The Region III Cross Country Running Championships, hosted on the Tsalteshi Trails on Saturday by Soldotna High School, featured girls and boys, Division II and Division I races with individuals and teams competing for Region III titles and to qualify to the upcoming ASAA state cross country running championships.
Division II: Girls
Seward’s Hailey Ingalls raced to a first-place finish for the Region III Division II girls varsity race posting a time of 20 minutes, 12 seconds. Kenai’s Jayna Boonstra finished second in 20:32; Emilee Wilson of Kenai Central placed third in 21:25.
The Homer girls narrowly out-scored Seward for the girls team title; Homer, 44 points, Seward 47 points.
Division II: Boys
Grace Christian again proved its dominance in Division II running on the boys side. The Grizzlies placed five scoring runners in the top eight of the boys varsity race.
Grace’s David Sliwinski topped the field with a fastest time recorded on the day at 15:50. Homer’s Seamus McDonough finished less than two seconds behind at 15:51. Kenai’s Gregory Fallon finished fourth in 16:29, good for a state berth at next week’s state event.
Division I: Girls
Sophia Jedlicki from Soldotna High outraced the Division I girls field for the Region III individual title, completing the course in 19:36.
The Colony Knights placed five runners in the top ten recording 26 team points; SoHi finished second in the team scoring with 38 points. SoHi’s Tania Boonstra placed fourth in 20:44; SoHi’s Annie Burns placed sixth in 21:47.
Division I: Boys
The Colony boys swept the top three positions on the podium and placed their five scoring runners in the top eight overall, earning the Knights the Division I team championship with 19 points followed by Kodiak with 61 points.
Colony’s Matthew Rongitsch posted a winning time of 15:56; followed by Zac Cheyette and Tobias Buchanan of Colony. SoHi’s Jacob Strausbaugh finished 13th with a time of 17:40, qualifying for the upcoming Division I state championships.
All state qualifiers will be announced at asaa.org when all regional results are compiled.
The 2022 ASAA State Cross Country Running Championships are scheduled for Saturday, October 8 on the Bartlett High School Trails in Anchorage.
Region III Cross Country Running Championships: Race Results
Division I Girls
Team Scores: 1. Colony, 26; 2. Soldotna, 38; 3. Kodiak, 79; 4. Palmer, 100
State Qualifiers: 1. Sophia Jedlicki, Soldotna 19:36; 2. Ella Hopkins, Colony 20:03; 3. Morgan Ainsworth, Colony 20:27; 4. Tania Boonstra, Soldotna 20:44; 5. Stella Rose, Colony 21:44; 6. Annie Burns, Soldotna 21:47; 7. Kinley Bruno, Wasilla 21:48; 8. Shea Alaniva, Colony 21:53; 9. Abigail Harver, Kodiak 22:00; 10. Lucy Shea, Colony 22:04; 11. Alder Deal, Palmer 22:07; 12. Rachel Danz, Colony 22:07; 13. Madison Roberts, Colony 22:19; 14. Kaytlin McAnelly, Soldotna 22:51; 15. Delanie Wagers, Soldotna 22:54
Other Peninsula Finishers: 17. Megan Whittom, Soldotna 23:22; 21. Laurel Johnson, Soldotna 23:51
Division II Girls
Team Scores: 1. Homer, 44; 2. Seward, 47; 3. Grace Christian, 56; 4. Redington, 87; 5. Anchorage Christian, 119
State Qualifiers: 1. Hailey Ingalls, Seward 20:12; 2. Jayna Boonstra, Kenai Central 20:34; 3. Emilee Wilson, Kenai Central 21:25; 4. Mya Campbell, Redington 21:35; 5. Daisy Walker, Homer 21:42; 6. Tagan Rinner, Grace Christian 22:02; 7. Ella Boerger, Grace Christian 22:13; 8. Aly Guernsey, Seward 22:20; 9. Claira Booz, Homer 22:23; 10. Eryn Field, Homer 22:24; 11. Elena Badajos, Homer 22:26; 12. Katie Vanbuskirk, Seward 22:28; 13. Faith Carter, Anchorage Christian 22:35; 14. Maddie Haas, Seward 22:39; 15. Rebekah Annett, Grace Christian 22:45.
Other Peninsula Finishers: 19. Frida Renner, Homer 23:51; 20. Juniper Ingalls, Seward 23:52; 23. Natalie Sieminski, Seward 24:13; 24. Beatrix McDonough, Homer 24:16; 27. Stella Dow, Seward 24:36; 28. McKenna Black, Homer 24:54; 30. Mya Taylor, Kenai Central 26:13
Division I Boys
Team Scores: 1. Colony, 19; 2. Kodiak, 61; 3. Wasilla, 83; 4. Palmer, 83; 5. Soldotna, 117
State Qualifiers: 1. Matthew Rongitsch, Colony 15:56; 2. Zac Cheyette, Colony 16:31; 3. Tobias Buchanan, Colony 16:44; 4. Fischer Adams, Palmer 17:12; 5. Jayden Rice, Colony 17:20; 6. Aceton Edgerton, Wasilla 17:24; 7. Maxwell Robinson, Kodiak 17:25; 8. Coby Marvin, Colony 17:26; 9. Tobin Miller, Palmer 17:27; 10. Miles Grimes, Kodiak 17:29; 11. Stephen Hafen, Wasilla 17:37; 12. Jacob Strausbaugh, Soldotna 17:40; 13. Jacob Sarnowski, Kodiak 17:45; 14. Caleb Hilty, Colony 17:47; 15. Bengt Anderson, Kodiak 17:51
Other Peninsula Finishers: 24. Elijah Jedlicki, Soldotna 18:48; 25. Jonathan Gordon, Soldotna 18:50; 27. Levi Mickelson, Soldotna 18:57; 29. Noble Cassidy, Soldotna 19:12; 30. Andrew Cox, Soldotna 19:24; 33. Alexander Dammeyer, Soldotna 19:40
Division II Boys
Team Scores: 1. Grace Christian, 27; 2. Homer, 55; 3. Anchorage Christian, 75; 4. Kenai Central, 84; 5. Redington, 138
State Qualifiers: 1. David Sliwinski, Grace Christian 15:50; 2. Seamus McDonough, Homer 15:51; 3. Preston Merchant, Anchorage Christian 16:11; 4. Gregory Fallon, Kenai Central 16:29; 5. Robbie Annett, Grace Christian 16:31; 6. Seth Lochmann, Grace Christian 16:34; 7. Colton Merriner, Grace Christian 16:41; 8. Simon Nelson, Grace Christian 16:43; 9. Lance Seneff, Homer 17:20; 10. Geremu Daggett, Grace Christian 17:35; 11. Lukas Underhile, Anchorage Christian 17:42; 12. Stryder Kronberger, Anchorage Christian 17:50; 13. Theodore McDonough, Homer 17:56; 14. Trevor Guernsey, Seward 18:06; 15. Hunter Finch, Grace Christian 18:17
Other Peninsula Finishers: 16. Jai Badajos, Homer 18:26; 17. Ethan Styvar, Homer 18:50; 18. Jonah Mershon, Homer 18:54; 19. Zane Tews, Kenai Central 18:55; 20. Chase Laker, Kenai Central 19:12; 21. Jody Goodrich, Homer 19:35; 22. Robert Carson, Kenai Central 19:38; 23. Logan Cartwright, Kenai Central 19:39; 25. Olin Lijlemark, Seward 20:30; 30. Cooper Darling, Kenai Central 21:37; 32. August Jaeger, Kenai Central 21:45
Photo courtesy of Soldotna Stars Cross Country Running Facebook Page
