by Tommy Wells
Thomas Phelan kicked off the 2018 cross-country season with an impressive performance on Saturday afternoon and helped spur the Bethel Regional High School Warriors to a fourth-place finish at the Kuskokwim Classic XC Invitational. More than 50 runners from throughout the state competed in the season-opening meet, which was held at the Kipusvik in Bethel.
BRHS had seven runners complete the race, including four in the top 25. As a team, Bethel amassed 93 points.
Phelan highlighted a solid outing by the Warriors. The sophomore standout legged out a top 10 finish by completing the 3.1-mile race in a time of 17 minutes, 27 seconds. His time enabled him to finish ninth overall. Anchorage Christian’s Tristan Marchant won the race with a mark of 15:53.
Lawrence Poe and Jamin Crow also starred for BRHS. A senior, Poe sprinted to 17th overall with a time of 18:10. Crow placed 20th at 18:36. Sophomore Gary Poe also legged out a top 25 mark, taking 21st at 18:52.
Freshman Peter Crow and Brycen Alexie rounded out Bethel’s attack. Crow finished 27th at 20:36, while Alexie, a junior, was 34th at 26:49.
Kwigillingok also did well in the season-opener. The Eagles had six runners finish the race, including Nalon John and William Evon, both of whom placed in the top 25. John was 24th at 19:23. Evon was 25th at 20:03.
Juniors Jason Evon and Nolan Atti finished 30th and 32nd, respectively, while Garrett Amik and Kacey Igkurak were 33rd and 35th.
The BRHS girls’ team also turned in a solid showing, placing third overall with 94 points. Palmer won the girls’ team title with 25 points. Eagle River was second.
Lindsey Beans-Polk, Fiona Phelan, Kelsie Madsen and Beth Hensley all turned in outstanding efforts for the Lady Warriors. A junior, Beans-Polk was 16th overall at 23:34. Phelan, a talented freshman, was 17th at 23:44. Madsen and Hensley were 18th and 20th, respectively.
Freshmen Cadence Cedars and Alqaq Small also did well. Cedars was 23rd while Small checked in at 27th.
Juniors Gabrielle Fredericks and Julian Stanley finished 29th and 30th.
Kwigillingok freshman Kira John turned more than a few heads in her varsity debut. She finished 26th overall at 27:18. Teammate Amanda Carter was 28th.
Kuskokwim Area Cross Country Meet
BOYS Team Scores
1. Anchorage Christian 36; 2. Eagle River 43; 3. Palmer 52; 4. Bethel 93; 5. Kwigillingok 144
Individual Results
1. Tristian Merchant, 15:53:00, Anchorage Christian
2. Nick Carl, 16:15:00, Eagle River
3. Carter Gladwill, 16:25:00, Eagle River
4. William Parks, 16:32:00, Anchorage Christian
5. Amiqaq Maclean, 16:46:00, Palmer
6. Jacob Bradley, 16:48:00, Eagle River
7. Kaleb Smith, 16:51:00, Anchorage Christian
8. Joshua Davis, 17:01:00, Anchorage Christian
9. Thomas Phelan, 17:27:00, Bethel
10. Levi Miller, 17:36:00, Palmer
11. Joseph Walling, 17:42:00, Palmer
12. Ethan Copp, 17:43:00, Palmer
13. Alex Carl, 17:44:00, Eagle River
14. Mike Reem, 18:04:00, Palmer
15. Hayden Hartman, 18:05:00, Palmer
16. Tobias Robinson, 18:06:00, Anchorage Christian
17. Lawrence Poe, 18:10:00, Bethel
18. Josh Villanueva, 18:15:00, Palmer
19. Curtis Bay, 18:22:00, Eagle River
20. Jamin Crow, 18:36:00, Bethel
21. Gary Poe, 18:52:00, Bethel
22. Jacob Heavener, 18:59:00, Eagle River
23. Jordan Delacruz, 19:07:00, Eagle River
24. Nalon John, 19:23:00, Kwigillingok
25. William Evon, 20:03:00, Kwigillingok
26. Shane Phelan, 20:06:00, Bethel
27. Peter Crow, 20:36:00, Bethel
28. Daniel Szepanski, 20:54:00, Anchorage Christian
29. Dale Spann, 21:29:00, Anchorage Christian
30. Jason Evon, 21:50:00, Kwigillingok
31. Luke Hofacker, 22:39:00, Anchorage Christian
32. Nolan Atti, 24:03, Kwigillingok
33. Amik Garrett, 24:41, Kwigillingok
34. Brycen Alexie, 26:49, Bethel
35. Kacey Igkurak, 30:09, Kwigillingok
GIRLS Team Scores
1. Palmer, 25
2. Eagle River, 32
3. Bethel, 94
4. Anchorage Christian, 96
Individual results
1. Emily Walsh, 18:17:00, Eagle River
2. Katey Houser, 18:53:00, Palmer
3. Claire Nelson, 19:19:00, Eagle River
4. Sophie Wright, 19:37:00, Palmer
5. Lydia Ortiz, 20:08:00, Palmer
6. Sophia Nowers, 20:29:00, Palmer
7. Mary Goodwin, 20:59:00, Eagle River
8. Zoe Copp, 21:16:00, Palmer
9. Nina Kalytiak, 21:18:00, Palmer
10. Laura Ripp, 21:23:00, Eagle River
11. Skye Brabson, 21:43:00, Eagle River
12. Courtney Jones-Bru…, 22:03:00, Eagle River
13. Ana Arreola, 22:43:00, Palmer
14. Mary Kate Parks, 22:58:00, Anchorage Christian
15. Caroline Bohlman, 23:10:00, Anchorage Christian
16. Lindsey Beans-Polk, 23:34:00, Bethel
17. Fiona Phelan, 23:44:00, Bethel
18. Kelsie Madson, 24:02, Bethel
19. Aurora Pennington, 24:12, Eagle River
20. Beth Hensley, 24:29, Bethel
21. Ashley Fuller, 24:33, Anchorage Christian
22. Kyla Smith, 24:50, Anchorage Christian
23. Cadence Cedars, 25:36, Bethel
24. Janah Gatpandan, 26:12, Anchorage Christian
25. Makenzie Hofacker, 26:46, Anchorage Christian
26. Kira John, 27:18, Kwigillingok
27. Alqaq Small, 28:35, Bethel
28. Amanda Carter, 29:23, Kwigillingok
29. Gabrielle Fredericks, 29:56, Bethel
30. Julian Stanley, 31:25, Bethel
