SoHi sweeps Kenai Invite track titles

Get the brooms out, the Stars are in town.

The Soldotna track and field teams rolled to team crowns Saturday at the Kenai Invitational at a soggy Ed Hollier Field, using a mix of domination and depth. The SoHi boys won five of 15 events, while the girls claimed seven event wins.

The girls did the most damage in the hurdles and the throws. Sophomore Holleigh Jaime led a 1-2-3 Stars finish in the 100-meter hurdles and junior teammate Sophie Thomas won the 300-meter hurdles. Senior Emily Pieh won the girls discus and sophomore Ituau Tuisaula took the shot put to lead a podium sweep.

On the boys side, SoHi dominated the shot put, sweeping the top four spots, led by winner Wendell Tuisaula. Behind Tuisaula were SoHi teammates Aaron Faletoi, Melvin Loyd and Galen Brantley III.

The largest single points haul of the day came from SoHi senior Brenner Furlong, who made it a clean sweep of the boys sprint races, winning the 100, 200 and 400 dashes. Furlong said as his times continue to fall as the season moves along, he is shooting for the SoHi school record of 50.62, which he is currently about 7/10ths of a second behind.

“I’m getting closer,” Furlong said. “Last week (in Homer) I was so tired, I was dead, but Monday and Tuesday in practice, I felt so much more energy.”

Furlong said he is also chasing a current runner from ACS, junior Fredrick Onochie, whose 50.62 currently leads the state. Furlong currently sits third in the state, just .02 seconds behind second-fastest.

“We haven’t able to race yet this year,” Furlong said about chasing Onochie. “He was supposed to be down here today with ACS, but it didn’t work out.

“He is legit.”

While SoHi claimed its share of the spotlight, host Kenai Central had something to say in the girls sprint races. Junior Hayley Maw picked up the 100 victory and was part of the winning 400-meter sprint relay before capping the day with a third in the 200.

“I felt pretty good,” Maw said. “I felt more prepared for the (relay) because I had already run the 100 and gotten that done.”

Maw is one of the leading sprinters in a talented core of Kenai girls sprint specialists, a group that includes senior Tekaiya Rich, sophomore Alyssa Bucho and sophomore Savannah Wilson. Maw, Rich and Bucho were all part of the Region III champion teams that won gold in the 400- and 800-meter relays last year.

Together, Kenai filled four of the top six spots in the girls 100 on Saturday, led by race winner Maw in 13.11 seconds. Maw nipped Homer frosh Laura Inama at the line by .03 seconds, pointing to her fast starts as the reason for her blinding speed.

“I’m better at shorter distances like the 100,” she said. “I can get out of the blocks faster.”

Maw also said the colder, wet weather made for a challenging day for sprinters.

“If it’s too cold and wet, my muscles cramp up easier,” she said.

Maw said she is gunning for a school record in the girls 100, a time of 12.8 seconds. Maw’s current best is a 12.94 that she ran last year and equaled last week at the Homer Invite.

Inama put up an impressive day as well, winning the 200 to go along with her second place in the 100, then winning the girls long jump.

In the throwing fields, the standards were still set high by SoHi and Nikiski. The Stars swept the top four positions in the boys shot put and top three in the girls, with senior Wendell Tuisaula setting a new PR of 47 feet, 10 3/4 inches, in the boys shot and his sophomore sister, Ituau, winning the girls with a PR of 37 feet, 3 1/2 inches.

In the discus throws, senior Emily Pieh won the girls event with a toss of 112 feet, 3 inches, while Nikiski senior Ian Johnson established his dominance with a new PR of 143 feet, 11 inches.

Johnson muscled his way around the grassy fields adjacent to the track Saturday, slinging the discus and also finishing sixth in the shot put with a season best mark of 40 feet, 2 1-2 inches. Johnson said he could be satisfied with the day considering the lack of competition this year thus far. Saturday’s Kenai Invite was only the second time Johnson and the Bulldogs throwers had gotten outside to compete against other schools.

“It feels good to get it in the books,” Johnson said. “I’ve been a bit rusty.”

With another Region III title in sight, Johnson said the years spent at Nikiski upping his game have bolstered the family rivalry. After starting behind older brother Luke as a freshman in the discus throw, he eventually surpassed Luke as the record-holder between siblings in the event as a sophomore, but he is also eyeing an outright family record in the event. His father, Tim, threw 145 feet in his prep days, and Ian said can take that down this year.

“I’ve been working on my form a lot,” he said. “It’s definitely enough.”

Another standout senior making a mark Saturday was Seward’s Ruby Lindquist in the middle distance races. Lindquist won both the girls 800 and 1,600 in convincing fashion and with season bests. Lindquist lopped off eight seconds in the 1,600 from the time she set at last week’s Homer Invite, and it was also the fastest girls 1,600 in the state this year.

“I was super pumped for that,” Lindquist said. “It’s only one second off my PR.”

Lindquist also finished fourth with the Seward girls in the 1,600-meter relay at the end of the day. She said she didn’t think she would reach the sizzling times she set Saturday, but opined that the cool temperatures might have helped.

“I usually run better in the heat,” she said. “But today I just felt really good.”

Lindquist is aiming for a girls school record in the 1,600, an event that she has really attacked in 2018 with a vigor. The current Seward record in the 1,600 is a 5:12.1 by Seahawks legend Emily Ransom from 1993.

ACS senior Blake Bennett also notched the fastest 1,600 in the state this year on the boys side, winning easily with a time of 4:22.95.

Kenai Invitational

Saturday at KCHS

GIRLS

Team scores — 1. Soldotna, 128 points; 2. Homer, 80; 3. Kenai Central, 74; 4. Seward, 32; 5. Anchorage Christian, 20; 6. Nikiski, 16; 7. Cook Inlet Academy, 3.

100 — 1. Hayley Maw, Ken, 13.11; 2. Laura Inama, Hom, 13.14; 3. Tekaiya Rich, Ken, 13.46; 4. Kylie-Anne Raye, Ken, 13.56; 4. Brittany Taylor, Sol, 13.56; 6. Alyssa Bucho, Ken, 13.58.

200 — 1. Laura Inama, Hom, 27.12; 2. Brittany Taylor, Sol, 27.53; 3. Hayley Maw, Ken, 28.26; 4. Tekaiya Rich, Ken, 28.72; 5. Mikayla Leadens, Sol, 28.83; 6. Sophie Thomas, Sol, 29.03.

400 — 1. Brittany Taylor, Sol, 1:01.94; 2. Brooke Miller, Hom, 1:05.81; 3. Drysta Crosby-Schneider, Sol, 1:06.14; 4. Coral Petrosius, Sew, 1:06.37; 5. Ashton Ealum, ACS, 1:07.97; 6. Jaelyn Singleton, ACS, 1:08.13.

800 — 1. Ruby Lindquist, Sew, 2:22.98; 2. Jaycie Calvert, Ken, 2:29.78; 3. Brooke Miller, Hom, 2:33.23; 4. Brooke Satathite, Ken, 2:35.17; 5. Kellie Arthur, Sol, 2:36.26; 6. Hosanna VanHout, Sol, 2:39.53.

1600 — 1. Ruby Lindquist, Sew, 5:15.92; 2. Jaycie Calvert, Ken, 5:24.00; 3. Brooke Satathite, Ken, 5:25.00; 4. Jessie Davis, ACS, 5:53.00; 5. Emma Moore, Sew, 5:57.00; 5. Hana Cooney, Sew, 5:57.00.

3200 — 1. Autumn Daigle, Hom, 12:20.51; 2. Ithaca Bergholtz, Ken, 12:23.26; 3. Erika Arthur, Sol, 12:24.33; 4. Ree’Lynn Lisenby, Sol, 16:33.50.

100 hurdles — 1. Holleigh Jaime, Sol, 17.57; 2. Kylie Ness, Sol, 17.67; 3. Sophie Thomas, Sol, 17.97; 4. Savanna Wilson, Ken, 18.75; 5. Sarah Hollers, CIA, 19.42; 6. Anna Godfrey, Hom, 19.52.

300 hurdles — 1. Sophie Thomas, Sol, 50.39; 2. Holleigh Jaime, Sol, 50.58; 3. Anna Godfrey, Hom, 53.84; 4. Savanna Wilson, Ken, 54.19; 5. Elissa Turner, Sew, 57.40; 6. Sarah Hollers, CIA, 57.64.

400 relay — 1. Kenai Central (Bucho, Maw, Rich, Wilson), 52.18; 2. Soldotna, 53.77; 3. Homer, 54.63; 4. ACS, 55.88; 5. Soldotna, 57.47; 6. Nikiski, 57.58.

1600 relay — 1. Soldotna (Crosby-Schneider, Arthur, Jaime, Taylor), 4:19.45; 2. Homer, 4:23.91; 3. Kenai Central, 4:32.98; 4. Seward, 4:33.83; 5. Soldotna, 4:35.86; 6. ACS, 4:52.29.

Shot put — 1. Ituau Tuisaula, Sol, 37—03 1-2; 2. Bailey Leach, Sol, 31—06 1-2; 3. Emily Pieh, Sol, 31—05; 4. Anna Brock, Hom, 31—04 1-2; 5. Kaitlyn Johnson, Nik, 30—02 1-2; 6. Savannah McDonald, Sol, 30—00 1-2.

Discus — 1. Emily Pieh, Sol, 112—03; 2. Anna Brock, Hom, 106—07; 3. Rachel Spence, Sol, 99—00; 4. Coral Petrosius, Sew, 96—00; 5. Kaitlyn Johnson, Nik, 95—11; 6. Ituau Tuisaula, Sol, 94—04.

High jump — 1. Aliann Schmidt, Sol, 4—08; 2. Anna Godfrey, Hom, 4—06; 2. Marina Carroll, 4—06; 2. Bethany Carstens, Nik, 4—06; 5. Coral Petrosius, Sew, 4—04; 5. Olivia Schwenk, Sol, 4—04.

Long jump — 1. Laura Inama, Hom, 15—01; 2. Bailey Epperheimer, Nik, 14—09 1-2; 3. Kylie Ness, Sol, 14—02 1-2; 4. Mary Kate Parks, ACS, 14—02; 5. Chelsea Plagge, Ken, 13—10 1-2; 6. Mikayla Leadens, Sol, 13—09 1-2.

Triple jump — 1. Marina Carroll, Hom, 33—02 1-2; 2. Mary Kate Parks, ACS, 31—01 3-4; 3. Addison Gibson, Ken, 30—09 1-2; 4. Drysta Crosby-Schneider, Sol, 30—03 1-4; 5. Chelsea Plagge, Ken, 30—00 1-2; 6. Emma Moore, Sew, 29—09 3-4.

BOYS

Team scores — 1. Soldotna, 119; 2. Homer, 68; 3. Kenai Central, 49; 4. Anchorage Christian, 45; 5. Nikiski, 35; 6. Seward, 26; 7. Cook Inlet Academy, 1.

100 — 1. Brenner Furlong, Sol, 11.77; 2. Christopher Edelman, Sol, 12.08; 3. Ben Booth, Sol, 12.22; 4. Eli Cravens, Sol, 12.26; 5. Jayden Thomas, ACS, 12.30; 6. Mika Wong, Sol, 12.32.

200 — 1. Brenner Furlong, Sol, 23.94; 2. Teddy Croft, Hom, 24.01; 3. Eli Cravens, Sol, 24.55; 4. Jayden Thomas, ACS, 24.63; 5. Christopher Edelman, Sol, 24.93; 6. Bryan McCollum, Nik, 25.00.

400 — 1. Brenner Furlong, Sol, 51.86; 2. Karl Danielson, Ken, 53.52; 3. Garrett Ellis, Nik, 56.60; 4. Denver Waclawski, Hom, 56.83; 5. Dominik Efta, Ken, 57.01; 6. Isaac Johnson, CIA, 57.42.

800 — 1. Blake Bennett, ACS, 2:02.65; 2. Luciano Fasulo, Hom, 2:04.94; 3. Tristian Merchant, ACS, 2:07.08; 4. Bill Rich, Hom, 2:09.09; 5. Neil Lindquist, Sew, 2:09.66; 6. Denver Waclawski, Hom, 2:10.53.

1600 — 1. Blake Bennett, ACS, 4:22.95; 2. Luciano Fasulo, Hom, 4:35.81; 3. Tristian Merchant, ACS, 4:36.68; 4. Denver Waclawski, Hom, 4:46.79; 5. Zen Petrosius, Sew, 4:47.42; 6. Kaleb Smith, ACS, 4:48.19.

3200 — 1. Sean Vergin, Sol, 10:37.34; 2. Kaleb Smith, ACS, 10:43.93; 3. Kaden Matson, Sol, 12:01.33; 4. Elijah Gunderson, Hom, 12:44.61; 5. Aiden Fielden, Sol, 13:08.49.

110 hurdles — 1. Jarett Wilson, Ken, 17.43; 2. Hunter Patton, Hom, 17.89; 3. Haiden Tryon, Sol, 18.13; 4. Trey Ingalls, Sew, 18.30; 5. Trapper Allen, Sew, 18.95; 6. Austin Adlam, Sol, 19.61.

300 hurdles — 1. Jarett Wilson, Ken, 44.05; 2. Trey Ingalls, Sew, 45.14; 3. Haiden Tryon, Sol, 46.19; 4. Joel Carroll, Hom, 46.61; 5. Hunter Patton, Hom, 47.00; 6. Trapper Allen, Sew, 47.32.

400 relay — 1. Nikiski (Kornstad, Harris, McCollum, Sullenger), 46.79; 2. Soldotna, 47.19; 3. Soldotna, 48.44; 4. Seward, 48.54; 5. Kenai Central, 48.64; 6. Homer, 49.19.

1600 relay — 1. Homer (Croft, Waclawski, Fasulo, Rich), 3:41.71; 2. Seward, 3:44.95; 3. Kenai Central, 3:45.85; 4. Soldotna, 3:50.17; 5. Nikiski, 3:59.57; 6. ACS, 4:03.04.

Shot put — 1. Wendell Tuisaula, Sol, 47—10 3-4; 2. Aaron Faletoi, Sol, 43—09 3-4; 3. Melvin Loyd, Sol, 41—10; 4. Galen Brantley, Sol, 41—05 1-2; 5. Seth Kruse, Ken, 41—01 1-2; 6. Ian Johnson, Nik, 40—02 1-2.

Discus — 1. Ian Johnson, Nik, 143—11; 2. Wendell Tuisaula, Sol, 126—05; 3. John Grossl, Ken, 119—07; 4. Galen Brantley, Sol, 112—11; 5. Teddy Croft, Hom, 112—06; 6. Cody Nye, Sol, 108—01.

High jump — 1. Joel Carroll, Hom, 5—06.

Long jump — 1. Jack Sullenger, Nik, 20—09 1-4; 2. Silas McGhee, Hom, 18—01 1-4; 3. Colin Smallwood, ACS, 17—11; 4. Austin Adlam, Sol, 17—08 1-4; 5. Zach Hanson, Sol, 17—04 1-4; 6. Jayden Thomas, ACS, 16—11 1-2.

Triple jump — 1. Karl Danielson, Ken, 39—02; 2. Bechler Metcalf, Sol, 38—08; 3. Dominik Efta, Ken, 37—10 1-4; 4. Aaron McCollum, Nik, 37—02 1-2; 5. Colin Smallwood, ACS, 35—07 1-4; 6. Jordan Spies, Sol, 34—03 1-2.