Soldotna track and field sweeps SoHi Invitational

The Soldotna track and field teams put in a long, hard week of work on the track before sweeping the girls and boys team titles and the SoHi Invitational on Friday and Saturday at Justin Maile Field.

The problem for the Stars came that all that track work was done breaking up snow and ice, and hauling it off the track. That left the Stars little time for sprinting, endurance work and throws.

“We practiced about 20 minutes this week for track but we got the track set up,” SoHi head coach Phil Leck said. “We’re excited and we’re ready to get out here and practice and improve, that’s for sure.”

The Soldotna girls scored 179 points to beat the 150.5 of runner-up Colony. Also from the peninsula, Homer was fourth with 64.5, Kenai was seventh with 44, Seward was eighth with 25.5 and Ninilchik was 12th with 2.

The Stars boys scored 158 points to top the 138 of the runner-up Knights. The Homer boys were fifth with 61, Kenai was seventh with 38, Seward was eighth with 18 and Nikiski was ninth with 8.

Leck said it’s a wonder the meet even happened at all.

“Just a lot of work out here — a lot of work, a lot of time and a lot of people on board to help make this happen,” Leck said. “If you would have saw this place Monday, you would’ve thought, ‘There’s no way.’”

Leck said a massive effort to clear the soccer field April 15 still left ice covering the track. Tuesday, the SoHi track team, which numbers 70, spent two hours on the ice, then Wednesday classes worked on the track from third through seventh period, plus the track team spent another day on ice removal.

Thursday, the high jump pits were cleared, then the meet started Friday.

The Stars competed at the Big C Relays on March 31 and April 1, and also had a mini meet with Kenai, but that’s been it for track time.

“We’re not even close to where we need to be conditioning-wise, but we are on the track and the kids competed and wanted to compete, and that’s all we can ask for right now,” Leck said.

The Soldotna girls took five individual events and three of the four relays.

Freshman Sarah Brown won the 100 meters and also was a part of the winning 400 and 800 relays. Mandi Sisley, Anaulie Sedivy and Angelina Chavarria joined Brown on both relays.

Freshman Sasha Brott won the 400 and joined Sedivy, Annie Burns and Sophia Jedlicki in winning the 1,600 relay.

Sedivy also had a big day, adding a win in the 300 hurdles.

Katelyn Morrison also won the high jump and triple jump for the Stars.

The Soldotna boys were able to win with two individual wins and two relay wins.

“The boys team didn’t win on individual titles,” Leck said. “They won on the boys collectively getting those fifths and fourths and sixths throughout the meet in every event.

“So that was cool to see that.”

Wyatt Faircloth won the 110 and 300 hurdles to lead the SoHi boys. Faircloth also was a part of the winning 800 and 1,600 relays.

On the 800 relay, he was joined by Andon Wolverton, James Innes and Jeren Nash. On the 1,600 relay, Innes, Nash and Leigh Tacey II joined Faircloth.

When it came to track experience, the late spring has all the Kenai Peninsula schools in a similar position.

Kenai coach Joe Shirley said his team has been on the track for weeks, but said as the only open turf in the city, the Kardinals have had to learn to share the space with others.

Other than a mini meet, Friday and Saturday was the first competition for Kenai. Shirley said that considering the late start, he’s happy with the team’s performance.

“It’s just going to be time,” Shirley said. “We will probably hit our stride about boroughs in Homer, then, hopefully, just in time for regions.”

Highlights for Kenai were Greg Fallon winning the 400 and Emma Beck winning the discus. Shirley also said the sprint relays should be good, and he’s encouraged Reagan Graves is already hitting PRs in the 100 and 200. Shirley also said Adam Anglebrandt already has PRs in the shot and discus this year.

Homer coach Bob Ostrom said his team was not able to get on the track at all before the SoHi Invitational. The Mariners had to cancel their invitational this season.

The coach said Homer plans to get on the track early this week. The Mariners did participate in the Big C Relays, but not as a full team.

Homer got victories from Lukyan Dax in the 200, Seamus McDonough in the 800 and Daisy Walker in the 3,200.

Ostrom also was happy with the way his girls ran the 400 and 800, led by senior Eryn Field. Ostrom also was pleased with the way his freshman did, mentioning Jai Badajos in the 1,600, and 1,600 and 3,200 relays.

Seward coach Solomon D’ Amico said his team has been practicing on the Seward track for about a week, but the SoHi Invitational was the first competition for the Seahawks.

“We had a lot of really impressive performances, actually,” D’ Amico said. “We’ve got some newcomers that are showing that they are definitely ready to answer the ball when called upon.”

D’ Amico said he wasn’t going to single out any performances, but did mention he likes how nice and supportive everybody on the team is.

Nikiski coach Billie Denison said the Bulldogs have had limited track time, because parts of the track are still covered in snow.

This was the first competition for Nikiski.

“I think it went well,” Denison said. “I’m super proud of the runners, and the jumpers also had limitations in training.”

Denison said a highlight was Dalton Goodnight taking seventh in the discus and eighth in the hurdles.

“I really appreciate they were able to hold the meet,” Denison said. “I know the amount of work that went into that is crazy.

“I’m also appreciative of the community. I know a lot of them stepped in and helped.”

SoHi Invitational

Friday, Saturday at Soldotna High School

BOYS

Team scores: 1. Soldotna, 158; 2. Colony, 138; 3, Wasilla, 89; 4. Anchorage Christian Schools, 81.5; 5. Homer, 61; 6. Palmer, 53.5; 7. Kenai, 38; 8. Seward, 18; 9. Nikiski, 8; 10 (tie). Bethel, Houston, 6.

100 meters — 1. Grisso, Was, 11.57 seconds; 2. Wolverton, Sol, 11.67; 3. Robles, Col, 11.76; 4. Graves, Ken, 11.79; 5. Tacey II, Sol, 11.79; 6. Nash, Col, 11.82.

100 unified — 1. Heistumen, Sol, 17.88; 2. Freeman, Hom, 18.30; 3. Swaby, Ken, 25.02; 4. Braxling, Sol, 27.15; 5. White, Sol, 35.57; 6. Parkinson, Hom, 40.86.

200 — 1. Dax, Hom, 23.47; 2. Grisso, Was, 23.81; 3. Nash, Col, 23.98; 4. Nash, Sol, 24.13; 5. Innes, Sol, 24.16; 6. Graves, Ken, 24.50.

400 — 1. Fallon, Ken, 53.37; 2. Underhile, ACS, 53.62; 3. Seneff, Hom, 53.97; 4. Innes, Sol, 54.13; 5. Nash, Sol, 54.21; 6. Jedlicki, Sol, 55.37.

800 — 1. McDonough, Hom, 2:07.02; 2. Underhile, ACS, 2:08.49; 3. Fallon, Ken, 2:10.90; 4. Buchanan, Col, 2:11.00; 5. Seneff, Hom, 2:12.27; 6. Hafen, Was, 2:13.62.

1,600 — 1. Merchant, ACS, 4:30.48; 2. McDonough, Hom, 4:30.51; 3. Rongitsch, Col, 4:36.81; 4. Buchanan, Col, 4:52.13; 5. Hafen, Was, 4:54.62; 6. Edgerton, Was, 5:06.73.

3,200 — 1. Merchant, ACS, 9:36.06; 2. Hafen, Was, 10:30.90; 3. Edgerton, Was, 10:56.19; 4. Strausbaugh, Sol, 11:07.05; 5. Styvar, Hom, 11:10.05; 6. Lutz, Col, 11:21.58.

110 hurdles — 1. Faircloth, Sol, 16.35; 2. Jamison, Col, 17.22; 3. Warren, ACS, 17.49; 4. Swanson, Col, 17.53; 5. Klein, Sol, 18.01; 6. Underhile, ACS, 18.38.

300 hurdles — 1. Faircloth, Sol, 42.72; 2. Warren, ACS, 43.09; 3. Swanson, Col, 43.73; 4. Hayes, Ken, 45.28; 5. Merritt, Pal, 45.32; 6. Underhile, ACS, 45.44.

400 relay — 1. Wasilla (D. Campbell, I. Campbell, DeArmond, Grisso), 46.39; 2. Colony, 46.81; 3. Soldotna, 47.92; 4. Palmer, 48.12; 5. Homer, 48.30; 6. Seward, 48.54.

400 unified relay — 1. Soldotna, 1:14.52; 2. Homer, 1:25.02.

400 throwers relay — 1. Colony, 54.01; 2. Kenai, 54.42; 3. Houston, 54.59; 4. ACS, 57.07; 5. Redington, 57.32; 6. Soldotna, 1:00.93.

800 relay — 1. Soldotna (Wolverton, Faircloth, Innes, Nash), 1:34.53; 2. Colony, 1:39.66; 3. Palmer, 1:42.46; 4. ACS, 1:44.27; 5. Houston, 1:46.11; 6. Wasilla, 1:47.16.

1,600 relay — 1. Soldotna (Faircloth, Innes, Nash, Tacey II), 3:37.32; 2. Homer, 3:42.24; 3. ACS, 3:42.96; 4. Colony, 3:46.04; 5. Palmer, 4:03.96; 6. Seward, 4:06.29.

3,200 relay — 1. Colony (Jorgensen, Buchanan, Rongitsch, Marvin), 8:55.15; 2. Soldotna, 9:10.10; 3. ACS, 9:41.23; 4. Colony, 9:48.03; 5. Homer, 9:53.01; 6. Soldotna, 10:15.88.

Shot put — 1. Kolomeychuk, Was, 48 feet, 11.5 inches; 2. Steger, Sol, 47—3.25; 3. Miller, Sol, 44—4; 4. Thaler, Col, 41—8.75; 5. Phelps, Col, 38—9; 6. Lepule, Sol, 37—7.

Shot put unified — 1. Severns, Birchwood, 26—9.75; 2. Weisser, Hom, 25—6.5; 3. Heistumen, Sol, 22—6; 4. Freeman, Hom, 10—1.5; 5. Parkinson, Hom, 9—4.5; 6. Harrison, Ken, 8—2.

Discus — 1. Glastetter, Pal, 139—10; 2. McNulty, Col, 125—7; 3. Tuisaula, Sol, 125—6; 4. Kolomeychuk, Was, 122—3; 5. Steger, Sol, 119—10; 6. Angelbrandt, Ken, 115—3.

High jump — 1. Jamison, Col, 6—0; 2. Cayson, Col, 5—10; 3. Landon, Pal, 5—8; 4. N. Ambrosiani, Sew, 5—8; 5. B. Ambrosiani, Sew, 5—4; 6. Chavarria, Sol, 5—4.

Long jump — 1. Cayson, Col, 20—1; 2. D. Campbell, Was, 19—2; 3. I. Campbell, Was, 18—9; 4. Chavarria, Sol, 18—5.5; 5. Wolverton, Sol, 18—2.25; 6. Almeida, Sol, 18—.25.

Long jump unified — 1. Homer, 13—9.5; 2. Freeman, Hom, 8—7; 3. Heistumen, Sol, 6—7; 4. Parkinson, Hom, 3—5; 5. Swaby, Ken, 3—0; 6. White, Sol, 1—11.

Triple jump — 1. Landon, Pal, 40—7.5; 2. Warren, ACS, 39—7.25; 3. Chavarria, Sol, 38—0; 4. Motton, Col, 37—9.5; 5. Johnson, Pal, 35—8; 6. Wong, Sol, 35—3.25.

GIRLS

Team scores: 1. Soldotna, 179; 2. Colony, 150.5; 3. Anchorage Christian Schools, 68.5; 4. Homer, 64.5; 5. Wasilla, 55; 6. Palmer, 49; 7. Kenai Central, 44; 8. Seward, 25.5; 9. Redington, 6; 10. Lumen Christi, 4; 11. Bethel, 3; 12. Ninilchik, 2.

100 — 1. Brown, Sol, 13.67; 2. Layton, ACS, 13.82; 3. Compton, Was, 14.04; 4. Tapley, Ken, 14.09; 5. Grieme, Ken, 14.16; 6. Frizzelle, Was, 14.17.

100 unified — 1. Knowles, Sol, 18.32; 2. Dye, Hom, 25.03; 3. Phippin, Sol, 25.14.

200 — 1. Houck, ACS, 27.80; 2. Wallace, Col, 28.29; 3. Brown, Sol, 28.41; 4. Adams, Pal, 29.42; 5. Knolmayer, Pal, 29.58; 6. Zellmer, Col, 29.71.

400 — 1. Brott, Sol, 1:04.57; 2. Jedlicki, Sol, 1:04.93; 3. Field, Hom, 1:05.25; 4. McDonough, Hom, 1:06.75; 5. Johnson, Pal, 1:07.93; 6. Thoning, Hom, 1:08.66.

800 — 1. Hopkins, Col, 2:30.03; 2. Ainsworth, Col, 2:34.74; 3. Belliston, Col, 2:36.57; 4. Brott, Sol, 2:39.80; 5. Field, Hom, 2:41.03; 6. Boonstra, Sol, 2:42.33.

1,600 — 1. Hopkins, Col, 5:41.27; 2. Jedlicki, Sol, 5:55.00; 3. Ainsworth, Col, 6:00.49; 4. Boonstra, Ken, 6:05.87; 5. T. Boonstra, Sol, 6:08.50; 6. Stella Rose, Col, 6:09.33.

3,200 — 1. Walker, Hom, 12:10.42; 2. J. Boonstra, Ken, 12:29.06; 3. T. Boonstra, Sol, 12:30.86; 4. Rose, Col, 12:49.46; 5. Booz, Hom, 13:45.74; 6. Roberts, Col, 13:51.54.

100 hurdles — 1. Wallace, Col, 17.15; 2. Miotke, Hom, 18.06; 3. Morrison, Sol, 18.16; 4. Houck, ACS, 18.81; 5. Sanchez, Col, 19.10; 6. McIntosh, Col, 19.56.

300 hurdles — 1. Sedivy, Sol, 49.35; 2. Houck, ACS, 51.94; 3. Wallace, Col, 52.55; 4. Miotke, Hom, 52.70; 5. McAnelly, Sol, 53.42; 6. McIntosh, Col, 54.91.

400 relay — 1. Soldotna (Brown, Sisley, Sedivy, Chavarria), 53.65; 2. Wasilla, 54.73; 3. Colony, 55.32; 4. Homer, 56.45; 5. Kenai, 56.60; 6. Palmer, 57.24.

400 unified relay — 1. Homer, 1:30.51.

400 throwers relay — 1. Soldotna, 1:04.33; 2. Kenai, 1:05.04; 3. Colony, 1:05.96; 4. ACS, 1:11.37.

800 relay — 1. Soldotna (Sisley, Brown, Sedivy, Chavarria), 1:55.58; 2. ACS, 1:58.32; 3. Seward, 2:06.72; 4. Palmer, 2:08.26; 5. Wasilla, 2:09.37; 6. Colony, 2:09.82.

1,600 relay — 1. Soldotna, 4:32.76; 2. Homer, 4:34.77; 3. Wasilla, 4:42.65; 4. Seward, 5:01.31; 5. ACS, 5:04.55; 6. Colony, 5:13.71.

3,200 relay — 1. Colony (Ainsworth, Danz, Shea, Hopkins), 10:32.32; 2. Soldotna, 10:39.89; 3. Colony, 11:02.76; 4. Seward, 11:14.35; 5. ACS, 12:27.83; 6. Palmer, 12:56.14.

Shot put — 1. Hays, Was, 35—5; 2. Pettit, Pal, 34—10.25; 3. Beck, Ken, 34—5.25; 4. Ousley, Col, 32—0; 5. McCann, Col, 29—8.25; 6. Innes, Sol, 27—9.

Shot put unified — 1. Homer, 23—10.5; 2. Faircloth, Sol, 16—1; 3. Dye, Hom, 8—7.5; 4. Phippin, Sol, 8—1.5.

Discus — 1. Beck, Ken, 116—10; 2. Hays, Was, 101—6; 3. Pike, Red, 99—2; 4. Siatini, ACS, 95—5; 5. Warren, Lum, 92—1; 6. McCann, Col, 89—0.

High jump — 1. Morrison, Sol, 4—10; 2. Matthews, Col, 4—8; 3. McIntosh, Col, 4—6; 4. Johnson, Pal, 4—6; 5. Siatini, ACS, 4—4; 6. McCann, Col, 4—4.

Long jump — 1. Frizzelle, Was, 15—2; 2. Chavarria, Sol, 15—1.5; 3. Morrison, Sol, 15—1; 4. McAnelly, Sol, 15—.75; 5. Siatini, ACS, 14—6.75; 6. Haas, Sew, 14—3.25.

Long jump unified — 1. Lurus, Hom, 11—6.5; 2. Faircloth, Sol, 9—0; 3. Dye, Hom, 3—9.5; 4. Phippin, Sol, 3—3.75.

Triple jump — 1. Morrison, Sol, 32—2.75; 2. Hronkin, Pal, 32—1.5; 3. Sisley, Sol, 31—7.5; 4. McAnelly, Sol, 30—6; 5. McIntosh, Col, 30—5; 6. Stephens-Favand, Col, 28—6.5.