Prep cross-country running: Knights enjoy a big day at Region III Championships

There was a wave of green at the front of the pack during both Division I races of the Regions III Championships cross-country running meet. The Colony Knights swept the individual and team titles Saturday at the Tselteshi Trails in Soldotna.

Colony placed seven runners in the top 10 of the boys race and a half-dozen of the top-10 girls donned the Knights Kelly green color. Senior Josiah Herrick and freshman Wren Spangler each won their first career region title.

Herrick used a time of 16 minutes, 35 seconds to win the boys race, and improved from his 15th-place finish at regions last year. Spangler won the girls race with a time of 19:10, nine seconds ahead of the next runner.

Colony junior Benjamin Aliberti was the runner-up in the boys race at 16:42. Senior Hunter Belliston followed in third at 16:46. Colony junior Connor Rush (16:59) was fifth, sophomore Jaxson VanTassel (17:12) sixth, senior London Ramirez (17:15) eighth and senior Theodore Stamoolis (17:19) placed ninth.

Colony senior Aubrey Virgin scored a fourth-place finish in the girls race with her time of 19:38. Teammate Siri Strabel, a freshman, followed in fifth at 19:51. Sophomore Clara Sensabaugh (20:16) was sixth for the Knights, sophomore Klysa LeCount (20:34) placed seventh and senior Isela Austin was 10th at 20:50.

Colony won the team titles with 17 total points in the boys class and 24 in the girls. Each finished well-ahead of second-place teams, the Kodiak boys (56) and Kodiak girls (65).

Senior Karley Tichenor led Palmer with a runner-up finish in the Division I girls race, posting a time of 19:19. She finished fifth in regions as a sophomore and a junior. Freshman River Francom was also ninth for the Moose at 20:37.

Senior Hailee Giacobbe led Wasilla with a seventh-place finish at 20:28. Sophomore Justin Dalitsch was Wasilla’s top runner in the boys race, with a seventh-place finish and time of 17:15.

The top three teams in each Division I team automatically qualify for the ASAA/First National Bank State Cross-Country Running Championships at Bartlett High School Oct. 3. Both Colony squads are in with the team titles. Wasilla also qualified both teams for state with third-place finishes in the standings.

Sophomore Daniel Marciales led the Palmer boys with a time of 17:46 and a 17th-place finish.

In the Division II races, freshman Kinsley Dixon led Redington with a time of 25:24 in the girls class.

Wasilla head coach Leslie Varys was named a Region III Coach of the Year

Runners from Colony, Wasilla and Palmer qualified for the state meet Oct. 3 at Bartlett. The Division I girls race is set for 12:45 p.m. and the Division I boys race will follow at 2:15 p.m.

Jeremiah Bartz is the community relations coordinator for the Mat-Su Borough School District.