Flanagan’s career starts fast

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Kenai freshman Lierin Flanagan crosses the finish line during the Skyview Invitational on Saturday. In her first high school event, Flanagan won both the 100- and 200-meter dashes and placed second in the 400.

Photo by Matthew Carroll

Lierin Flanagan is used to people questioning her name.

“All the time,” she said. “Every time somebody hears it.”

If she continues performing like she did at the Skyview Invitational on Saturday, it’ll be a name most people won’t forget anytime soon.

Overcoming prerace jitters and possibly setting the tone for the rest of her career, the Kenai freshman won both the 100- and 200-meter dashes and placed second in the 400 in her high school debut.

Soldotna's Kraig Morris clears a hurdle and went on to place sixth in the 300-meter hurdle competition at Saturday's Skyview Invitational.

Photo by Matthew Carroll

“I’m definitely surprised but I’m really happy,” Flanagan said. “I knew I’d do good but I didn’t think it was going to be like this.”

She wasn’t the only Kardinal having a good day, though.

The Kenai boys claimed the title by four points over Palmer after both squads were tied entering the 1,600 relay, the day’s final event, before the Kardinals pulled it out on the final lap.

“We are really feeling good at about it,” said Kenai coach Tim Sandahl. “This is it until regions and state. This is the biggest meet we will see. It kind of tells us where we are. We’ve still got a couple tricks up our sleeve for future meets.”

Skyview's Alex West competes in the 800 at the Skyview Invitational on Saturday. West placed second in the event.

Photo by Matthew Carroll

The Kardinals definitely let one out of the bag on Saturday.

Trailing the Moose after Corey Rainey, Kellen Flanagan and Billy Kiefer completed the first three laps, Kenai relied on last year’s 400 state champion to overcome the deficit.

And senior Levi Sutton did just that.

Taking the baton a few places back, he steadily paced himself around the first few corners before turning on the jets for the final 100 meters.

“For whatever reason, these meets always come down to the 4x400,” Sandahl said. “It’s cool having a guy like that anchoring you’re 4x400 team.”

Sutton said he knew what was at stake.

“I knew there was going to be three or four guys right beside me, so I didn’t want to blow out and kill myself in the last 100,” he explained. “I had to play it smart and it worked out.

“It feels good,” Sutton added of capturing the crown. “We kind of know where we’re at. We still have a couple guys missing, a couple guys injured, so we’re only going to get better.”

The same goes for Flanagan.

Recording the fastest 100 and 200 times in Friday’s preliminaries, she remained composed and won both events by at least .40 seconds on Saturday.

And after placing third in Friday’s 400 prelims, Flanagan turned it up a notch Saturday and nearly caught Cook Inlet’s Brooke Forsi, who won by .35 seconds.

“It’s got to give her tons of confidence going into the rest,” Sandahl said. “She was really nervous (Friday), supernervous. ‘I don’t know if I can do this.’ Those types of comments.

“Now I think she knows, ‘I can do it.’”

If Saturday is any indication of what’s to come, the rest of Region III better watch out.

“Who knows where she’s going to go? I see her breaking all of Kenai Central’s records and these meets, the records for boroughs and regions. Who knows?” Sandahl said. “I think that’s what we’ve got our sights on, to keep on knocking them down.”

The Anchorage Christian girls won the meet by 12.5 points over Colony, while Soldotna placed fourth, Kenai finished sixth and Skyview took home seventh.

Placing first and helping the Kenai boys claim the title was Stephen Wilson in the long jump, triple jump and 110 hurdles, Casey Ellis in the high jump and Rainey in the 300 hurdles. Also for the Kardinals, Bill Chimphalee took second in the 110 hurdles and the 800 relay team placed second.

SoHi’s Ryan Shelton also triumphed at the meet, winning Friday’s shot put with a personal best toss of 51 feet and placed second in Saturday’s discus with a throw of 149-11.5, about eight feet behind Homer’s Erik Rasmussen, who took second in the shot.

“It feels so good,” Shelton said. “The junior record at our school is like 54 and it just feels really good to be coming close to that early on in the season.”

Shelton said he attributes his recent success to lifting weights every morning before school.

“It helps so much because my freshman summer, I didn’t really do a lot and my sophomore year I was just OK,” he explained. “Then I started lifting weights and I hit the weight room and I got a lot better, substantially better.”

The Stars’ Paige Blackburn also won the shot and discus with tosses of 36-7.5 and 112-10, respectively, after winning both at last week’s meet at Homer.

Owning the best time in Friday’s 1,600 preliminaries, Seward’s Denali Foldager captured third in the final run, but took home second in the 300 hurdles.

“I haven’t actually been running. I’m sick. And so I was really, really nervous,” Foldager said. “I’m kind of winging everything right now. I’ve been missing practice and school this whole last week. That’s why I didn’t think I would get that.”

Also from the Kenai Peninsula, Ninilchik’s Ashley Bartolowits placed second in the long jump; Skyview’s Alex West placed second in the 800; Seward’s Travis Price captured second in both the 400 and 800; Nikiski’s Eliza Chadwick placed third in both the 100 and 300 hurdles; SoHi’s 400 and 800 relay teams, comprised of Megan Hardy, April Heffner, Christa Kennedy and Chelsea Wilbanks, placed first and second, respectively; Skyview’s 3,200 relay team, made up of Kendra Merkes, Marquee Lucas, Ivy O’Guinn and West, finished second; and Homer’s 400 relay team, consisting of Collin Hagen, Deonte Powe, David So and Starling Smith, placed second.

Matthew Carroll can be reached at matthew.carroll@peninsulaclarion.com.

Skyview Invitational

Friday, Saturday at Skyview High School

GIRLS

Team scores: 1. Anchorage Christian Schools, 104; 2. Colony, 91.5; 3. Wasilla, 87; 4. Soldotna, 72; 5. Palmer, 62.5; 6. Kenai Central, 43.5; 7. Skyview, 39; 8. Homer, 35; 9. Cook Inlet Academy, 32; 10. Seward, 30; 11. Grace Christian, 28; 12. Nikiski, 15; 13. Ninilchik, 13.5; 14. Valdez, 9.

100-meter dash -- 1. Lierin Flanagan, Ken, 13.06 seconds; 2. Melissa Grammer, Val, 13.46; 3. April Heffner, Sol, 13.56; 4. Alexis Arnold, Gra, 13.59; 5. Ardrienna Everett, Col, 13.66; 6. Marina Critchet, Hom, 13.67.

200 -- 1. Lierin Flanagan, Ken, 27.32; 2. April Heffner, Sol, 27.91; 3. Allie Grazulis, Col, 27.92; 4. Brooke Forsi, CIA, 28.16; 5. Lindsey Orvash, Pal, 28.26; 6. Chantell Bennett, ACS, 29.04.

400 -- 1. Brooke Forsi, CIA, 1:02.06; 2. Lierin Flanagan, Ken, 1:02.41; 3. Rebekah Bang, ACS, 1:03.50; 4. Megan Bowker, Col, 1:06.23; 5. Kalee Alsworth, Ken, 1:06.67; 6. Megan Hardy, Sol, 1:06.68.

800 -- 1. Maggie Miller, ACS, 2:28.67; 2. Alex West, Sky, 2:31.64; 3. Nychele Fischetti, ACS, 2:33.70; 4. Kailey Mucha, Sol, 2:34.78; 5. Rubye Foldager, Sew, 2:35.75; 6. Samantha Lewis, Was, 2:37.78.

1,600 -- 1. Nychele Fischetti, ACS, 5:36.37; 2. Emma Bohman, Pal, 5:36.63; 3. Denali Foldager, Sew, 5:37.82; 4. Kailey Mucha, Sol, 5:39.72; 5. Ivy O’Guinn, Sky, 5:40.52; 6. Holly Kopp, CIA, 5:41.36.

3,200 -- 1. Nychele Fischetti, ACS, 11:56.84; 2. Emma Bohman, Pal, 12:13.83; 3. Rubye Foldager, Sew, 12:21.48; 4. Ivy O’Guinn, Sky, 12:24.73; 5. Holly Kopp, CIA, 12:37.57; 6. Molly Watkins, Ken, 12:39.59.

100 hurdles -- 1. Anna Simmers, ACS, 16.16; 2. Hilarie Putnam, Was, 16.56; 3. Eliza Chadwick, Nik, 17.89; 4. Deanna Weaver, Hom, 19.04; 5. Rachel Hoffman, Was, 19.11; 6. Kiersten Dahms, Pal, 19.18.

300 hurdles -- 1. Ardrienna Everett, Col, 49.68; 2. Denali Foldager, Sew, 49.90; 3. Eliza Chadwick, Nik, 52.77; 4. Kiersten Dahms, Pal, 53.47; 5. Rachel Hoffman, Was, 54.64; 6. Kelly Makenzie, was, 55.47.

400 relay -- 1. Soldotna (Hardy, Heffner, Kennedy, Wilbanks), 54.78; 2. ACS, 55.29; 3. Palmer, 55.69; 4. CIA, 56.79; 5. Wasilla, 56.84; 6. Skyview, 57.14.

800 relay -- 1. Palmer (Orvash, Beetch, Stevens, Zimmer), 1:56.86; 2. Soldotna, 1:57.79; 3. ACS, 1:58.96; 4. Kenai, 1:59.68; 5. Colony, 1:59.79; 6. Skyview, 2:01.18.

1,600 relay -- 1. ACS (D. Simmers, Bang, Lopez, Miller), 4:25.35; 2. Palmer, 4:29.71; 3. Colony, 4:31.19; 4. CIA, 4:37.78; 5. Wasilla, 4:39.36; 6. Skyview, 4:43.57.

3,200 relay -- 1. ACS (Miller, Bang, Lehe, Fischetti), 10:14.97; 2. Skyview, 10:36.12; 3. Seward, 10:42.34; 4. Wasilla, 10:43.09; 5. Colony, 10:47.78; 6. Grace, 11:06.10.

High jump -- 1. Hilarie Putnam, Was, 5 feet, 0 inches; 2. Sierra Hodgson, Col, 4-10; 3. Chelsea Wilbanks, Sol, 4-8; 4. Rashayne Zimmer, Pal, 4-6; 5. Brianna Goins, Nin, 4-6; 6 (tie). Mykell Zimmer, Pal, Ashley Bartolowits, Nin, Siobhan Johansen, Col, Kristi Louthan, Ken, 4-4.

Triple jump -- 1. Hilarie Putnam, Was, 33-4.25; 2. Ardrienna Everett, Col, 32-2.5; 3. Kahla Oosting, Was, 29-7.25; 4. Debbiey Simmers, ACS, 28-7.25; 5. Katie Forstner, Col, 28-.5; 6. Deanna Weaver, Hom, 28-0.

Shot put -- 1. Paige Blackburn, Sol, 36-7.5; 2. Reba Temple, Hom, 34-2; 3. Lindsay Layland, Hom, 33-11; 4. Alexis Arnold, Gra, 32-7; 5. Alex Coon, Col, 31-6.5; 6. Sam Rorrison, Nik, 31-4.5.

Long jump -- 1. Hilarie Putnam, Was, 16-1.5; 2. Ashley Bartolowits, Nin, 14-6.25; 3. Ardrienna Everett, Col, 14-3.75; 4. Kahla Oosting, Was, 14-0; 5. Sierra Hodgson, Col, 13-11.5; 6. Elisabeth Hubbell, ACS, 13-.25.

Discus -- 1. Paige Blackburn, Sol, 112-10; 2. Rebecca Riopelle, Gra, 101-4; 3. Jenna Johnson, Was, 98-9.5; 4. Alexis Arnold, Gra, 92-1; 5. Alex Coon, Col, 91-3; 6. Katie Troxel, Col, 90-4.

BOYS

Team scores: 1. Kenai Central, 108; 2. Palmer, 104; 3. Colony, 96.5; 4. Anchorage Christian Schools, 77; 5. Homer, 55; 6. Seward, 45; 7. Grace Christian, 39.5; 8. Soldotna, 35; 9. Skyview, 33; 10. Wasilla, 31; 11. Heritage Christian, 19; 12. Houston, 9; 13. Valdez, 7; 14. Cook Inlet Academy, 3.

100 -- 1. Blake Arnold, Gra, 11.60; 2. John Daly, Pal, 11.64; 3. Eddie Buffington, Sky, 11.69; 4. Otis Williams, Was, 11.70; 5. Kelly Seggerman, Sol, 11.71; 6. Jesse Bean, Was, 11.77.

200 -- 1. John Daly, Pal, 23.47; 2. Devin Konkler, Pal, 23.56; 3. Tremain Benton, Pal, 23.93; 4. Eddie Buffington, Sky, 23.97; 5. Deonte Powe, Hom, 24.44; 6. Kellen Flanagan, Ken, 24.84.

400 -- 1. Drew Edwards, Gra, 53.11; 2. Travis Price, Sew, 54.10; 3. Bradley Truax, Col, 54.51; 4. Michael Pate, Hom, 55.03; 5. Kellen Flanagan, Ken, 55.52; 6. Kaleb Westfall, Hou, 55.93.

800 -- 1. Michael Miller, ACS, 2:08.50; 2. Travis Price, Sew, 2:09.58; 3. Ben Bachand, ACS, 2:10.65; 4. Thorton DePriest, Pal, 2:11.85; 5. Rick LeCheminant, Pal, 2:12.08; 6. Doug Gray, Col, 2:13.68.

1,600 -- 1. Michael Miller, ACS, 4:40.02; 2. Jake Parisien, Pal, 4:44.42; 3. Carlos Arias, ACS, 4:51.75; 4. Nate Miller, Hou, 4:53.03; 5. Antone Zagars, Col, 5:49.14; 6. Tommy Honer, Sky, 5:00.84.

3,200 -- 1. Jake Parisien, Pal, 10:16.91; 2. Mike Stuart, Hou, 10:25.19; 3. Hollis Troxel, ACS, 10:26.23; 4. Antone Zagars, Col, 10:26.59; 5. Carlos Arias, ACS, 10:36.46; 6. Mason Wick, Col, 10:38.93.

110 hurdles -- 1. Stephen Wilson, Ken, 16.19; 2. Bill Chimphalee, 16.57; 3. Michael Zagars, Col, 17.37; 4. Michael Coderre, ACS, 17.92; 5. Matt Kinney, Hom, 18.39; 6. Kraig Morris, Sol, 18.52.

300 hurdles -- 1. Corey Rainey, Ken, 43.05; 2. Michael Zagars, Col, 44.34; 3. David Gray, Col, 44.52; 4. Tyler Zimmerman, Gra, 45.09; 5. Dylan Beck, Sew, 45.55; 6. Kraig Morris, Sol, 46.84.

400 relay -- 1. Palmer (Benton, Daly, Konkler, Forkner), 46.23; 2. Homer, 46.45; 3. Kenai, 46.68; 4. Skyview, 47.93; 5. Wasilla, 48.45; 6. ACS, 52.02.

800 relay -- 1. Palmer (Daly, Konkler, Benton, Forkner), 1:35.04; 2. Kenai, 1:37.46; 3. Colony, 1:38.60; 4. Skyview, 1:39.20; 5. Soldotna, 1:40.37; 6. Wasilla, 1:43.20.

1,600 relay -- 1. Kenai (Rainey, Flanagan, Kiefer, Sutton), 3:41.29; 2. ACS, 3:42.34; 3. Palmer, 3:42.79; 4. Colony, 3:42.89; 5. Grace, 3:43.52; 6. Homer, 3:51.30.

3,200 relay -- 1. Seward (Chase, Nyholm, Spurr, Price), 8:36.78; 2. Palmer, 8:43.46; 3. Colony, 8:43.64; 4. ACS, 8:44.27; 5. Heritage Christian, 8:59.97; 6. Valdez, 9:12.77.

Triple jump -- 1. Stephen Wilson, Ken, 42-7; 2. Joel Richwine, ACS, 40-10.5; 3. Michael Zagars, Co, 40-2.25; 4. Bill Chimphalee, Ken, 38-1; 5. John Jensen, Col, 36-2.5; 6. Dylan Beck, Sew, 36-1.

High jump -- 1. Casey Ellis, Ken, 6-0; 2. Antone Zagars, Col, 6-0; 3. Dylan Beck, Sew, 6-0; 4. Jeremy Jurgensen, Col, 5-6; 5. Ben Tapangco, Val, 5-6; 6 (tie). Leif Karlberg, Gar, Brian Cox, Col, 5-4.

Long jump -- 1. Stephen Wilson, Ken, 20-6.75; 2. Dexter Pierce, Was, 19-2.75; 3. Jeremy Jurgensen, Col, 19-2.25; 4. Bill Chimphalee, Ken, 19-2; 5. Blake Arnold, Gar, 18-8.25; 6. Joel Richwine, ACS, 18-7.75.

Shot put -- 1. Ryan Shelton, Sol, 51-0; 2. Erik Rasmussen, Hom, 48-.5; 3. Ross Courtney, Hom, 43-2; 4. Nathan Svedin, Pal, 41-9; 5. Kenny Mahan, Sky, 41-8; 6. John Knowles, Was, 39-4.5.

Discus -- 1. Erik Rasmussen, Hom, 158-1.5; 2. Ryan Shelton, Sol, 149-11.5; 3. Nathan Svedin, Pal, 141-10; 4. Nathan Byrd, Ken, 134-6.5; 5. Israel Morales, Hou, 119-6; 6. Les Baker, Sol, 118-6.5.