Track season heats up despite cool breeze

Thursday's tri-meet between Soldotna, Nikiski and Seward threw a little bit of everything at the runners.

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The meet started with the promise of sunshine, but that promise was quickly broken by a light hail. After that, sunshine, rain, hail, dark skies and brilliant sunny skies visited the meet so quickly that it was as if some freak had gotten ahold of the weather machine.

The event then ended with a wind that was as constant as it was cold.

"I'm warm then cold. I'm dry then wet," said Nikiski coach Ned Clooten midway through the meet.

But the one thing that was constant Thursday was the drive to compete. The Stars, Bulldogs and Seahawks all had performances that, despite the weather, made the coaches giddy with what is to come in the track season.

"It's terrible," Soldotna coach Mark Devenney said of the weather. "After awhile, you just stop complaining about it. You get used to it after 12 years."

Soldotna's anchor Rueben Glaves has the finish line to himself as he wins the 800-meter relay Thursday.

Photo by M. SCOTT MOON

There were no team scores kept at the meet. On the girls side, Nikiski won seven events and Soldotna and Seward took five events each. On the boys side, the Stars won nine events while the Seahawks took four events and the Bulldogs made off with three events.

One of the top performances at the meet came from Nikiski freshman Angie Doty. Doty won the 100- and 200-meter dashes and ran the anchor leg on the Bulldogs' winning 400 relay. Doty also anchored Nikiski's 800 relay to second place.

Doty finished the 100 in 12.5 seconds. Through Tuesday, there had not been a faster time this year in the state.

However, the freshman wasn't satisfied.

"This wasn't the best meet," Doty said. "I've had faster times. I can go faster for sure in the 100 if I do everything right."

Seward junior Whitney Anderson, another newcomer to the peninsula high school track scene, also made a pretty good splash Thursday. Anderson, a transfer from Colorado, won the 3,200, 1,600 and ran a leg on Seward's winning 3,200 relay.

Anderson set a state best for this season with her time of 11:50 in the 3,200, while Seward's 3,200 relay team set a state best with its time of 10:28.1.

Nikiski coach Ned Clooten said there were many highlights from his team on the day. Svenja Lau won the discus and 300 hurdles and took second in the 100 hurdles, Katie Floyd won the 100 hurdles in a personal-best 17.3 seconds, Flyte Jorgensen won the triple jump, 100 and 200, Zech Hemphill's hard work continued to pay off in the middle distance events and Adam Murrell continued to improve in the shot put.

Seward coach Cliff Draper said he was impressed by senior Seth Price, who won the 1,600 and 3,200 and ran on the winning 3,200 relay team.

For Soldotna coach Mark Devenney, the highlights are Rachel Goldstein running under 5:50 in the mile, Brian Chase winning the 300 hurdles, the throwing of John VerHelst, Matt Hicks and Keith Herring, and the mid-distance running of Brandi Denna and Rachel McCarten.

Mariner Quad

The Kenai track and field teams swept the Mariner Quad Thursday at Homer High School. In the boys meet, Kenai scored 108.33 points to best runner-up Skyview's 90.33 points. Homer, was third, while Ninilchik was fourth.

In the girls meet, the Kardinals scored 83 points to defeat runner-up Skyview by nine points. Homer was third, while Ninilchik was fourth.

Soldotna, Nikiski, Seward Tri-Meet

Thursday

at Skyview High School

GIRLS

Long jump -- 1. Monika Banic, Sew, 14 feet, 1 3/4 inches; 2. Sarah Hermann, Sew, 12-10; 3. Brittany Gardner, Sol, 11-6 3/4.

Triple jump -- 1. Brittany Gardner, Sol, 31-3 3/4; 2. Monika Banic, Sew, 30-1/2; 3. Karina Petersen, Sol, 28-11.

High jump -- 1. Cortni Brown, Sol, 4-4.

Shot put -- 1. Michelle Dieckgraeff, Sew, 29-2; 2. Liz Denna, Sol, 28-11 1/2; 3. Debbie Duggin, Nik, 28-1 3/4.

Discus -- 1. Svenja Lau, Nik, 106-6; 2. Michelle Dieckgraeff, Sew, 96-1; 3. Brittany Howard, Sol, 80-0.

100 hurdles -- 1. Katie Floyd, Nik, 17.3 seconds; 2. Svenja Lau, Nik, 17.6; 3. Ashley Wood, Sol, 19.5.

300 hurdles -- 1. Svenja Lau, Nik, 52.2.

100 -- 1. Angie Doty, Nik, 12.5; 2. Eirleen Lee, Nik, 13.8; 3. Monika Banic, Sew, 13.9.

200 -- 1. Angie Doty, Nik, 28.1; 2. Monika Banic, Sew, 28.2; 3. Georgie Heaverly, Nik, 29.2.

400 -- 1. Katie Floyd, Nik, 1:08.4; 2. Lara Loomis, Sew, 1:09.8; 3. Rachel McCarten, Sol, 1:10.0.

800 -- 1. Ari Goldstein, Sol, 2:30.4; 2. Katie Franzmann, Sol, 2:37.7; 3. Brandi Denna, Sol, 2:44.8.

1,600 -- 1. Whitney Anderson, Sew, 5:25.0; 2. Rachel Goldstein, Sol, 5:49.3; 3. Brittany Osland, Sol, 6:07.0.

3,200 -- 1. Whitney Anderson, Sew, 11:50; 2. Tara DeRuwe, Sew, 12:47.6; 3. Glaser, Sew, 13:52.8.

400 relay -- 1. Nikiski, 55.0; 2. Soldotna, 1:00.4; 3. Seward, 1:04.5.

800 relay -- 1. Soldotna, 1:58.0; 2. Nikiski, 1:59.6; 3. Soldotna, 2:14.0.

1,600 relay -- 1. Soldotna, 4:44.1; 2. Soldotna, 5:02.8.

3,200 relay -- 1. Seward, 10:28.1; 2. Soldotna, 12:25.0.

Long jump -- 1. Alex Jackson, Sol, 17-8; 2. Cody Beck, Sew, 15-9; 3. Patrick Lybrand, Sol, 15-6.

Triple jump -- 1. Flyte Jorgensen, Nik, 36-8 1/4; 2. Alex Jackson, Sol, 36-7 3/4; 3. Ricky Simpson, Sol, 35-6.

Shot put -- 1. John VerHelst, Sol, 42-8 1/4; 2. Matt Hicks, Sol, 40-2; 3. Adam Murrell, Nik, 39-4 1/2.

Discus -- 1. Keith Herring, Sol, 115-0; 2. Adam Murrell, Nik, 109-3; 3. Matt Hicks, Sol, 105-8.

High jump -- 1. Brian Chase, Sol, 5-6.

100 -- 1. Flyte Jorgensen, Nik, 11.6; 2. Coots, Sew, 12.0; 3 (tie). Levi Lounsbury, Nik, Joel Jackson, Sol, 12.6.

200 -- 1. Flyte Jorgensen, Nik, 24.1; 2. Coots, Sew, 25.26; 3. Levi Lounsbury, Nik, 27.4.

400 -- 1. Alex Jackson, Sol, 58.1; 2. Buchanan, Sew, 58.4; 3. Josh Boye, Nik, 1:00.7.

800 -- 1. Leif Bardarson, Sew, 2:21.4; 2. Ryan Walton, Sol, 2:22.4; 3. Matt Haberman, Sol, 2:33.3.

1,600 -- 1. Seth Price, Sew, 4:53.0; 2. Ryan Walton, Sol, 5:03.0; 3. Leif Bardarson, Sew, 5:17.0.

3,200 -- 1. Seth Price, Sew, 10:57.6; 2. Tommy Blair, Sew, 11:20.5; 3. Joe Blanchard, Sol, 12:25.9.

3,200 relay -- 1. Seward, 9:13.7; 2. Nikiski, 9:44.1.

1,600 relay -- 1. Soldotna, 3:59.6; 2. Seward, 4:10.6; 3. Soldotna, 4:17.3.

800 relay -- 1. Soldotna, 1:47.8.

400 relay -- 1. Soldotna, 51.1; 2. Seward, 52.6.

300 hurdles -- 1. Brian Chase, Sol, 43.3; 2. Ricky Simpson, Sol, 45.7; 3. Coots, Sew, 48.0.

Mariner Quad

Thursday

at Homer High School

Team scores -- 1. Kenai, 108.33; 2. Skyview Panthers, 90.33; 3. Homer, 32.33; 4. Ninilchik, 16.

Long jump -- 1. Dakota Craig, Ken, 18-6 1/2; 2. Kevin McGrady, Sky, 18-6; 3. Kaleb Shields, Sky, 18-5; 4. TJ Cox, Ken, 17-1.

Shot put -- 1. Papapa Nicholas, Ken, 43-6; 2. B. Smith, Hom, 41-10; 3. Adam Kosydar, Sky, 40-1; 4. Weaver, Hom, 39-2.

Triple jump -- 1. Trevor Tompkins, Sky, 38-8; 2. Dakota Craig, Ken, 37-10; 3. K. Coleman, Ken, 35-10 1/2; 4. M. Scheffert, Ken, 35-4.

Discus -- 1. Adam Kosydar, Sky, 152-10; 2. Papapa Nicholas, Ken, 127-9; 3. Antonio Silva, Sky, 120-6; 4. TJ Cox, Ken, 119-8.

High jump -- 1. Kevin McGrady, Sky, 5-8; 2. K. Coleman, Ken, 5-6; 3. Kaleb Shields, Sky, 5-4; 4. Connor Cooper, Nin, 4-8.

3,200 relay -- 1. Kenai, 9:10.4; 2. Skyview, 10:52.5.

110 hurdles -- 1. Kaleb Shields, Sky, 16.3; 2. Trevor Tompkins, Sky, 16.4; 3. Kevin McGrady, Sky, 18.3; 4. C. Cochran, Ken, 20.9.

100 -- 1. N. Schmidt, Ken, 11.7; 2. Dakota Craig, Ken, 11.8; 3. C. Smith, Hom, 11.9; 4. Vince Kruzick, Nin, 12.00.

800 relay -- 1. Kenai, 1:42.80; 2. Skyview, 1:42.9; 3. Homer, 1:46.70; 4. Homer, 2:03.20.

1,600 -- 1. Cox, Ken, 5:04.80; 2. T. Baldwin, Ken, 5:06.2; 3. Josh Carlon, Sky, 5:22.9; 4. D. Anderson, Hom, 5:28.5.

400 relay -- 1. Skyview, 48.7; 2. Kenai, 49.4; 3. Ninilchik, 50.3; 4. Homer, 50.6.

400 -- 1. C. Smith, Hom, 52.4; 2. Vince Kruzick, Nin, 55.5; 3. N. Schmidt, Ken, 56.6; 4. Mackenzie Boyle, Ken, 57.7.

300 hurdles -- 1. Kaleb Shields, Sky, 42.9; 2. Trevor Tompkins, Sky, 43.7; 3. C. Cochran, Ken, 47.3; 4. D. Anderson, Hom, 59.7.

800 -- 1. Mick Boyle, Ken, 2:13.1; 2. Josh Carlon, Sky, 2:24.5; 3. Morgan Saltenberger, Ken, 2:28.0; 4. Dean, Sky, 2:36.7.

200 -- 1. N. Schmidt, Ken, 23.6; 2. C. Smith, Hom, 23.6; 3. Vince Kruzick, Nin, 24.5; 4. J. Bellinger, Sky, 25.1.

3,200 -- 1. Baldwin, Ken, 11:36.7; 2. D. Anderson, Hom, 12:18.4; 3. J. Lansing, Sky, 13:51.0.

1,600 relay -- 1. Kenai, 4:04.7; 2. Skyview, 4:22.7.

GIRLS

Team Scores -- 1. Kenai, 83; 2. Skyview, 74; 3. Homer, 27; 4. Ninilchik, 20.

Triple jump -- 1. L. Hassbring, Ken, 29-10 1/2; 2. C. Christiansen, Ken, 27-6 1/2.

Discus -- 1. C. Shadura, Sky, 95-8; 2. Kelsey Deiman, Nin, 95-4; 3. Vienna, Ken, 85-1; 4. Amanda Peterson, Nin, 81-9.

High jump -- 1. Dallas Baldwin, Ken, 5-0; 2. A. McGlasson, Ken, 4-10; 3. Laurel Creel, Sky, 4-8; 4. Baitz, Hom, 4-2.

Long jump -- 1. C. Christiansen, Ken, 13-9 3/4; 2. L. Hassbring, Ken, 13-9; 3. Kleine, Hom, 11-7 3/4; 4. N. Gamboa, Hom, 10-7.

Shot put -- 1. C. Shadura, Sky, 27-2; 2. Kelsey Deiman, Nin, 27-1; 3. K. Vienna, Ken, 26-5; 4. Amanda Peterson, Nin, 26-3.

3,200 relay -- 1. Kenai, 14:36.6.

100 hurdles -- 1. Ella Fehrer, Sky, 18.4; 2. A. McGlasson, Ken, 19.5.

100 -- 1. Laurel Creel, Sky, 13.6; 2. Emily Wood, Nin, 13.8; 3. Smith, Hom, 14.3; 4. Ella Fehrer, Sky, 14.7.

800 relay -- 1. Kenai, 2:04.5.

1,600 -- 1. M. Mohler, Sky, 5:51.9; 2. Bird, Ken, 6:07.9; 3. K. Schouweiler, Sky, 6:16.6; 4. A. Rowley, Ken, 6:46.5.

400 relay -- 1. Kenai, 50.9.

400 -- 1. A. Risch, Sky, 1:19.6.

300 hurdles -- 1. A. McGlasson, Ken, 53.2; 2. Ella Fehrer, Sky, 53.3; 3. Smith, Hom, 57.9.

800 -- 1. Bird, Ken, 2:48.2; 2. K. Schouweiler, Sky, 2:50.2; 3. D. Baugh, Hom, 3:11.5; 4. V. Williams, Sky, 3:14.7.

200 -- 1. Laurel Creel, Sky, 28.2; 2. Emily Wood, Nin, 29.7; 3. Kaas, Ken, 30.9; 4. Wood, Ken, 31.8.

3,200 -- 1. M. Mohler, Sky, 12:55.6; 2. Haugh, Hom, 15:44.2; 3. Sims, Hom, 17:19.4.

1,600 -- 1. Skyview, 5:34.4