The Region III Cross Country Running Championships, held in Kodiak on Saturday, crowned individual and team champions and determined state qualifiers in two divisions with competitions in Division II and Division I cross country running.
Division II Girls
The Division II girls races developed into a two-runner sprint to the finish line. Kenai’s Jayna Boonstra posted a one second victory over Grace Christian’s Megan Nelson, with Boonstra recording a winning time of 20:49.
Grace Christian won the Division II girls team title, followed by Homer and Kenai. Both the Mariners and Kardinals qualify to the ASAA state championships with top three finishes.
Other top finishers for the Kardinals included: Leah Fallon, seventh in 22:19; Summer Foster, 14th in 22:50; Gabriella Tews, 22nd in 24:25; Mya Taylor, 27th in 25:48; Lynnea Hack, 35th in 28:48 and Brooke Summers, 36th in 30:24.
Division II Boys
The Kenai Kardinal boys finish third in the team scoring and advance to the ASAA state championships for Division II.
Kenai’s Greg Fallon raced to a top-ten finish with a ninth overall. Other finishers for the Kenai boys included: Jack Laker in 12th at 18:20, Joe Hamilton in 14th at 18:47, Tyler Hippchen in 16th at 18:52, Armands Veksejs in 24th at 19:41, Nathan Haakenson in 26th at 20:22 and George Wright in 29th at 20:46.
Division I Girls
With a third place finish in the team scoring, the SoHi girls qualify as a team to the ASAA Division I state championships.
The Colony Knights topped Kodiak for the girls DI title.
State qualifiers for the Stars include: Jordan Strausbaug, third at 21:15; Jordan Ruffner, fourth at 21:29; Kaidence Shaeffer, 20th at 24:12; Kaytlin McAnelly, 21st at 24:31; Avery Ciufo, 22nd at 24:43; Carson Dement, 24th at 24:54; and Adele Tacey, 26th at 25:00.
Division I Boys
The Colony Knights knocked-off Kodiak for the DI team title.
The Soldotna boys finishers included: Jonathan Gordon,18th at 18:53; Avery Willets, 22nd at 19:14; Nathanael Johnson, 25th at 19:34; Levi Mickelson, 26th at 19:46; Quinn Cox, 27th at 19:50; Andrew Cox, 31st at 20:24 and Trenton Boots, 33rd at 20:24.
ASAA 2021 State Cross Country Running Championships are scheduled for Saturday, October 9th at Bartlett High School Trails in Anchorage.
Official meet results have not (as of 10/3) been posted on athletic.net
