The Kenai cross-country ski program won all the individual races, plus the overall girls title, Friday and Saturday at the Kardinal Klassic on the central Kenai Peninsula.
Friday at Kenai Golf Course, Kenai’s Jayna Boonstra won the girls 5.1-kilometer interval start freestyle race, while Jack Laker won the boys 7-kilometer interval start freestyle race.
Saturday at Tsalteshi Trails just outside of Soldotna, Boonstra won the 7.5-kilometer mass start classic race, while Greg Fallon won the boys 10K mass start classic race.
The Kenai girls were the team time champions at the meet, while Colony came out on top for the boys.
Kenai head coach Brad Nyquist said it was nice to get most of the region together for a meet for the first time this season. Grace Christian and Susitna Valley were the only schools that could not attend.
“It was a nice little preview to see who’s got what,” Nyquist said. “The kids really responded through some good conditions and some challenging conditions. It was pretty fun to watch.”
The challenging conditions came Friday. A bunch of snow fell in the day before the race and several breakdowns with the city of Kenai grooming equipment made some prep work impossible.
Nyquist thanked the groomers and his coaches for doing what they could on a course that ended up pretty soft.
“Not everything has to be perfect,” Nyquist said. “Expect the unexpected. Deal with it as it comes and embrace the opportunity.
“Sometimes we get caught up with all the new equipment and technology that makes things better and better. Some of the coaches were saying what this race showed is who’s got grit and perseverance.”
Boonstra won at 18 minutes, 58 seconds, while Juneau’s Maisy Morley was second at 19:31, and Colony’s Nicole Riz was third at 19:33.
For the boys, Laker finished at 23:06, while Colony’s Jayden Rice was at 23:08 and Kenai’s Tyler Hippchen was at 23:15.
Saturday, Nyquist thanked Soldotna’s coaches and the Tsalteshi grooming crew for setting a perfect classic course.
“It was an amazing day to process oxygen with some amazing people,” Nyquist said.
Boonstra and Kenai’s Emily Moss were able to break from the pack in the mass start, with Boonstra winning at 29:45, and Moss taking second at 29:49. Soldotna’s Ariana Cannava was third at 30:53.
The boys also saw a close finish, with Fallon winning at 34:26, Rice taking second at 34:28 and Laker capturing third at 34:37.
Kardinal Klassic
GIRLS
Team scores: 1. Kenai, 3 hours, 27 minutes, 51 seconds; 2. Colony, 3:35:32; 3. Juneau, 3:39:35; 4. Soldotna, 3:44:26; 5. Homer, 4:11:10.
Friday’s 5.1-kilometer interval start freestyle race at Kenai Golf Course
1. Jayna Boonstra, Ken, 18:58; 2. Maisy Morley, Jun, 19:31; 3. Nicole Riz, Col, 19:33; 4. Ariana Cannava, Sol, 19:42; 5. Emily Moss, Ken, 19:46; 6. Ireland Styvar, Hom, 19:51; 7. Jordan Ruffner, Sol, 20:26; 8. Annika Schwartz, Jun, 20:45; 9. Leah Fallon, Ken, 20:45; 10. Lucy Shea, Col, 20:59; 11. Anna Bell, Col, 21:04; 12. Ellie Henneman, Pal, 21:11; 13. Rachel Danz, Col, 21:45; 14. Iris White, Jun, 21:58; 15. Summer Foster, Ken, 22:10; 16. Eryn Field, Hom, 22:24; 17. Gabriella Tews, Ken, 22:25; 18. Mariella Belliston, Col, 22:27; 19. Josie Peace, Pal, 22:55; 20. Erin MacDonald, Jun, 23:04; 21. Etta Eller, Jun, 23:05; 22. Kaija Backus, Col, 23:11; 23. Avery Ciufo, Sol, 23:23; 24. Leanne Gordon, Sol, 23:45; 25. Adriana Ramirez, Col, 24:05.
26. Adele Tacey, Sol, 24:15; 27. Emmy Reese, Sol, 24:19; 28. Sienna Hardyman, Hom, 24:43; 29. Elizabeth Moffett, Ken, 25:07; 30. Tirzah Fredrickson, Sol, 26:10; 31. Elena Badajos, Hom, 26:19; 32. Julia Watkins, Pal, 26:47; 33. Jaela Marchbanks, Hom, 26:53; 34. Leah Dunn, Hom, 29:14.
Saturday’s 7.5-kilometer mass start classic race at Tsalteshi Trails
1. Jayna Boonstra, Ken, 29:45; 2. Emily Moss, Ken, 29:49; 3. Ariana Cannava, Sol, 30:53; 4. Maisy Morley, Jun, 31:04; 5. Jordan Ruffner, Sol, 31:17; 6. Anna Bell, Col, 31:47; 7. Ellie Henneman, Pal, 32:04; 8. Nicole Riz, Col, 32:04; 9. Leah Fallon, Ken, 32:47; 10. Lucy Shea, Col, 32:48; 11. Kaija Backus, Col, 33:21; 12. Summer Foster, Ken, 33:47; 13. Etta Eller, Jun, 33:58; 14. Rachel Danz, Col, 34:12; 15. Eryn Field, Hom, 34:21; 16. Erin MacDonald, Jun, 34:24; 17. Adriana Ramirez, Col, 34:25; 18. Mariella Belliston, Col, 34:33; 19. Annika Schwartz, Jun, 34:48; 20. Josie Peace, Pal, 36:23; 21. Avery Ciufo, Sol, 37:14; 22. Leanne Gordon, Sol, 37:42; 23. Gabriella Tews, Ken, 37:45; 24. Emmy Reese, Sol, 38:05; 25. Julia Watkins, 38:09.
26. Adele Tacey, Sol, 38:17; 27. Iris White, Jun, 38:53; 28. Tirzah Fredrickson, Sol, 39:35; 29. Elena Badajos, Hom, 40:44; 30. Sienna Hardyman, Hom, 41:16; 31. Jaela Marchbanks, Hom, 41:28; 32. Elizabeth Moffett, Ken, 42:07; 33. Leah Dunn, Hom, 46:12.
BOYS
Team scores: 1. Colony, 3:56:25; 2. Kenai, 4:02:23; 3. Soldotna, 4:14:32; 4. Homer, 4:42:07; 5. Palmer, 4:44:23; 5. Juneau, 5:05:21.
Friday’s 7-kilometer interval start freestyle race at Kenai Golf Course
1. Jack Laker, Ken, 23:06; 2. Jayden Rice, Col, 23:08; 3. Tyler Hippchen, Ken, 23:15; 4. Greg Fallon, Ken, 23:45; 5. Quinn Cox, Sol, 23:54; 6. Tobias Buchanan, Col, 23:59; 7. Jody Goodrich, Hom, 24:07; 8. Coby Marvin, Col, 24:20; 9. Layne Buchanan, Col, 24:22; 10. Matias Ramirez, Col, 25:09; 11. Jonathan Gordon, Sol, 25:09; 12. Clayton Steer, Col, 25:26; 13. Andrew Cox, Sol, 25:33; 14. Levi Micklson, Sol, 25:48; 15. Garrett Briscoe, Hom, 25:56; 16. Ben Boersma, Ken, 25:58; 17. Seamus McDonough, Hom, 26:24; 18. George Wright, Ken, 26:40; 19. Leif Torgenson, Jun, 26:43; 20. Zane Tews, Ken, 26:52; 21. Trenton Boots, Sol, 26:54; 22. Ziven Witczak, Pal, 27:08; 23. Benjamin Abel, Sol, 27:13; 24. Leif St. Clair, Jun, 28:11; 25. Ryan Owens, Pal, 28:42.
26. London Lee, Pal, 29:03; 27. Kyle Dusenberry, Jun, 29:32; 28. Leif Jaworski, Hom, 29:44; 29. Alex Adams, Pal, 30:05; 30. Carson Deans, Pal, 30:14; 31. Ferguson Wheeler, Jun, 34:29; 32. Joseph Foutz, Pal, 35:09; 33. Corder Janes, Jun, 36:01; 34. Trevor Guernsey, Sew, 37:48.
Saturday’s 10-kilometer mass start classic race at Tsalteshi Trails
1. Greg Fallon, Ken, 34:26; 2. Jayden Rice, Col, 34:28; 3. Jack Laker, Ken, 34:37; 4. Tyler Hippchen, Ken, 35:03; 5. Coby Marvin, Col, 35:05; 6. Layne Buchanan, Col, 35:17; 7. Quinn Cox, Sol, 35:27; 8. Clayton Steer, Col, 35:43; 9. Tobias Buchanan, Col, 36:03; 10. Matias Ramirez, Col, 37:03; 11. Levi Micklson, Sol, 39:09; 12. Benjamin Abel, Sol, 39:33; 13. Garrett Briscoe, Hom, 39:40; 14. Andrew Cox, Sol, 39:55; 15. Leif St. Clair, Jun, 40:05; 16. Seamus McDonough, Hom, 40:33; 17. Jody Goodrich, Hom, 40:52; 18. Trenton Boots, Sol, 40:52; 19. Ziven Witczak, Pal, 41:02; 20. London Lee, Pal, 41:16; 21. Trevor Guernsey, Sew, 41:26; 22. Jonathan Gordon, Sol, 41:48; 23. George Wright, Ken, 42:08; 24. Ryan Owens, Pal, 42:55; 25. Zane Tews, Ken, 43:33.
26. Alex Adams, Pal, 44:09; 27. Kyle Dusenberry, Jun, 44:14; 28. Ben Boersma, Ken, 44:29; 29. Carson Deans, Pal, 45:37; 30. Corder Janes, Jun, 49:23; 31. Leif Torgenson, Jun, 52:40; 32. Leif Jaworski, Hom, 54:49; 33. Joseph Foutz, Pal, 54:57; 34. Ferguson Wheeler, Jun, 56:30.
Kenai’s Madison McDonald skates to fourth place in the junior varsity race at the Kardinal Klassic at Kenai Golf Course on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak)
Soldotna’s Alexis Wells skates to 39th place in the junior varsity freestyle race at the Kardinal Klassic at the Kenai Golf Course on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai’s George Wright skates to 18th place in the varsity race at the Kardinal Klassic at the Kenai Golf Course on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
