The Soldotna girls and boys, and Homer girls, won Region 3 track and field titles Friday and Saturday at Homer High School.
The Soldotna girls scored 121 points to win the Division I title, while Colony had 116, Palmer had 44, Wasilla had 38 and Kodiak had 34.
The Stars boys rolled up 118 in Division I action, while Colony had 103.5, Kodiak had 92.5, Wasilla had 34 and Palmer had 5.
The Homer girls had 144 to the Division II title, while runner-up Mountain City Christian Academy had 117. Also from the peninsula, Seward was fourth at 108, Kenai Central was sixth at 43 and Nikiski was eighth at 2.
The MCCA boys had 151 points for a Division II title, followed by runner-up Grace Christian at 118. Also, the Kardinals were third at 117.5, Seward was fourth at 109, Nikiski was fifth at 66 and Homer was sixth at 58.5.
Division I
The Soldotna girls won the region title for the sixth straight time, while the Soldotna boys won for the third time since 2019.
“The boys team title is one of the most impressive things I’ve seen the team do since I’ve been here,” said Soldotna head coach Phil Leck, who nabbed the Region 3/Division I coach of the year honors and has been SoHi head coach since 2014.
The Stars boys were the favorites heading into the meet, but Leck said the squad learned Thursday morning that senior Leigh Tacey II would miss the meet due to injury.
“With one day of practice until the meet, the boys team lost one of the guys that’s been the main cog for the team for four years,” Leck said. “For them to come together, step up and win a region title without him is one of the coolest things I’ve seen.”
Leck said the team won the meet with the sprints, particularly the haul late in the meet where the Stars took the top five spots in the 200 meters. Tacey II is normally a stalwart in the sprints.
Tyce Escott won the 200 at 23.51 seconds, Jeren Nash was second at 23.67, Andon Wolverton was third at 23.79, James Innes was fourth at 23.91 and Gabriel Almeida was fifth at 24.01.
In the 100, Wolverton won at 11.38, Escott was third at 11.47 and Jared Williams was sixth at 11.85.
In the 400, Innes was second at 51.65 and Nash was third at 52.65.
The Stars also won all the sprint relays, with Wyatt Faircloth, Lokeni Wong, Wolverton and Escott winning the 400 relay in 44.57; Innes, Faircloth, Wolverton and Escott winning the 800 relay in 1:32.82; and Almeida, Innes, Nash and Elijah Jedlicki winning the 1,600 in 3:33.03.
“All of them came right back after running the 200 and beat a stacked Kodiak team,” Leck said of the 1,600 relay.
The coach said the Stars had to weather Colony’s strength in the field events. Kevin Steger played a big part in that, winning the shot put in 47 feet, 9 inches, and taking second in the discus at 139—5.
Also, Kenai Lepule was fifth in the shot put at 43—7.75, Dax Walden was third in the long jump at 18—4.25, Almeida was sixth in the long jump at 18—3, and Wong was fourth in the triple jump at 38—5.
Faircloth had a big day in the hurdles, winning the 300 at 40.55 and taking second in the 110 in 15.37. Faircloth is the top seed in the 300 hurdles on the entry list at state.
Also in the 110 hurdles, William Klein was third in 16.13 and Nash was sixth in 17.50. In the 300 hurdles, Almeida was third at 41.52 and Klein was fifth at 43.50.
Finnley Loop took fifth in the 800 at 2:07.18, while Jedlicki was sixth at 2:09.31. Those two also combined with Wesley Johnson and Ethan Anding to take second in the 3,200 relay at 8:24.43.
“Winning three of four relays, and taking second in the 4 by 8, those boys are all going to state and I’m super proud of that,” Leck said.
In the girls team race, Leck said one could have flipped a coin once the entries came out to determine who would come out on top.
He said for the Stars went punch for punch with the Knights.
“With our lack of depth, to be able to do what we did against a team that is very deep is very impressive,” Leck said.
The Stars were able to win in despite having just one individual champion — Juliet Innes at 108—8 in the discus.
Three relays won to pile up points — Anaulie Sedivy, Shiloh Zichko, Mia Hannevold and Sarah Brown in the 800 relay at 1:50.37; Zichko, Sedivy, Sasha Brott and Annie Burns in the 1,600 relay at 4:17.29; and Brott, Burns, Tania Boonstra and Kathryn DeBardelaben in the 3,200 relay at 10:13.69.
The 400 relay of Brown, Sedivy, Hannevold and Mandi Sisley took second at 52.61.
Leck said both Brott and Burns ran the 400 and 800 in addition to running those distances in the relay. Burns was fourth in 1:03.33 in the 400 and second in the 800 at 2:30.74, while Brott was fifth in the 400 at 1:03.80. Zichko also was fourth in the 400 at 1:02.32.
“People who don’t know track don’t know how hard it is to do that quad,” Leck said of Burns and Brott.
From there, the SoHi girls picked up points in multiple places, with Leck saying every point mattered.
In the sprints, Brown was second in the 100 at 13.10, second in the 200 at 27.19 and Zichko was fourth in the 200 at 27.42.
At distance, DeBardelaben was second in the 1,600 at 5:39.10 and second in the 3,200 at 12:08.08, and Boonstra was fifth in the 1,600 at 5:46.48 and fourth in the 3,200 at 12:20.20.
In the hurdles, Hallie Fischer was fourth in the 100 at 17.85 and fourth in the 300 at 51.54, Angelina Chavarria was second in the 100 at 17.46, and Sedivy was second in the 300 at 48.49.
In the throws, Hope Hillyer was second in the shot put at 32—7.5, Meg Roberts was third in shot put at 32—7.25 and Katie Nye was fifth in shot put at 30—1.5.
In the jumps, Fischer was fourth in the high jump at 4—4, Chavarria was second in the long jump at 14—10, Abriella Werner was third in the long jump at 14—8, DeBardelaben was fourth in the triple jump at 31—10, and Laurel Johnson was sixth in the triple jump at 31—3.75.
Leck said both the girls and boys squads are excited for the state meet Friday and Saturday at Dimond High School.
He said the girls team faces a juggernaut in Chugiak. He said the boys team has a shot at the state title, but it will be tougher without Tacey II.
“We’re just going to attack every race to the best of our ability and get on the podium as many times as possible,” Leck said.
Division II
The Homer girls won the region title for the second straight season and have now won four of the last seven titles awarded.
“It was huge to have a lot of people in the community out there watching the team and seeing how well our track program is doing,” Homer assistant coach Kale Engebretsen said.
Engebretsen said the girls knew they had a good shot at the title and rose to the occasion.
“A lot of them improved their personal best time, or even their season best time,” Engebretsen said. “They got even more points than was expected.”
Grace Miotke won the lone individual event for the Mariners, taking the 300 hurdles and also taking second in the 100 hurdles. Miotke will be the top seed at the 300 hurdles at state.
Homer also won three relays — Jaelynn Kennon, Cassidy Carroll, Immi Im and Gracie Miotke in the 400 relay; Brightly Thoning, Carroll, Im and Maddy Miotke in the 800 relay; and Thoning, Beatrix McDonough, Gracie Miotke and Maddy Miotke in the 1,600 relay.
The Homer 400 relay is the top seed at state.
Kennon also had a big meet, taking second in the 100, second in the high jump and sixth in the 300 hurdles.
Engebretsen also said it was nice to have four girls final in the 400, with Thoning taking second and McDonough taking fifth. McDonough added a second in the 800.
Being a Region 3 champ at Division II means Homer is on the short list of favorites for the Division II state title, but Engebretsen said the team was waiting to get through regions before thinking about state.
“We don’t have the same depth for the boys, but they had a good performance at this meet as well,” Engebretsen said.
The 3,200 relay team of Cruz Cannon, Tait Ostrom, Alexander VanMeter and Jai Badajos led Homer by nabbing a victory. That squad will be the top seed at state.
The Seward boys had a big meet, with Ronan Bickling winning the boys Region 3/Division II athlete of the year and Solomon D’ Amico winning the boys Region 3/Division II coach of the year.
Bickling set personal bests in winning the 100 in 11.51 and the 200 in 23.34. He will be the top seed in both of those events at state.
He also teamed with Jerick Senecal, Gideon Schrock and Emerson Cross to win the 400 relay, and Nickolas Ambrosiani, Schrock and Cross to win the 800 relay.
Schrock also got the Seward boys a victory in the 400, while Olin Liljemark won the high jump. Bengimin Ambrosiani was second in the 110 hurdles, while Nickolas Ambrosiani was second in the 300 hurdles.
Hailey Ingalls had a massive day for the Seward girls. Ingalls won the 1,600 and 3,200 and also teamed with Katie Van Buskirk, Selah Brueckner and Juniper Ingalls to win the 3,200 relay. Hailey Ingalls also was third in the 800.
The Seward girls are the top seed at state in the 3,200 relay.
Robin Cronin was second in the triple jump and fourth in the high and long jumps for the Seahawks, while the 400 relay of Cronin, Lia Shank, Maddie Haas and Regan Seibert was second.
For the Kenai boys, Greg Fallon won what Leck said was probably the race of the day by taking the 800 in 1:57.18. Fallon will be the top seed in the 800 at state.
William Roberts won the discus for the Kardinals, while James Wright was second in the shot put, and Hayden Hughes was second in the high, long and triple jumps. Roberts is the top seed in the discus heading into state.
For the girls, Emma Beck was first in the discus and second in the shot put. Beck will be the top seed in the discus heading into state.
For the Nikiski boys, Truit McCaughey won the shot put and finished second in the discus. McCaughey will be the top seed in shot put at state.
Region 3 awards
Division I
Girls athlete of the year — Ella Hopkins, Colony.
Boys athlete of the year — Elias Litzow, Kodiak.
Girls coach of the year — Ashley Mortensen, Kodiak.
Boys coach of the year — Phil Leck, Soldotna.
Division II
Girls athlete of the year — Jenna Houck, Mountain City Christian Academy.
Boys athlete of the year — Ronan Bickling, Seward.
Girls coach of the year — Kate Wolanin, Redington.
Boys coach of the year — Solomon D’ Amico, Seward.
Region 3/Division II track and field meet
Friday, Saturday
at Homer High School
GIRLS
Team scores: 1. Homer, 144; 2. MCCA, 117; 3. Grace, 113; 4. Seward, 108; 5. Redington, 89; 6. Kenai, 43; 7. Houston, 12; 8. Nikiski, 2.
100 meters — 1. Jenna Houck, MCCA, 13.16 seconds; 2. Jaelynn Kennon, Hom, 13.57; 3. Gifty Friesen, MCCA, 13.79; 4. Mia Bukala, Red, 13.83; 5. Regan Siebert, Sew, 13.92; 6. Cassidy Carroll, Hom, 14.01.
200 — 1. Jenna Houck, MCCA, 27.37; 2. Mya Campbell, Red, 27.83; 3. Maddy Miotke, Hom, 28.36; 4. Mia Bukala, Red, 28.68; 5. Immi Im, Hom, 29.01; 6. Ava Huey, Gra, 29.05.
400 — 1. Tagan Rinner, Gra, 1:03.30; 2. Brightly Thoning, Hom, 1:04.20; 3. Regan Seibert, Sew, 1:04.43; 4. Sarah Murphy, Gra, 1:04.56; 5. Beatrix McDonough, hom, 1:04.88; 6. Kate Matthew, MCCA, 1:05.48.
800 — 1. Tagan Rinner, Gra, 2:30.76; 2. Beatrix McDonough, Hom, 2:32.17; 3. Hailey Ingalls, Sew, 2:34.98; 4. Sydney Mondeel, Gra, 2:37.45; 5. Faith Carter, MCCA, 2:38.22; 6. Peyton Marks, MCCA, 2:39.96.
1,600 — 1. Hailey Ingalls, Sew, 5:40.38; 2. Sydney Mondeel, Gra, 5:40.83; 3. Claira Booz, Hom, 5:51.35; 4. Saydi Cardoso, Red, 5:54.08; 5. Indigo Leslie, Sew, 5:55.03; 6. Juniper Ingalls, Sew, 5:55.80.
3,200 — 1. Hailey Ingalls, Sew, 12:19.07; 2. Sydney Mondeel, Gra, 12:24.33; 3. Claira Booz, Hom, 12:25.81; 4. Faith Carter, MCCA, 12:36.60; 5. Indigo Leslie, Sew, 12:37.21; 6. Juniper Ingalls, Sew, 12:42.66.
100 hurdles — 1. Hope Jackson, Gra, 16.47; 2. Gracie Miotke, Hom, 16.65; 3. Emma Mersdorf, MCCA, 17.78; 4. Avery Reger, Gra, 18.13; 5. Annareese Carroll, Red, 18.55; 6. Elliot Stockton, Ken, 20.18.
300 hurdles — 1. Gracie Miotke, Hom, 47.88; 2. Jenna Houck, MCCA, 48.74; 3. Maddie Haas, Sew, 49.31; 4. Hope Jackson, Gra, 50.29; 5. Emma Mersdorf, MCCA, 51.73; 6. Jaelynn Kennon, Hom, 54.06.
400 relay — 1. Homer (Jaelynn Kennon, Cassidy Carroll, Immi Im, Gracie Miotke), 52.87; 2. Seward, 54.20; 3. Redington, 55.59; 4. MCCA, 56.58; 5. Grace, 57.05.
800 relay — 1. Homer (Brightly Thoning, Cassidy Carroll, Immi Im, Maddy Miotke), 1:54.07; 2. Grace, 1:55.06; 3. Kenai, 2:03.04; 4. Redington, 2:06.06.
1,600 relay — 1. Homer (Brightly Thoning, Beatrix McDonough, Gracie Miotke, Maddy Miotke), 4:24.84; 2. MCCA, 4:37.99; 3. Seward, 4:39.55; 4. Grace, 4:41.70; 5. Kenai, 4:51.73; 6. Redington, 5:04.50.
3,200 relay — 1. Seward (Katie Van Buskirk, Selah Brueckner, Juniper Ingalls, Hailey Ingalls), 10:39.90; 2. MCCA, 10:51.11; 3. Homer, 10:54.11; 4. Kenai, 11:28.97.
Shot put — 1. Jieaya Siatini, MCCA, 38 feet, 6 inches; 2. Emma Beck, Ken, 35—4.5; 3. Kate Matthew, MCCA, 32—2.25; 4. Auden Cress, Hom, 31—8.25; 5. Brook Lentfer, Gra, 29—3; 6. Esme Wilder, Sew, 28—4.
Discus — 1. Emma Beck, Ken, 125—3; 2. Jieaya Siatini, MCCA, 111—10; 3. Alexia Pike, Red, 110—7; 4. Auden Cress, Hom, 104—6; 5. Brook Lentfer, Gra, 88—4; 6. Ellsi Miller, Ken, 80—8.
High jump — 1. Mya Campbell, Red, 4—10; 2. Jaelynn Kennon, Hom, 4—8; 3. Brightly Thoning, Hom, 4—6; 4. Robin Cronin, Sew, 4—6; 5. Lily Slaugenhoup, MCCA, 4—0.
Long jump — 1. Mya Campbell, Red, 16—2; 2. Hope Jackson, Gra, 14—11.75; 3. Sophia Dickson, Hou, 14—6.25; 4. Robin Cronin, Sew, 14—5.75; 5. Maddy Miotke, Hom, 14—2.75; 6. Alexia Pike, Red, 13—9.25.
Triple jump — 1. Mya Campbell, Red, 33—3; 2. Robin Cronin, Sew, 32—3.25; 3. Caroline Klebs, Gra, 32—2.5; 4. Alexia Pike, Red, 31—6.25; 5. Sophia Dickson, Hou, 31—3.5; 6. Autumn Braquet, MCCA, 28—5.5.
BOYS
Team scores: 1. MCCA, 151; 2. Grace, 118; 3. Kenai, 117.5; 4. Seward, 109; 5. Nikiski, 66; 6. Homer, 58.5; 7. Redington, 24; 8. Houston, 8.
100 — 1. Ronan Bickling, Sew, 11.51; 2. Darian Igwacho, MCCA, 11.74; 3. Jaidhen Oyao, MCCA, 11.93; 4. Thayne Quiner, Nik, 11.98; 5. Jerick Senecal, Sew, 12.05; 6. Elias Johnson, Hou, 12.06.
100 unified — 1. Isaiah Aparezuk, Mat-Su Career and Technical, 16.54; 2. Albert Freeman, Hom, 16.84; 3. Don Slats, Was, 17.94; 4. Marcus Heistumen, Sol, 19.12; 5. Jayden Monroe, Was, 19.93; 6. John Pagel, Pal, 23.21.
200 — 1. Ronan Bickling, Sew, 23.34; 2. Darian Igwacho, MCCA, 23.67; 3. Nolan Warren, MCCA, 23.95; 4. Kellen Jedlicka, Gra, 24.20; 5. Joe Gordon, Hom, 24.24; 6. Lukas Underhile, MCCA, 24.50.
400 — 1. Gideon Schrock, Sew, 53.62; 2. Stryder Kronberger, MCCA, 54.71; 3. Jack Laker, Ken, 55.26; 4. Ryder Maguire, Nik, 55.85; 5. Theo Garcia, Gra, 56.62; 6. Jackson Fraley, Hom, 57.31.
800 — 1. Greg Fallon, Ken, 1:57.18; 2. Colton Merriner, Gra, 1:57.89; 3. Robbie Annett, Gra, 1:57.91; 4. Lukas Underhile, MCCA, 1:58.01; 5. Ryder Maguire, Nik, 2:11.29; 6. Jai Badajos, Hom, 2:13.14.
1,600 — 1. Robbie Annett, Gra, 4:22.66; 2. Colton Merriner, Gra, 4:24.87; 3. Ryder Maguire, Nik, 4:46.33; 4. Preston Kopp, MCCA, 4:49.91; 5. Johannes Bynagle, Hom, 4:50.82; 6. Jai Badajos, Hom, 5:03.10.
3,200 — 1. Robbie Annett, Gra, 9:44.86; 2. Colton Merriner, Gra, 9:45.70; 3. Simon Nelson, Gra, 10:09.64; 4. Preston Kopp, MCCA, 10:17.19; 5. Johannes Bynagle, Hom, 10:26.30; 6. Alexander VanMeter, Hom, 10:49.61.
110 hurdles — 1. Nolan Warren, MCCA, 16.44; 2. Bengimin Ambrosiani, Sew, 18.05; 3. Matthew Krol, Ken, 18.56; 4. Delen Byrd, Ken, 18.62; 5. Chris Jones, Gra, 18.78; 6. Judah Brueckner, Sew, 19.65.
300 hurdles — 1. Nolan Warren, MCCA, 42.28; 2. Nickolas Ambrosiani, Sew, 44.07; 3. Chris Jones, Gra, 45.87; 4. Delen Byrd, Ken, 46.47; 5. Matthew Krol, Ken, 46.50; 6. Tait Ostrom, Hom, 47.14.
400 relay — 1. Seward (Jerick Senecal, Ronan Bickling, Gideon Schrock, Emerson Cross), 45.89; 2. MCCA, 47.39; 3. Homer, 48.92; 4. Kenai, 48.97; 5. Houston, 49.47; 6. Gra, 51.25.
400 relay unified — 1. Mat-Su Career and Technical, 1:03.23; 2. Wasilla, 1:09.36; 3. Palmer, 1:18.26; 4. Homer, 1:30.02.
800 relay — 1. MCCA (Timothy Edmondson, Carlos Stevens, Lukas Underhile, Darian Igwacho), 1:37.29; 2. Seward, 1:37.53; 3. Kenai, 1:49.26; 4. Grace, 1:40.92; 5. Homer, 1:47.52; 6. Nikiski, 1:49.21.
1,600 relay — 1. MCCA (Nolan Warren, Stryder Kronberger, Joshua Woko, Lukas Underhile), 3:40.58; 2. Grace, 3:41.02; 3. Seward, 3:41.99; 4. Gage Ivy, Ken, 3:50.96; 5. Homer, 4:02.64; 6. Redington, 4:31.81.
3,200 relay — 1. Homer (Cruz Cannon, Tait Ostrom, Alexander VanMeter, Jai Badajos), 9:00.93; 2. Grace, 9:09.60; 3. Seward, 9:35.76; 4. Kenai, 10:09.68; 5. Redington, 10:50.19.
Shot put — 1. Truit McCaughey, Nik, 47—11.50; 2. James Wright, Ken, 42—3.75; 3. Elliott Switzer, MCCA, 40—7.25; 4. William Roberts, Ken, 39—11.75; 5. Zachariah Hockema, Nik, 39—7.75; 6. Kellen Jedlicka, Gra, 38—4.75.
Shot put unified — 1. Isaiah Aparezuk, Mat-Su Career and Technical, 31—1.25; 2. Marcus Heistumen, Sol, 23—7.25; 3. Jayden Monroe, Was, 23—2.25; 4. Logan Jearlos, Mat-Su, 21—8; 5. Don Slats, Was, 20—1.75; 6. Lance Parkinson, Hom, 13—4.75.
Discus — 1. William Roberts, Ken, 148—7; 2. Truit McCaughey, Nik, 129—1; 3. Elliott Switzer, MCCA, 122—0; 4. Ryan Earhart, MCCA, 117—5; 5. Kellen Jedlicka, Gra, 116—5; 6. Dalton Goodnight, Nik, 116—2.
High jump — 1. Olin Liljemark, Sew, 5—8; 2. Hayden Hughes, Ken, 5—8; 3. Nickolas Ambrosiani, Sew, 5—8; 4. Thayne Quiner, Nik, 5—6; 5. Myles Campbell, Red, 5—4; 6. Chris Jones, Gra, 5—2.
Long jump — 1. Jaidhen Oyao, MCCA, 18—10; 2. Hayden Hughes, Ken, 17—11.25; 3. Thayne Quiner, Nik, 17—11.25; 4. Elijah Kahle, Ken, 17—10; 5. Ashton Clarkson, Gra, 17—10; 6. Trigger McCaughey, Nik, 17—9.
Long jump unified — 1. Albert Freeman, Hom, 11—5.5; 2. Don Slats, Was, 10—5.75; 3. Marcus Heistumen, Sol, 9—4.5; 4. Jayden Moore, Was, 7—10; 5. Logan Jearlos, Mat-Su, 7—6.75; 6. Garick Imperato, Mat-Su, 3—10.50.
Triple jump — 1. Myles Campbell, Red, 39—7.25; 2. Hayden Hughes, Ken, 38—10.75; 3. Jaidhen Oyao, MCCA, 38—5.25; 4. Joshua Woko, MCCA, 38—0; 5 (tie). Gage Ivy, Ken, Joe Gordon, Hom, 37—8.5.
