Ingalls, Sew, 5:52.85; 5. Indigo Leslie, Sew, 5:53.01; 6. Emily Moss, Ken, 6:21.94.

3,200 — 1. Claira Booz, Hom, 13:09.40; 2. Jaela Marchbanks, Hom, 13:14.16; 3. Selah Brueckner, Sew, 13:32.30; 4. Ruby Davis, Ken, 13:45.88; 5. Delanie Wagers, Sol, 13:53.09; 6. Ariana Cannava, Sol, 13:54.41.

100 hurdles — 1. Gracie Miotke, Hom, 16.30; 2. Maddie Haas, Sew, 17.62; 3. Angelina Chavarria, Sol, 18.02; 4. Hallie Fischer, Sol, 18.24; 5. Stella Dow, Sew, 19.20; 6. Samantha Piscoya, Sol, 19.29.

300 hurdles — 1. Gracie Miotke, Hom, 48.21; 2. Anaulie Sedivy, Sol, 49.56; 3. Hallie Fischer, Sol, 53.47; 4. Stella Dow, Sew, 56.64; 5. Elliot Stockton, Ken, 56.97; 6. Karalyn Veihdeffer, Sol, 57.60.

400 relay — 1. Homer (Jaelynn Kennon, Maddy Miotke, Immi Im, Gracie Miotke), 52.96; 2. Soldotna, 54.82; 3. Seward, 55.49; 4. Soldotna, 56.86.

800 relay — 1. Soldotna (Anaulie Sedivy, Shiloh Zichko, Mia Hannevold, Sarah Brown), 1:51.92; 2. Homer, 2:00.18; 3. Soldotna, 2:05.22; 4. Kenai, 2:06.18.

1,600 relay — 1. Soldotna (Shiloh Zichko, Sasha Brott, Anaulie Sedivy, Annie Burns), 4:26.76; 2. Soldotna, 4:55.92.

3,200 relay — 1. Soldotna (Sasha Brott, Tania Boonstra, Ariana Cannava, Annie Burns), 10:59.85; 2. Homer, 11:21.43; 3. Kenai Central, 11:59.40; 4. Soldotna, 12:14.08.

Shot put — 1. Emma Beck, Ken, 35—7.5; 2. Meg Roberts, Sol, 33—0; 3. Hope Hillyer, Sol, 29—11.5; 4. Juliet Innes, Sol, 29—10.5; 5. Auden Cress, Hom, 29—9; 6. Katie Nye, Sol, 29—0.

Unified shot put — 1. Pepper Noel, Ken, 11—10.

Discus — 1. Emma Beck, Ken, 103—9; 2. Auden Cress, Hom, 97—1; 3. Juliet Innes, Sol, 92—11; 4. Ellsi Miller, Ken, 79—6; 5. Willow Graham, Ken, 79—4; 6. Hope Hillyer, Sol, 75—7.

High jump — 1. Brightly Thoning, Hom, 4—10; 2. Sophie Tapley, Ken, 4—8; 3. Jaelynn Kennon, Hom, 4—8; 4. Robin Cronin, Sew, 4—6; 5. Hallie Fischer, Sol, 4—6.

Long jump — 1. Maddy Miotke, Hom, 14—7; 2. Adelyn McCorison, Nin, 14—4; 3. Sophie Tapley, Ken, 13—11; 4. Robin Cronin, Sew, 13—9.5; 5. Cassidy Carroll, Hom, 13—9; 6. Karalyn Veihdeffer, Sol, 13—6.

Unified long jump — 1. Pepper Noel, Ken, 3—6.

Triple jump — 1. Laurel Johnson, Sol, 31—5.75; 2. Robin Cronin, Sew, 31—5.5; 3. Abriella Werner, Sol, 31—3.5; 4. Kathryn DeBardelaben, Sol, 30—9; 5. Karalyn Veihdeffer, Sol, 30—.75; 6. Mandi Sisley, Sol, 29—10.25.

Seward’s Robin Cronin competes in the triple jump Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the Kenai Peninsula Borough meet at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Seward’s Robin Cronin competes in the triple jump Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the Kenai Peninsula Borough meet at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna’s Kathryn DeBardelaben leads Homer’s Beatrix McDonough, Sewar’ds Hailey Ingalls and Ninilchik’s Adelyn McCorison in the 800 meters Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the Kenai Peninsula Borough meet at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. DeBardelaben won the race. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna’s Kathryn DeBardelaben leads Homer’s Beatrix McDonough, Sewar’ds Hailey Ingalls and Ninilchik’s Adelyn McCorison in the 800 meters Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the Kenai Peninsula Borough meet at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. DeBardelaben won the race. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Central’s Gage Ivy competes in the triple jump Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the Kenai Peninsula Borough meet at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Central’s Gage Ivy competes in the triple jump Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the Kenai Peninsula Borough meet at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna’s Leigh Tacey II beats Soldotna’s Tyce Escott, Seward’s Ronan Bickling and Soldotna’s Lokeni Wong to the line in the 100 meters Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the Kenai Peninsula Borough meet at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna’s Leigh Tacey II beats Soldotna’s Tyce Escott, Seward’s Ronan Bickling and Soldotna’s Lokeni Wong to the line in the 100 meters Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the Kenai Peninsula Borough meet at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

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