The Kenai Kardinals raced to runner-up team finishes in both the girls and boys competitions at the 2022 Region III Nordic Skiing Championships contested on the Tsalteshi Trails in Soldotna on Friday and Saturday. The SoHi skiers finished third in the team scoring in both the girls and boys standings.
Kenai’s Jack Laker finished second in the combined times with a second place in Friday’s 5K freestyle race and second in the 7.5K classic race on Saturday.
Jayna Boonstra from KCHS topped the girls from the Kenai Peninsula finishing in third overall in the two-day combined time for the freestyle and classic events. Boonstra finished third in the 5K freestyle and third in the 5K classic races.
Region III Awards
Girls Team Champions: Palmer High
Girls Individual Champion: Rosie Whittington-Evans- Palmer
Boys Team Champions: Colony High
Boys Individual Champion: Jayden Rice-Colony
Girls Coach of the Year: Kenai Head Coach Brad Nyguist
Boys Coach of the Year: Colony Head Coach Mark Strabel
Region III Nordic Ski Championships at Tsalteshi Trails
Girls Team Totals: 1. Palmer, 2 hours, 48 minutes, 52 seconds; 2. Kenai, 2:51:23; 3. Soldotna, 2:55:32; 4. Colony, 2:47:45; 5. Homer, 3:19:13; 6. Grace Christian, 3:45:36.
Top 10 2-Day Individual Standings: 1. Whittington-Evans, Pal, 38:23; 2. Houser, Pal, 38:59; 3. Boonstra, Ken, 39:37; 4. Ruffner, Sol, 41:11; 5. Styvar, Hom, 42:17; 6. Moss, Ken, 42:25; 7. Cannava, Sol, 41:52; 8. Bell, Col, 43:12; 9. Strausbaugh, Sol, 43:42; 10. Foster, Ken, 45:09.
5K Interval Start Freestyle: 1. Rosie Whittington-Evans, Pal, 17:28; 2. Katey Houser, Pal, 17:56; 3. Jayna Boonstra, Ken, 18:05; 4. Jordan Ruffner, Sol, 19:08; 5. Ireland Styvar, Hom, 19:11; 6. Emily Moss, Ken, 19:24; 7. Ariana Cannava, Sol, 19:26; 8. Anna Bell, Col, 19:32; 9. Jordan Strausbaugh, Sol, 19:59; 10. Summer Foster, Ken, 20:17; 11. Leah Fallon, Ken, 20:18; 12. Lucy Shea, Col, 20:40; 13. Ellie Henneman, Pal, 20:40; 14. Rachel Danz, Col, 21:01; 15. Georgia Thatcher, Gra, 21:01; 16. Kaija Backus, Col, 21:35; 17. Emersyn LaRousse, Pal, 21:45; 18. Abby Novak, Col, 21:49; 19. Noelle Davidson, Col, 22:16; 20. Gabriella Tews, Ken, 22:19; 21. Madison McDonald, Ken, 22:24; 22. Josie Peace, Pal, 22:46; 23. Eryn Field, Hom, 22:47; 24. Ashley Dahlman, Sol, 22:47; 25. Aly Guernsey, Sew, 22:58; 26. Sienna Hardyman, Hom, 23:03; 27. Julia Watkins, Pal, 23:15; 28. Emmy Reese, Sol, 23:18; 29. Katie Van Buskirk, Sew, 23:33; 30. Avery Ciufo, Sol, 23:35; 31. Leanne Gordon, Sol, 23:52; 32. Marah Lane, Gra, 24:50; 33. Mykennan Rinella, Pal, 24:50; 34. Elena Badajos, Hom, 25:12; 35. Jaela Marchbanks, Hom, 25:45; 36. Leah Dunn, Hom, 26:48; 37. Brook Lentfer, Gra, 28:04; 38. Maya Carlson, Gra, 28.12.
5K Classic Mass Start: 1. Whittington-Evans, Pal, 20:55; 2. Houser, Pal, 21:03; 3. Booonstra, Ken, 21:32; 4. Ruffner, Sol, 22:03; 5. Cannava, Sol, 22:25; 6. Moss, Ken, 23:01; 7. Styvar, Hom, 23:06; 8. Danz, Col, 23:35; 9. Bell, Col, 23:39; 10. Novak, Col, 23:42; 11. Strausbaugh, Sol, 23:42; 12. Henneman, Pal, 23:45; 13. Fallon, Ken, 23:51; 14. Shea, Col, 23:57; 15. Backus, Col, 24:02; 16. Foster, Ken, 24:51; 17. Peace, Pal, 25:16; 18. Davidson, Col, 25:33; 19. Field, Hom, 25:34; 20. Tews, Ken, 25:52; 21. LaRousse, Pal, 25:54; 22. McDonald, Ken, 25:57; 23. Dahlman, Sol, 25:57; 24. Thatcher, Gra, 25:58; 25. Avery Ciufo, Sol, 25:58; 26. Reese, Sol, 26:09; 27. Watkins, Pal, 26:54; 28. Gordon, Sol, 26:58; 29. Van Buskirk, Sew, 28:40; 30. Guernsey, Sew, 28:43; 31. Rinella, Pal, 29:12; 32. Hardyman, Hom, 29:56; 33. Lane, Gra, 30:10; 34. Badajos, Hom, 30:22; 35. Marchbanks, Hom, 32:09; 36. Lentfer, Gra, 32:15; 37. Dunn, Hom, 33:55; 38. Carlson, Gra, 35:01.
Boys Team Scores: 1. Colony, 3:10:44; 2. Kenai, 3:01:14; 3. Soldotna, 3:08:47; 4. Homer, 3:19:35; 5. Palmer, 3:25:00; 6. Grace Christian, 3:47:07.
Top 10 2-Day Individual Standings: 1. Rice, Col, 41:52; 2. Laker, Ken, 42:26; 3. Buchanan, Col, 44:46; 4. Hippchen, Ken, 45:15; 5. Cox, Sol, 44:19; 6. Marvin, Col, 43:53; 7. Thatcher, Gra, 46:37; 8. Fallon, Ken, 44:52; 9. Cox, Sol, 47:17; 10. Buchanan, Col, 45:17.
Friday’s 5K Interval Start Freestyle: 1. Jayden Rice, Col, 15:33; 2. Jack Laker, Ken, 16:01; 3. Tobias Buchanan, Col, 16:18; 4. Tyler Hippchen, Ken, 16:19; 5. Quinn Cox, Sol, 16:21; 6. Coby Marvin, Col, 16:49; 7. Ben Thatcher, Gra, 17:01, 8. Greg Fallon, Ken, 17:07; 9. Andrew Cox, Sol, 17:14; 10. Layne Buchanan, Col, 17:17; 11. Jody Goodrich, Hom, 17:22; 12. Clayton, Steer, Col, 17:28; 13. Levi Mickelson, Sol, 17:30; 14. Jonathan Gordon, Sol, 17:40; 15. Ben Boersma, Ken, 17:50; 16. Seamus McDonough, Hom, 17:52; 17. Garrett Briscoe, Hom, 18:02; 18. Zane Tews, Ken, 18:04; 19. Remi Venema, Pal, 18:14; 20. Carter Cannava, Sol, 18:23; 21. Benjamin Abel, Sol, 18:24; 22. Trevor Guernsey, Sew, 18:32; 23. Colton Merriner, Gra, 18:35; 24. Trenton Boots, Sol, 18:37; 25. Ziven Witczak, Pal, 18:47; 26. George Wright, Ken, 19:16; 27. Andrew Pounds, Gra, 19:26; 28 London Lee, Pal, 19:29; 29. Max Wallace, Gra, 20:12; 30. Alex Adams, Pal, 20:27; 31. Carson Deans, Pal, 20:31; 32. Leif Jaworski, Hom, 20:36; 33. Ryan Owens, Pal, 20:36; 34. Oliver Trobaugh, Sew, 21:08; 35. Caleb Spence, Gra, 21:37; 36. Dylan Kodama, Gra, 23:58; 37. Joseph Foutz, Pal, 24:38.
7.5K Classic Mass Start: 1. Rice, Col, 26:19; 2. Laker, Ken, 26:24; 3. Marvin, Col, 27:03; 4. Fallon, Ken, 27:44; 5. Cox, Sol, 27:57; 6. Buchanan, Col, 28:00; 7. Buchanan, Col, 28:28; 8. McDonough, Hom, 28:53; 9. Hippchen, Ken, 28:56; 10. Thatcher, Gra, 29:35; 11. Venema, Pal, 29:57; 12. Cox, Sol, 30:03; 13. Steer, Col, 30:27; 14. Goodrich, Hom, 30:31; 15. Tews, Ken, 30:49; 16. Mickelson, Sol, 30:55; 17. Briscoe, Hom, 31:01; 18. Boots, Sol, 31:03; 19. Abel, Sol, 31:07; 20. Guernsey, Sew, 31:17; 21. Gordon, Sol, 31:47; 22. Witczak, Pal, 31:52; 23. Boersma, Ken, 31:55; 24. Pounds, Gra, 32:40; 25. Lee, Pal, 32:46; 26. Cannava, Sol, 32:52; 27. Adams, Pal, 33:24; 28. Owens, Pal, 33:28; 29. Deans, Pal, 33:43; 30. Wright, Ken, 34:03; 31. Merriner, Gra, 34:12; 32. Jaworski, Hom, 35:15; 33. Wallace, Gra, 38:53; 34. Foutz, Pal, 39:17; 35. Trobaugh, Sew, 39:55; 36. Spence, Gra, 40:21; 37. Kodama, Gra, 43:00